University of San Francisco
Fulton Street
In Front of Gleeson Library/Geshke Center
Inner Richmond
Commissioned by USF this piece was installed November of 2011. The 2-ton work, Los Lobos de Loyola, depicts the wolves and stewpot from the family coat of arms of St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order. Some say the 15th-century image is a pun on the Loyola family name (“lobos y olla,” wolves and a stewpot); others suggest the pot is a symbol of hospitality and the wolves point to the family’s reputation as warriors.
Crafted by Pancho Cardenas, the eight-foot high by sixteen foot long bronze is a second edition of Cardenas’ original work created for the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City a decade ago.
Francisco Cárdenas Martínez, also known as Pancho Cárdenas, is a Mexican artist. He was born 1956, in Iztapalapa, east of Mexico City.
He is noted for his statue of Pope John Paul II with Our Lady of Guadalupe at the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral, made entirely with keys donated by Mexicans to symbolize that they had given him the keys to their hearts.