As mendicant friars proselytized New Spain, they would place stone crosses in the atria of their newly constructed monasteries to symbolize the centrality of Christ. This cross is adorned with the face of Christ at its center and symbols of the Passion along its arms. The central role of Christ and the cross evokes the Mesoamerican axis mundi, and Nahua artists likened Christ to the solar deities who presided over previous eras.