Lesson plan
Apache Christ
Apache Christ (Apache: ) is a painting depicting Jesus as a Mescalero holy man. Created in 1989 by American Franciscan friar Robert Lentz, the icon is displayed in the altar of the St. Joseph Apache Mission Church, a Catholic church in the U.S. state of New Mexico with parishioners who are mostly Mescalero Apache. In the painting, Jesus is depicted atop Sierra Blanca, a New Mexico mountain range, greeting the rising sun after performing a sacred puberty ritual. Lentz, who is known for his iconography depicting Jesus in different cultural contexts, painted Apache Christ in 1989 following a conversation with the church's pastor. He met with Mescalero Apache leaders and consulted with Apache medicine men for cultural guidance. In preparation for the artwork, he studied Apache rituals and gathered sacred spring water from the summit of Sierra Blanca to use in the mixing of his paints. In 2024, a priest from St. Joseph removed Apache Christ and other sacred Mescalero art objects from display due to his view that they were pagan imagery. The removal outraged many of the church's parishioners. The painting was soon reinstalled and the priest was replaced.
Article summary
Apache Christ (Apache: ) is a painting depicting Jesus as a Mescalero holy man. Created in 1989 by American Franciscan friar Robert Lentz, the icon is displayed in the altar of the St. Joseph Apache Mission Church, a Catholic church in the U.S. state of New Mexico with parishioners who are mostly Mescalero Apache. In the painting, Jesus is depicted atop Sierra Blanca, a New Mexico mountain range, greeting the rising sun after performing a sacred puberty ritual. Lentz, who is known for his iconography depicting Jesus in different cultural contexts, painted Apache Christ in 1989 following a conversation with the church's pastor. He met with Mescalero Apache leaders and consulted with Apache medicine men for cultural guidance. In preparation for the artwork, he studied Apache rituals and gathered sacred spring water from the summit of Sierra Blanca to use in the mixing of his paints. In 2024, a priest from St. Joseph removed Apache Christ and other sacred Mescalero art objects from display due to his view that they were pagan imagery. The removal outraged many of the church's parishioners. The painting was soon reinstalled and the priest was replaced.
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.