It is a relief in homage to Fray Toribio de Benavente also called “Motolinía” (the one who dresses poorly). This Franciscan friar, born in Benavente around 1491, evangelized extensive areas of Mexico and Central America.
The monument representing Fray Toribio is loaded with symbolism alluding to his defense of the indigenous people and his missionary work.
Among the symbols represented, besides the twelve candles that represent the group of 12 Franciscans that arrived in Mexico in 1524, there are different elements of the Aztec culture such as the turtle, symbolizing the new light that will illuminate the darkness in which the indigenous people live, and the serpent of the Mexica calendar, symbolizing the fertility of the Aztec land.
The left hand of the friar from Benavente holds a cross, symbol of evangelization and salvation. From the fingers of the hands sprout small crosses symbolizing the numerous foundations and convents created by Fray Toribio in Mexico and Central America.
The palm of the right hand, which is represented open and downward, represents his conciliatory and humble disposition and his commitment to the defense of the indigenous people. A third hand appears holding a pruned tree, figure of the new spiritual life that the sprouts of the new teaching will offer. Work of the Mexican sculptor Carlos Terrés, it was made in stone and donated by the Colegio Mayor Guadalupe of Madrid.
