Explore the Overlooked Delights of Amarillo’s St. Mary’s Monument

There are a lot of things you will miss if you don't pay attention. There are a lot of odds and ends all over Amarillo. You can really find some treasures in the front yard of your neighbors.

You can discover some hidden gems in plain sight around this great city. I am sure you have driven down Washington Street hundreds of times. You may have not noticed this monument at St. Mary's Catholic Church. If you have you may have wondered about the significance.

I mean it's a Catholic Church, everything is significant. Everything has a story. I grew up going to Catholic School and Church so we do know the significance that everything has.

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This monument has been at St. Mary's since 2020. For many that year, of course, signifies the year our lives changed with Covid. For St. Mary's that is when the Fray Juan de Padilla monument was moved from it's original location.

It was blessed and dedicated by then-Bishop Robert E. Lucey on June 13, 1937 at Ellwood Park. That was the monuments home since then. That was until September 12, 2020.

It was then moved across the street as part of an Eagle Scout project for and Amarillo resident, Patrick Cochran. It's been a part of St. Mary's ever since. So what is the significance of this monument?

What does Fray Juan de Padilla have to do with Amarillo? Why is this a part of our history?  Fray Padilla celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving in Palo Duro Canyon. Yes, our Palo Duro Canyon. Fray Padilla has been revered by Texans as the first Christian martyr of Texas, and possibly of the United States. He purposely sacrificed himself on a journey that saved the rest of his people in 1544.

According to the Amarillo Diocese:

In 1936 a monument commemorating the martyrdom of Juan de Padilla was erected jointly by the state of Texas and the Knights of Columbus in Amarillo’s Ellwood Park. The monument was blessed and dedicated on June 13, 1937 by Amarillo Bishop Robert E. Lucey.

So as you are driving down Washington Street or attending mass at St. Mary's take note of this monument. It has a story to tell.