Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe Church and Cathedral

The mission was founded by Fray Garcia de San Francisco. He came from Spain to the New World in 1629 and established the mission in 1659, among the Manso Indians at the Pass of the North, a strategic location along the trade route El Camino Real. Three years later, a new church replaced the provisional oratory and 100 natives were baptized that day. After 12 years at the Pass, Fray Garcia returned to minister among the Piro Indians of Senecu Mission, near modern Socorro, New Mexico, until his death on January 22, 1673. Our Lady of Guadalupe is the oldest mission in the Mission Valley. To the travelers along the Camino Real it was an important stop for food and rest. During the 1680 Pueblo Revolt in New Mexico, over 2500 Spanish refugees and displaced Indians received food and shelter at the mission. Until 1692, the pass of the North was the most northern outpost in colonial Spain in the New World. The mission is solely constructed of adobe. Its architecture is marked by Spanish and Indian elements. It was restored several times.

Area: Out of Area / Ciudad Juarez

Uploaded by: El Paso Museum of History