Magdalena de Kino now houses the mortal remains of Padre on Horseback. In the square that now bears his name around him more splendor than he ever met on the slopes of the High desert Pimería. He was a man who loved the fine arts and architecture. He was proud of the churches that the Indians had built in Dolores, Remedios and Cocospera and is excited at the sight of hundreds of his friends who came from across the wilderness to share the celebrations. Normally sleepy and quiet square in the Magdalena for many years was filled with pilgrims visiting the place where he was buried. At first a small chapel next to the church of Campos; then a separate chapel with a small bell, then nothing but dilapidated ruins and rubble in the earthquake shook a proud town hall. The defensive architecture of the building had dissolved and the remains of Kino lay hidden out underneath of an orange tree ornament. And now people continue to arrive at Magdalena ostensibly to pay a visit to “San Francisco”.
You can only wonder how he feels now Father Kino, centuries later, when thousands continue to visit this monument erected in his honor. (Fr. Charles Polzer S.J.)
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