Perched in a high, gilded niche in the Lady Chapel of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is a 30-inch-tall wooden statue of the Virgin Mary. She is called La Conquistadora, Our Lady of Conquering Love. The religious icon is believed to be the oldest continuously worshipped Virgin Mary likeness in the United States. The statue is hand-carved from willow and European olive wood. Tree-ring dating performed by the University of Arizona dates her to between 1448 and 1648. Speculation is that she was brought…
