Our Lady of Guadalupe, Ranchos De Taos, New Mexico Postcard

"Our Lady of Guadalupe Niche Sculpture, St. Francis of Assisi Mission Church, Ranchos De Taos, New Mexico," by Catherine Sherman. A colorful bas relief sculpture of Our Lady of Guadalupe is set within a stone niche in an adobe wall surrounding the courtyard of St. Francis of Assisi Mission church in Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico. The Franciscan Brothers began work on this beautiful mission church in Taos, New Mexico, in 1772, and it was completed by 1816. It is located on the plaza in Ranchos de Taos in a historic district named Ranchos de Taos Plaza, about four miles southwest of the town of Taos. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970. It is a parish church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe. The church is named after the Franciscan patron saint, Saint Francis of Assisi. "Our Lady of Guadalupe" appeared on the cloak of Mexican peasant named Juan Diego. Juan Diego reported that Mary appeared to him on four occasions and once to his uncle, Juan Bernardino. The appearances are believed to have occurred in December 1531, when the Mexican territories were under the Spanish Empire. The cloak (tilmahtli) with the image of Mary is enshrined within the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. The basilica is the most-visited Catholic shrine in the world, and is the world's third most-visited sacred site. Our Lady of Guadalupe, also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe.