I recently wanted to visit the cave where Giovanni Maria de Agostini lived in the Organ Mountains of NM, so I was telling a friend of my plans. He immediately replied that he knows where Giovanni is buried. 

João Maria D’Agostini, or Giovanni Maria de Agostini (1801 – 17 April 1869), was a lay monk of Italian origin who traveled widely in South and North America preaching and healing with herbal remedies.  Part of his life he lived near Las Cruces in a cave in the Organ Mountains, where he eventually was murdered!

The day before our visit to the grave site my friend informed me that a  local historian from Mesilla, NM, Mr. David  G. Thomas (who is an expert on the history of Giovanni) would meet us at the grave site and tell us all about Giovanni.

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As we arrived at the grave site in Mesilla, NM, and as David gave us a long, very interesting historical explanation of Giovanni’s life, it became clear to me how certain events are altered and changed throughout history . . . and they later become facts.  (Please view the video below, and notice how many times the gravestone was changed with incorrect information.)