Saints of the Southwest

Saints of the Southwest provides an intimate look at thirty of the most revered saints of the Southwest, photographed in both the holiest and most humble of places: an archbishop's private chapel, a roadside shrine, a church of miracles, the wall of a video store. Author Jim Griffith, long-time chronicler of the West's unique cultural and spiritual heritage, is recognized as one of the foremost folklorists in the United States. He offers a brief biography of each saint and describes why each is particularly significant to the faithful of this diverse region. Learn why distraught mothers stop to pray at a shrine to Santa Rita along southern Arizona's Santa Cruz River, and why stroke victims and arthritis sufferers make pilgrimages to the Holy Child of Atocha at Chimayo in northern New Mexico. Saints of the Southwest will touch the hearts of all seekers who find personal inspiration and affirmation in the greater Southwest. Photographs by Griffith and others accompany illustrations from devotional memorabilia and indigenous religious folk art.