Religious Art Collector: Margaret Leos

CURRENT ARGUS
By Martha Mauritson

Mother of Sorrows copy by Bianchini (est. 1900)By Robin Zielinski for the Current-Argus

NEW MEXICO - Before her death last year, Carlsbad resident Margaret Leos was an avid yard sale shopper. Some 30 years ago she made a buy that today is worth many times more than she paid for it - but its real value lies in what it means to the Catholic faithful. The item is a gold-framed painting of the Madonna Addolorata - the Mother of Sorrows. According to granddaughter Elizabeth Lopez, it was Margaret Leos' dying wish that the painting should be returned to a religious order in Indiana where it may have come from. The painting is for the moment at the Holy Cross retreat in Mesilla Park, near Las Cruces. In a few weeks, it will be taken to Mount St. Francis, a religious center in Indiana. [link]