The prominence and complexity of the Del Valle family, nineteenth-century Californios owning a large land grant in Southern California, was made manifest through their family home, Rancho Camulos, now a national historic landmark. There the matriarch, Ysabel del Valle, and her eldest daughter, Josefa, played leading roles in the creation and maintenance of the family's image. Ysabel's deep devotion to the Catholic faith ensured that the rancho's small, family chapel became the site of religious services regularly performed by visiting priests. With her close connections to the clergy, Ysabel created a site in which objects of devotion, including the vestments now at LMU, were intertwined with the family's social standing.
Three undergraduate students curated this exhibition and followed the path laid by Josefa's donation of these vestments to the university.
The Del Valle Vestments: The Devotion and Performance of a Matriarchy is open in the William H. Hannon Library's Terrance L. Mahan, S.J. Department of Archives and Special Collections was on display February to May 2016.
