Religion Team reporter Deepa Bharath and freelance video journalist Andres Leighton won the trust of an Apache community in New Mexico to produce a sensitive, visually spectacular account of how Apache parishioners responded to the removal of a revered “Apache Christ” painting by the parish priest who considered it objectionable.
In late June, the Mescalero Apache tribe’s reservation in New Mexico was wracked by wildfires. Amid the crisis, a revered painting depicting Christ as an Apache man went missing from the reservation’s Catholic church. It soon became know that the parish priest had removed the painting, deeming it pagan imagery that contradicted Catholic teaching.
Eventually, the painting was returned, and the priest replaced, but for the Apaches, it was a harsh rebuff of their belief that could blend their Indigenous culture with their Catholic faith. Thanks to painstaking outreach and pre-reporting, Bharath and Leighton were warmly received by the members of the parish.
At the end of their interview, Bharath and Leighton were welcomed to a coming-of-age blessing and ceremony for two young women. It produced vibrant color for the text, and riveting imagery for Andres’ photos, and for the video that he produced with key production help from Religion Team video journalist Jessie Wardarski.
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