Kneeling Nun

The best-known of the legends tells of a nun who nursed a wounded Spanish soldier and fell in love with him; condemned for it, she prayed to be turned to stone and was left kneeling above the vanished convent, and in some tellings Santa Rita takes its name from her. A Spanish-language version recorded at Santa Rita in 1933 has her leave the order against her superior's warning and pay for it. The monolith now stands above the Chino pit, and residents have long feared that the mine's blasting will bring her down.

What the plaque says

Official Scenic Historic Marker Kneeling Nun Most famous of the many historic landmarks in the Black Range country is the Kneeling Nun. So named for its resemblance to a nun kneeling in prayer before a great altar. Many legends have grown up around the giant monolith which rests near the summit of the Santa Rita Range.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Santa Rita Copper Mine — 3.8 mi
  The copper pit east of Silver City that swallowed the town it was named for, beneath a spire of volcanic rock long said to look like a nun at prayer.
• City of Rocks State Park — 17 mi
  Pinnacles of volcanic tuff up to forty feet high standing in the grassland between Deming and Silver City, worn out of an eruption 34.9 million years ago.

More markers nearby

• Ladies Auxiliary of Local 890 — steps away
• Santa Rita Copper Mines — 2.3 mi
• Fort Bayard - 1866-1900 / Fort Bayard National Cemetery — 2.3 mi
• Bayard — 3.2 mi