San Elizario Mission
San Elizario Mission
San Elceario Parish is located in the Mission Valley on El Paso's Historic Mission Trail and is a designated Texas historic site. The chapel of San Elizario, founded in 1789, is an outstanding example of late adobe church architecture of the Spanish colonial period and today is the centerpiece of the town plaza in San Elizario. The community was originally part of the Camino Real de la Tierra Andentro that the Spanish used to travel between Mexico City and the New Mexico colonies. In 1581, three Franciscans led by Friar Agustin Rodriguez initiated an expedition to the north “to enter those new lands to preach the Gospel to the Indians,” arriving in the San Elizario area in July.
