Virgin Territory

Our Lady of Chavez Ravine, the Madonna of Baseball, stands atop a red-seamed ball, a flaming torch in one arm and the baby Jesus cradled in the other. Below her, four bright-eyed ballplayers are engaged in a game, eternally frozen on a miniature replica of Dodger Stadium. A few feet away is Our Lady of the Prairie, a John Ford heroine in ceramic, golden hair tucked into a blue bonnet, scanning a harvest landscape.

These statues, along with hundreds of other representations of the Blessed Virgin, are part of a remarkable permanent display at the San Fernando Mission. Opened in 1992 in the mission’s former jail, the Madonna collection is a trove of paintings, medallions, panels, postage stamps and ceramic, wood and ivory figures portraying Mary in all of her eclectic glory. The display was assembled after three prominent collectors donated their artworks to the Los Angeles Archdiocese.

The collection is the most popular exhibit at the 200-year-old mission, says Msgr. Francis J. Weber, the resident historian and archivist for the archdiocese. “The mission really is a history museum, but we try to make it a spiritual refuge,” says Weber. “I think the Madonna room has contributed to that.”

An invisible sensor triggers lights and the calming strains of “Ave Maria” as a visitor crosses the threshold. Glass display cases hold ceramic figures made by Encino artist Clarise Harvey that include Madonnas of China, Japan and Spain and an African Madonna. Our Lady of Leopoldville wears a red apron over a radiant yellow print dress and balances a basket of gourds on her head; Our Lady of the Arctic Circle, the Madonna of Alaska, stands on the snowy tundra with a black husky at her feet. Mother and child wear matching white fur parkas.

Weber points to Mexico, where almost every village has a Madonna tailored to local customs and needs. “Devotion to Mary has always been conditioned by time and by place,” Weber says. “Traditionally, she is one of the most beautiful of all religious figures. I don’t think I have ever seen an ugly Madonna.”