Saint Anthony of Padua Statue

A 19th-century carved, painted, and gilded wooden statue, declared a national monument in Mexico by INAH in 1940.

CyArk

U.S. Embassy Mexico

Saint Anthony of Padua Statue (2026) by US Embassy MexicoCyArk

Taking a Closer Look

The San Antonio de Padua statue is a solid-wood sculpture, painted and gilded with fine estofado and brown glass eyes. The saint wears a blue Franciscan tunic, holds a black book with red-edged pages, and stands on a square base. It measures 43 inches (110 cm) tall.

What makes this piece unique

Tap to explore

Loss and Identification

Stolen from a church in Jiutepec, Morelos, in 2002, this San Antonio de Padua statue resurfaced in 2019 when it was donated to the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts in Texas, which flagged its missing provenance. The FBI was alerted and then contacted Mexico’s INAH.

Returning a Lost Treasure

Learn more about the process of repatriation

Restored San Antonio de Padua Statue (2026) by INAHCyArk

A coordinated effort

Thanks to the collaboration between the FBI offices in Dallas, the legal attaché in Mexico City, the Department of Justice of the United States, with the Ministry of Culture, INAH, the Attorney General’s Office, the statue was safely returned. Following the return, INAH restored the statue.

Learn more about returning the statue

Repatriated Artifacts Returned to Mexico (2026) by US Embassy MexicoCyArk

Keep Learning About Repatriation

Explore more artifacts

Credits: All media

The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.

CyArk

CyArk

Interested in Visual arts?

Get updates with your personalized Culture Weekly

No, thanks

You are all set!

Your first Culture Weekly will arrive this week.