By Vivian Cabrera – AmericaMagazine.org – Photo: Darnell Miller.
Photo: New mural of St. Thomas Aquinas by Gonzo on campus of University of St. Thomas in Houston.
Growing up as a Mexican-American Catholic in Houston, I was always surrounded by images of the saints—or followed by them, you could say. I spent most of my childhood at my grandmother’s house, where the walls were lined with crucifixes and portraits of the Holy Family and St. Jude. Every free countertop was covered with statues of saints, Precious Moments figurines of priests, nuns and the baby Jesus and more statues of the Virgin of Guadalupe than I could count. (Though I did try counting them the last time I was at my grandma’s house. There were 18 images of Guadalupe.)
