Our Lady of Peace (La Conquistadora)

In 1625, Fray Alonzo de Benavides brought a small statue of the Assumption of the Virgin to Santa Fe, New Mexico on a wagon train.  In 1680, the Pueblo people revolted and drove the Spaniards down the Rio Grande to the site of present-day El Paso, TX.  The statue made the journey back with Diego de Vargas who retook the region in 1691.  She is housed in the parish church which is the site of Saint Francis Cathedral.  The statue came under the care of the confraternity of the Immaculate Conception and the custom of dressing the statue began in the mid 1700’s.  Her beautiful costumes are changed with each passing season. The place of where she was carved remains unknown but one theory is she was made in Palestine.  The statue has had many different titles, all prefaced by “Our Lady.” She is the patroness of all things.