Franciscan missionaries first brought Christianity to the northern frontiers of Spain's New World Empire at the end of the 16th century, and St. Francis remains a popular subject today for Hispanic folk artists in the American Southwest. This week's new art offering from the Sacred Art Pilgrim Collection, depicting the Saint from Assisi, is the work of Angelica Lopez, whose signature on the back of the gessoed wood panel, reveals she was still a child, when she created this charming image of Francis communing with the birds and beasts back in 2002. The time-honored techniques of creating these icon-like paintings are passed from generation to generation in santero saint-maker families, who present their works each summer at the Traditional Spanish Market in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Lopez panel painting of St. Francis joins other works by Southwestern sacred artists in the New Mexican Saint-makers page in the Schools of Sacred Art Section. (John Kohan)