Spanish Mission Churches of New Mexico, by L. Bradford Prince

Published: The Torch Press, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 1915

CONTENTS:

Preface -- 7
List of Illustrations
Chapter I--California and New Mexico -- 19
Chapter Ii--Colonization and Religion -- 27
Chapter III--General History of Missions -- 38
Chapter IV--Pueblo Revolution and the Re-Conquest -- 51
Chapter V--Churches in Santa Fe -- 66
Chapter VI--The Cathedral of St. Francis -- 72
Chapter VII--Church of San Miguel -- 86
Chapter VIII--The Rosario Chapel -- 104
Chapter IX--Church of Our Lady of Gua-Dalup -- 117
Chapter X--Church of Our Lady of Light--The Castrense -- 126
Chapter XI--Pueblo of Cochití -- 134
Chapter XII--Santo Domingo -- 150
Chapter XIII--San Felipe, Santa Ana, and Zia -- 163
Chapter XIV--Jemez -- 179
Chapter XV--Sandía -- 186
Chapter XVI--Isleta -- 190
Chapter XVII--Laguna -- 202
Chapter XVIII--Acoma -- The City of the Sky -- 214
Chapter XIX--Zuni -- 226
Chapter XX--Albuquerque -- 235
Chapter XXI--Taos --245
Chapter XXII--Picuris -- 263
Chapter XXIII--The Tehua Pueblos -- 271
Chapter XXIV--San Juan -- 283
Chapter XXV--Santa Clara -- 292
Chapter XXVI--Nambe -- 298
Chapter XXVII--Santa Cruz -- 305
Chapter XXVIII--The Santuario of Chimayo -- 315
Chapter XXIX--Pecos -- 322
Chapter XXX--The Salinas Pueblos -- 333
Chapter XXXI--Abo -- 342
Chapter XXXII--Cuara -- 349
Chapter XXXIII--Tabira -- The Gran Quivira -- 355
Chapter XXXIV--The Penitentes -- 363

The idea of writing a book on the Spanish Mission Churches of New Mexico is far from new. For many years I have had in mind such a publication, which should embody something of their history, with descriptions of those still standing and of the ruins of those which ended their course of usefulness generations ago, together with as full a collection of pictures both of exteriors and interiors as it is possible to obtain.

Books almost without number have been written on the Mission Churches of California; they have been pictured hundreds of times in pamphlets and magazines, and there seems to be an unfailing interest in their quaint architecture and the story of their establishment; but outside of the boundaries of New Mexico, practically nothing is known of the far more interesting structures that render the Sunshine State the paradise of the tourist, the antiquarian, and the religious enthusiast.

The elements which unite to make the Missions of New Mexico of much more real interest than those of California, will be treated of in the body of this work, and require only this brief reference here. Both in antiquity and variety, the former have a very great advantage.

That which has finally made the long conceived

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idea take tangible form in this volume is the rapid destruction of these monuments to missionary zeal.

Within the last quarter of a century many of the most interesting have disappeared, from natural causes or the hand of man. In Santa Fe itself, the old parish church of San Francisco, which served as a cathedral when a resident bishop was first provided for New Mexico, has given place to the new cathedral, which is a stately and beautiful building, but without any flavor of antiquity; and the old Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe, so quaint in its form and its adornments, has been modernized into an ordinary structure with a wooden steeple, that reminds one of New England instead of New Mexico. The old church at Fernandez de Taos, so noticeable for its massive buttresses which apparently would have stood for centuries, has been replaced by a modern building, no doubt more beautiful and more commodious, but which has taken away the precious associations with the heroic past; and San Juan, where the Christian faith was first proclaimed to the Pueblo Indians, has had a similar experience. Here the venerable parish priest, one of the earliest recruits brought from France by Bishop Lamy, has devoted not only his entire life, but also his ample means, to the people he loves so well; and caring more for their comfort than for matters of sentiment, first remodeled the ancient structure so as to be almost unrecognizable, and has since erected an entirely new edifice, of which he may be justly proud, but which to the lover of antiquity can scarcely compensate

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for the loss of the old church in which so many generations had worshiped. Then almost simultaneously, two of the oldest missions, those of Santa Clara and Nambe, succumbed to the combined attacks of modern improvements and cloud-bursts; as the new shingle roofs, substituted for the fiat roofs of the older times, did not protect the adobe walls from the rainfall; and soon the massive structures which had stood for centuries, melted down into vast pyramids of mud. Meanwhile the great church at Santo Domingo, the home of many a grand festival, after many years of care and labor on the part of the Indians of the pueblo, in the endeavor to prevent the gradual approach of the river and the eating away of its foundations, found a grave in the rapid waters of the Rio Grande.

Thus seven of the most important of the old religious landmarks disappeared in less than a generation, and it was evident that if the memorial of the ancient missions was ever to be written, or even their pictures preserved, it must be done at once. The collection of these pictures has been a labor of love, but one requiring patience and perseverance. Of some of those that had perished or been materially changed by vandal or modernizing hands, it seemed almost impossible to obtain a correct representation. The final success, however, is found between the covers of this volume.

I wish to thank most heartily those who have assisted in thus preserving the exact appearance of the Old Missions for the readers of the Present and the

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Future. While many have lent their aid, I must particularize Hon. Arthur Seligman, of Santa Fe who has a remarkable collection, Dr. J. P. Martin, of Taos, Col. R. E. Twitchell and Mr. Craycraft, of Santa Feaute;, Mrs. Chavarria, of Denver, Hon. Amado Chaves, Miss Rose M. Harsh, and Mr. William R. Walton, of Albuquerque, and Mr. John W. Corbett, of Mountainair, all of whom assisted most kindly in the work. The result is an almost perfect set of the Missions of New Mexico, and any omission we hope to be able to fill, in time for a subsequent edition.

While at first it was intended to include only the churches which strictly came under the head of Missions, yet it was plain that this would leave aside a number of the most interesting of our churches. None of the churches in Santa Fe, for instance, unless possibly "Old San Miguel," was technically a mission church. Neither Albuquerque nor Santa Cruz was ever a mission, nor was the Santuario at Chimayo; nor could the parish church at Taos be included under that name. Yet all of these are interesting in their architecture and more interesting in their history; and the differences between a parish church and a mission have long since ceased to be practical.

It was decided therefore to include all of the old Spanish churches of interest; and a chapter is added on the Penitentes, in order to include among the illustrations, pictures of the Moradas in which this peculiar religious society holds its meetings.

That the stories of burning zeal for the conversion

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of the heathen may enkindle like enthusiasm in our own day, and that patriotic organizations like "The Society for the Preservation of Spanish Antiquities" may prevent any further losses by natural disintegration or wanton destruction or ignorant modernizing or "restoration," among the priceless monuments of the founders of New Mexico, is the sincere hope of THE AUTHOR

Santa Fe, June 30, 1915

ILLUSTRATIONS [not included in WebRoots online edition]

Church Of Tome -- frontispiece
Old Cathedral of St. Francis -- 74
Street Altar, Santa Fe -- 83
Church of San Miguel, Santa Fe, before 1872 -- 92
Church of San Miguel, Santa Fe, 1872 to 1888 -- 94
Church of San Miguel, Santa Fe, Since 1888 -- 95
Church of San Miguel, Showing Gallery and Carved Viga -- 98
Church of San Miguel, Inferior, Showing Altar -- 99
The Ancient Bell of San Miguel -- 101
The Rosario Chapel, Santa Fe -- 106
Procession of Our Lady of Victory, Santa Fe -- 112
Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Santa Fe -- 120
Church at Cochití, Front View -- 135
Church and Campo Santo at Cochití -- 144
Door of Old Church at Santo Domingo -- 158
Church of Pueblo of San Felipe -- 164
Ruins of Old Church on Mesa, San Felipe -- 168
Mission Church at Santa Ana -- 174
Ruins of the Jemez Mission -- 180
Mission Church at Isleta -- 194
Mission Church at Laguna, Showing Convento -- 204
Mission Church at Laguna, Front View -- 207
Mission Church and Convent0, Laguna -- 210
The Old Mission at Acoma -- 216
Old Mission Church at Acoma -- Interior -- 223
Ruined Church at Zuni--Exterior -- 228
Ruined Church at Zuni--Interior -- 232
Church of San Felipe, Old Albuquerque -- 238
Church of San Felipe, Old Albuquerque -- 242
Ruins of Church, Taos Pueblo -- 254
Old Parish Church of Taos -- 256
Church at Arroyo Hondo, Taos County -- 258
The Church of Ranchos De Taos -- 260
Mission Church of Pueblo of Picuris -- 266
Mission Church, Las Trampas, Rio Arriba County -- 272
Indian Festival at San Ildefonso -- 276
Mission Church at Tesuque -- 280
The Old Church of San Juan -- 286
Carved Viga from Old Church at San Juan -- 288
Statue of Our Lady of Lourdes, San Juan -- 289
Old Mission Church of Santa Clara -- 294
Door of Old Church at Santa Clara -- 296
Mission Church at Nambe -- 302
The Great Church at Santa Cruz -- 308
Church of Santa Cruz--Interior -- 312
The Santuario, Chimayo -- 318
Interior of Santuario, Chimayo -- 319
Old Mission Church And Ruins, Pecos -- 326
"Our Lady of Light," from Pecos Church -- 330
Part of Old Pecos Church, 1880 -- 335
Tabira or Gran Quivira Wall -- 338
An Ancient Torreon -- 340
Ruins of Mission at Abo -- 345
Cuara--Ruins of Mission Church -- 348
Another View of Cuara Ruins -- 352
Cuara--Massive Stone Walls of Mission Church -- 353
Gran Quivira--Ruins of Ancient Church -- 356
Gran Quivira--Ruins of Part of Ancient Church -- 358
Another View of Gran Quivira Ruins -- 360
Morada of Penitentes at Taos -- 364
Ruins of Stone Morada, Angostura -- 368
Wayside Cross and Descanso, near Espanola -- 372