54/661
P7220260.JPG P7220257ThumbnailsP7220269P7220257ThumbnailsP7220269P7220257ThumbnailsP7220269P7220257ThumbnailsP7220269P7220257ThumbnailsP7220269

After leaving the market, we stopped at Iglesia San Francisco de Asis, where we will be attending Mass tonight as part of Yoselin's quinceañera. We went inside and looked at the various statues. People were lighting prayer candles, giving the interior a warm glow.

The Spanish missionaries who came to the area immediately following the conquest were Franciscans. They built this church in 1567. The official name of the town used to be San Francisco de Panajachel, but unlike most of the other lakeside villages, it secularized its name at some point along the way.

St. Francis has been a continuous thread throughout my entire life. He was the namesake of my family's parish in Fitchburg. My grandfather worked as a caretaker of the church. I was baptized there, and Craig and I got married there. It is our compadres' parish in Guatemala, where all of the family baptisms and quinceañera Masses have taken place. It is also one of the churches which our compadres in Ecuador attend, and where our goddaughter Sisa was baptized.

Author
Craig and Steph
Visits
1188
Rating score
no rate
Rate this photo

0 comments