Marian Therese Horvat, Ph.D.,

I wanted to thank you for your beautiful writing on Our Lady, La Conquistadora.

My husband and I are descendants of the Spanish colonists from the Conquest and the Re-conquest of Santa Fe, NM. I had fallen ill back in 1990 when I was 25-years-old and my husband tried to get me to do something to encourage me to get be back on my feet. So I decided to do our family tree, his and mine. I found out that both of our families are descendants of the Conquest and Re-conquest. He, my husband, is the 12th generation of Captain Pedro Lucero de Godoy who is found in Fray Angelico Chavez' book of Origin of New Mexico Families.

We have a great appreciation and respect for the martyrs of the Holy Faith in this land -which many people take too much for granted, or rather, due to evil in the world today, they forget the mercy of God upon this country and the world.

It is my belief that because of the courage of many of our Catholic colonists from Spain, regardless of their reasons for coming here, they were His instruments for bringing salvation to many souls who would otherwise have perished. It took not just the Franciscan Priests, but the soldiers' strong backs and great team work and faith practiced by all of them to make it work so that God's work could be a success.

May God Bless and thank you for remembering Our Lady and the title that our ancestors so lovingly called her not only in the depths of their hearts, but in the soul of the Church herself who titled her as. For our Lady conquered all heresy and brought her Son's saving grace to this earth. I just pray to God that the world, on its part, stops offending Our Lord Jesus and Our Lady.

Keep our State of New Mexico and its conversion in your prayers.

     Always in the Heart of Jesus through Mary,

     L. L.

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