of a statue of the Virgin Mary brought from Spain over 400 years ago, through Mexico to New Mexico. The statue resides in St. Francis Cathedral to this day and is an important part of the religious history of the Spanish people of Northern New Mexico. Chavez also wrote short stories, novels, and poetry. His poem The Virgin of Port Lligat, based on Salvador Dalí's The Madonna of Port Lligat, was selected as one of the best books of 1959 by the Catholic Library Association and was praised by T. S. Eliot as a "very commendable achievement". As Chavez scholar Genaro M. Padilla notes, "despite [his] outpouring of history, poetry, and fiction, Fray Angelico Chavez has been largely overlooked as one of the pioneers of Chicano [sic] literature in century". In 1971, he left the priesthood following a "crisis of faith", but retained his standing as a priest while continuing his writing and research. He returned to the priesthood and the Franciscan Order in 1989 and lived at the friary at the Cathedral in Santa Fe. He died on March 18, 1996, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, at the age of 85. Chavez was buried in Rosario Cemetery, having earlier refused burial in St. Francis Cathedral in Santa Fe. The Museum of New Mexico at the Palace of the Governors named the new history and photographic library in his honor following his death, and a bronze statue of his likeness is displayed at the entrance. Judge Harry Long Bigbee was the donor of the statue. In August 2020, the statue along with the walls of the museum were defaced with spray paint. The walls were marked with the words "stolen land" and "1680", an apparent reference to the Pueblo Revolt, an event chronicled by Chavez in what has been criticized as a revisionist interpretation. Honorary degrees Master of Arts, University of New Mexico, 1947 Doctor of Letters, College of St. Joseph on the Rio Grande, Albuquerque, 1963 Doctor of Law, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, 1973 Doctor of Humane Letters, University of New Mexico, 1974 Publications Non-fiction But time and chance: the story of Padre Martinez of Taos, 1793-1867. Santa Fe: Sunstone Press, 1981. La Conquistadora: the autobiography of an ancient statue. Santa Fe: Sunstone Press, 1975. Coronado's friars. Washington: Academy of American Franciscan History, 1968. My Penitente land: reflections on Spanish New Mexico. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico