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18TH-CENTURY PAINTING OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI STOLEN 24 YEARS AGO FINALLY RETURNED TO MEXICAN CHURCH

Published: 2025-11-19 18:58:40 Last Updated: 2025-11-19 19:22:03

In 2001, seven additional holy artworks, including an 18th-century painting of St. Francis of Assisi, were taken from the Church of San Francisco de Asis in Mexico. The painting has now been returned to the temple, which is approximately a mile from the Teotihuacán archaeological site and an hour north of Mexico City, after nearly 25 years.
After arriving at the Morton Subastas auction house in 2017, the Saint Francis of Assisi (1747) painting started its trip home. Morton started the process of cataloguing it when it was valued between 120,000 and 280,000 Mexican pesos ($6,360 and $14,840, respectively, based on average currency values in 2017). This involved taking pictures and executing a contract with the former owner. Uploading the piece to Art Loss Register, a global database of over 700,000 stolen artworks, antiques, and valuables, was another step in the process.
They were shocked to learn that there was a report for that same painting from the Art Loss Register. David Collepardo, Morton's manager of books and antiquities, told El Río, "We stopped the auction process." "Art Loss Register attempted to get in touch with the owner who gave us the piece, but we never received a response, and we filed the necessary complaints with the prosecutor's office." What came next was a protracted eight-year legal process and investigation. The authorities didn't inform the auction house that they could finally begin the process of returning the painting to the church until earlier in 2025.
The entire length of St. Francis is depicted in the artwork, which is 62.5 inches tall by 39.7 inches broad. The Catholic friar is depicted in the painting donning the distinctive brown Franciscan robes and a cord wrapped in three knots, signifying the vows of obedience, chastity, and poverty. He has stigmata on his hands since he is holding a crucifix in his left hand and a skull in his right.

Gregorio Juan, an Indigenous leader, is depicted as a small figure kneeling in prayer in front of the saint in the painting, which has an inscription dedicating it to him. Antonio de Torres, one of the most prolific and well-known painters of the era, is believed to have painted it, even though it is unsigned. A very similar picture by him can be found in a museum in Monterrey, Mexico.

During a joyful handover ceremony, the artwork was formally re-hung in its original location. The festival, which drew over 1,000 people, included dance, food, prayer, and vibrant sawdust carpets with religious and Indigenous patterns. Only one of the eight stolen paintings has been returned, but the Art Loss Register is hopeful.

According to Art Loss Register, which praised Morton Subastas for acting morally, "We hope that this landmark recovery will motivate both victims of future historic crimes, as well as auction houses and art dealers to continue prioritising due diligence." "It serves as a reminder that cultural heritage that has been taken and is thought to be lost forever might be returned to its proper place."Gregorio Juan, an Indigenous leader, is depicted as a small figure kneeling in prayer in front of the saint in the painting, which has an inscription dedicating it to him. Antonio de Torres, one of the most prolific and well-known painters of the era, is thought to have painted it despite the fact that it is not signed. A very similar picture by him may be found in a museum in Monterrey, in northern Mexico.

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