NileGuide Expert tip:
Check out the painting of Jesus that glows in the dark, for reasons unknown, even after scientific investigation.
Description:
On NM 68, about 4 miles south of Taos, this famous church appears as a modern adobe sculpture with no doors or windows, an image that has often been photographed and painted, most notably by Ansel Adams and Georgia O'Keeffe. Visitors must walk through the garden on the east side to enter the two-story church and get a full perspective of its massive walls, authentic adobe plaster, and beauty.
A video presentation is given in the church office every hour on the half-hour. Also, displayed on the wall is an unusual painting, The Shadow of the Cross, by Henri Ault (1896). Under ordinary light, it portrays a barefoot Christ at the Sea of Galilee; in darkness, however, the portrait becomes luminescent, and the perfect shadow of a cross forms over the left shoulder of Jesus' silhouette. The artist reportedly was as shocked as everyone else to see this. The reason for the illusion remains a mystery. A few crafts shops surround the square.
- © Frommer's 2013
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Awards:
Frommer's
- Highly Recommended 2010
- Details
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Contact:
- tel: 505/758-2754
Address:
- 60 Saint Francis Plz
- Ranchos de Taos Plaza
- Taos, NM 87557
Hours:
- Mon-Sat 9am-4pm. Visitors may attend Mass Mon-Fri 5pm, Sat 6pm (Mass rotates from this church to the 3 mission chapels), Sun 7 (Spanish), 9, and 11:30am
Strenuousness:
- Easy
- User Rating
