Vade Retro

Images of Ptzcuaro

A reader translated the words above this Patzcuaro gate as being part of an exorcism:

Crux sancta sit mihi lux
Non draco sit mihi dux Vade retro satana
Nunquam suade mihi vana Sunt mala quae libas
Ipse venena bibas

And the reader provided an approximate translation:

"May the Holy Cross be my light
Let not the dragon lead me Step back Satan
Never tempt me with vain things What you offer me is evil
Drink the poison yourself."

The gate leads into a Patzcuaro school which was carved out of an old church complex above Patzcuaro's main zocalo.