Mt. Cristo Rey. Sunland Park, NM 2

Mt. Cristo Rey. Sunland Park, NM, History Standing atop the Sierra de Cristo Rey (Formerly known as the Cerro de los Muleros, Mule Drivers Mountain), in Sunland Park, New Mexico, the 29 ft. tall limestone statue of Christ serves as a shrine to thousands of faithful in the El Paso and Southern New Mexico area. Dedicated in 1940, this monument to Christ was the vision of Fr. Lourdes Costa, a local parish priest, who in 1933 after looking out the back window of his residence in the community of Smeltertown, envisioned erecting a monument at the summit of this glorious mountain. With no knowledge of who owned the mountain or whether it was located in Texas, New Mexico or Mexico, Fr. Costa and sixteen others made the arduous trek on October 28, 1933. In church the following day, Costa preached to the congregation sharing his vision of a cross on the mountaintop. Together, they pledged to erect a temporary wooden cross and to later replace it with a monumental one. Additionally, they promised to volunteer their time and efforts to make the mountain suitable for ascension. On October 31, Father Costa presented his idea to Bishop A.J. Schuler of El Paso, who approved.