Spanish Vestments from New Spain ~ Liturgical Arts Journal

Vestments from Spain and her territories are a wonder to behold anywhere in the world. It is very rare to still see a sacristy full of them. I took these photos in the sacristy of my favorite chapel in the Americas, the Capilla del Rosario (Holy Rosary Chapel) at the Dominican parish of Santo Domingo in Puebla, Mexico. I bring my pilgrimage groups here for Mass in conjunction with pilgrimages to the Guadalupe Shrine in nearby Mexico City. Puebla is my favorite place to visit in Mexico and, I believe, the most beautiful city in Mexico.

Below is a photo of our chaplain, Fr. Pablo Santa Maria, a son of Mexico City. He led a terrific pilgrimage and celebrated a beautiful Mass. I include a photo he was gracious enough to permit being shared here, taken near the door of the sacristy.

The Holy Rosary chapel is described by local guides as "the eighth wonder of the world." Rightly so, it is covered in a golden display of New Spanish Baroque. Even St. John Paul II visited here as a pilgrim on his first foreign journey after his election to the See of Peter.

Puebla has a plethora of outstanding churches and vestments. To attend Holy Mass in this chapel (a Votive Mass in honor of Our Lady with blue vestments), amidst Mexican Baroque splendor, with baroque vestments, baroque music and baroque liturgy, is a true cultural experience and a clear example of authentic "inculturation" in the liturgy, taking into due account the heritage of the universal Latin Church found in the Roman Missal and typified by the heroic missionaries of the Spanish Empire.