Home Altar Gallery

Portraits of deceased family members are often placed above the altar alongside sacred images of Mary and Jesus, linking the ancestral dead to the heavenly family in the social world of the home and providing comfort and assistance. Altar objects and photos are often inherited from family members and reflect the powerful relationships that bind families together and to their faith, connecting the living, the dead, and the sacred. The Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe, a very important national symbol of Mexico revered as Patroness of the Americas, offers heavenly maternal protection for a family's children by watching over pictures of them. The importance of these family portraits indicates the central significance of relationships to home altars and the women who construct and maintain them.

Maricela's home altar is the center of her living room and house. Its location near the door is important. She said, "The entrance and the exit. The exit is like, 'Lord, bless me where I go.' And when I return, 'Thank you, Lord, I am back.'" The spiritual and social life of Mexican Catholics revolves in many ways around the home altars that laywomen create. Families and individuals gather around them in celebration, times of need, and everyday life.

Rosary beads hang on the wings of an angel statue on Maricela's home altar. Rosary beads are held in the hands and used to count the prayers that make up the Holy Rosary, which is a formal prayer and just one form of communication that takes place at home altars. For Catholics, the Rosary and other prayers indicate faithful deference to God and acknowledgement and acceptance of His glorious presence. Through this devotional language, laywomen structure their lives and sustain a respectful yet intimate relationship with the divine to enable positive social connections for themselves and their loved ones. While the daily devotional practices at home altars vary, the Rosary and other structured prayers commonly lay a foundation for more relaxed and conversational dialogue with heavenly figures.

This variation of the Mexican flag has Our Lady of Guadalupe in the center, surrounded by representations of Marian apparitions to the indigenous Juan Diego at the hill of Tepeyac in modern-day Mexico in 1531, reflecting the deep connection between Mexican national pride and Our Lady of Guadalupe. Miguel Hidalgo, the father of Mexico, invoked the Virgin Mary in his call to arms in the struggle for Mexican independence and fought with Our Lady of Guadalupe as a prominent and intensely religious symbol in the early 1800s. Juan Diego's cloak, which bears Mary's image, hangs centrally in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, the world's third most-visited pilgimage site. As the Mexican immigrant population increases, devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe becomes a larger part of American Catholicism.

Sagrado Corazón's image of Our Lady of Guadalupe surrounded by flowers in a parishioner's home for Pascua Guadalupana, a Mexican Catholic devotional tradition lasting 46 days from October to the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12th. During that time, the holy image travels from home to home, where parishioner families  gather together to pray the rosary, read scripture, deepen their faith, sing, and feast. The image is typically placed on the home altar and surrounded with fresh flowers and candles. The base says 'Bless this House' in Spanish, and it is a great honor to host the image during Pascua Guadalupana. The tradition reflects the indigenous origins of Mexican Catholicism as told in the Nican Mopohua, the story of the native peasant Juan Diego, who is addressed in prayers and regarded as a brother to the Mexican people.

Esperanza and Juan's decision to place their home altar just outside their bedroom indicates the comfort, familiarity, and protection that the altar provides. Its placement also reflects the significance of the home altar as a place for realizing an intimate relationship with the divine characterized by devotion, respect, and empowerment to converse with higher powers and ask for help in important social matters such as marriage.

The small statue of the Virgin Mary in bright robes on the center-right was sent to this family when the wife had cancer and was used for prayer to the Virgin Mary and to God for healing. Such prayers reflect how home altars undergird close communication with divine powers, including asking for assistance and good health, and petitioning for intervention to facilitate positive outcomes. Mothers frequently pray at their home altars for the protection of their children or other community members, connecting women's home ministry to the social life of the parish. Women requesting help may promise to express their gratitude by placing flowers on the altar or even making a pilgrimage in honor of a saint.

Santo Niño, or The Holy Child Jesus is an important image for many Mexican Catholics and common in  home altars. Devotion to Santo Niño was introduced to Mexico by Spaniards in the sixteenth century but is heavily influenced by indigenous traditions; sometimes, for example, Santo Niño is dressed in traditional Aztec clothing. Honoring the image is especially important during Advent and Christmas, when His birth is celebrated, and represents veneration of the Son, the second person of the Trinity and the incarnation of God as Jesus Christ. God and Mary are petitioned for divine intercession through Santo Niño in prayers to him.

The central images of the Virgin of Guadalupe and the Sacred Heart of Jesus are surrounded by several smaller devotional images of Mary and Jesus. A Bible is also kept at this home altar. Images of Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II are hung above this altar with images of the heavenly family, signifying great respect for them. Mother Teresa's missionary work took her to Mexico, and her life of faith and service is inspiring to many. Pope John Paul II was welcomed to Mexico in 1979, visited four more times, and is still revered by many Mexican Catholics. For the women who keep altars, all these images ground their faith and allow them to create and maintain relationships with role models in addition to divine powers.

Sagrado Corazón's statue of the Virgin Mary is in the middle of the altar, with images of Jesus on the cross and his Sacred Heart above, as well as representations of the Santo Niño. The image of Jesus on the right says in Spanish, "I am the light of the world. Those who follow me do not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." Catholic devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus centers around God's immeasurable love for humanity.

Numerous representations of the Virgin of Guadalupe and a small Mexican flag are surrounded by paper flowers and a depiction of the Last Supper, a symbol of Jesus's sacrifice and his love for humanity in atoning for its sins. Mary's presence in home altars reflects the sacred role of women in their families' religious and social life, as well as the feminine power of the virgin inherited and reimagined by generations of women. Through home altars, motherhood becomes a sacred duty influenced by Mother Mary to form the foundation of connection within the family and church community.

This home altar includes many images of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Santo Niño, a crucifix, candles, and flowers. There are also photographs, a small version of Warner Sallman's wildly popular 1940 painting Head of Christ, and even pencil drawings. Mundane objects such as drawings may seem inappropriate on a home altar, but they infuse everyday life with religious meaning, helping cultivate a consistent and personal relationship with the divine.