Author's name on cover: "Fray Angelico Chavez"

During World War II, Chavez attended the chaplaincy school at Harvard University and was placed with the 77th Infantry Division. He was present for the beach landings of Guam and Leyte. He continued his military service during the Korean War as chaplain at Fort Bliss, Texas, and Kaiserslautern, Germany.


Reverend Fr. Fray Angelico Chavez (April 10, 1910 – March 18, 1996) was an American Franciscan priest, historian, author, poet, and painter. "Angelico" was his pen name; he also dropped the accent marks from this name. During World War II, Chavez attended the chaplaincy school at Harvard University and was placed with the 77th Infantry Division. He was present for the beach landings of Guam and Leyte. He continued his military service during the Korean War as chaplain at Fort Bliss, Texas, and Kaiserslautern, Germany. In 1971, he left the priesthood following a "crisis of faith". He returned to the priesthood and the Franciscan Order prior to his death on March 18, 1996 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, at the age of 85.

Chavez was buried in Rosario Cemetery, having earlier refused burial in St. Francis Cathedral in Santa Fe. The Museum of New Mexico at the Palace of the Governors named the new history and photographic library in his honor following his death, and a bronze statue of his likeness is displayed at the entrance. Judge Harry Long Bigbee was the donor of the statue.