About Kirtland Air Force Base (Our Lady of the Sandias) · Albuquerque, New Mexico
Our Lady of the Sandias Catholic Community is the Roman Catholic congregation serving Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is one of two main worshipping communities (alongside a Protestant congregation) operating out of the Kirtland AFB Chapel ministries, and it cares for the spiritual needs of the 377th Air Base Wing, its more than 100 mission partners, and the military families of Team Kirtland. The community celebrates Sunday Mass at the Base Chapel and offers weekday Masses at the smaller Kirtland Chapel, with the parish also providing sacraments, religious education, and retreats. As a military installation parish it is canonically affiliated with the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, while sitting geographically within the territory of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe.
- Patron
- Our Lady of the Sandias (a Marian title honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary in relation to the Sandia Mountains near Albuquerque)
- Rector
- Fr. Jerry Mueller (Catholic Priest)
- Diocese
- Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (geographically within the Archdiocese of Santa Fe)
Why belong here
Our Lady of the Sandias offers Catholic military families, service members, and base employees a welcoming worship home on Kirtland AFB, with a Sunday Mass at the Base Chapel and three weekday Masses (Tuesday, Thursday, Friday) at the Kirtland Chapel. The chapel team provides 100% confidential counseling, religious education for children and youth, the full range of Catholic sacraments (baptism, First Communion, confirmation, weddings, funerals and memorial services), and pre-deployment and family retreats. It is a place built around the rhythms of military life — supportive during deployments, transitions, and crisis — and openly invites anyone with base access to join the community.
Mass times at Kirtland Air Force Base (Our Lady of the Sandias)
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 4:00 PM (per Kirtland AFB base directory listing)
About Our Lady of the Sandias Catholic Community
Our Lady of the Sandias is the Catholic worshipping community of Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is one of two main faith communities served by the Kirtland AFB Chaplain Corps (the other being the Protestant community), and it cares for service members, dependents, civilian employees, and retirees connected to the 377th Air Base Wing and Team Kirtland's mission partners. The parish takes its name from the Sandia Mountains, which rise to the east of the base, invoking the Blessed Virgin Mary as patroness of the land beneath the Sandias. It is canonically a military parish under the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, while situated in the territory of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe.
- Parish name honors the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title 'Our Lady of the Sandias'
- Geographically located in Albuquerque, NM; canonically under the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA
- Open to anyone with base access
Clergy and Chapel Staff
The Catholic community is served by a Catholic priest on the Kirtland Chaplain Corps team. The current published chapel roster names Fr. Jerry Mueller as the Catholic Priest, alongside the Wing Chaplain and Protestant clergy who support the broader chapel program. Pastoral care from the duty chaplain is available 24/7 in a crisis.
- Fr. Jerry Mueller — Catholic Priest
- Ch, Lt Col Lisa Tice — Wing Chaplain (Reformed Church in America)
- Ch, Maj David Mansberger — Senior Protestant Chaplain
- Ch, Capt Robert Mueller — Chaplain (Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod)
- Ch, Capt Jeffrey Solheim — Chaplain (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America)
Sacraments and Religious Rites
The chapel offers the full range of Catholic rites and sacraments for those connected to the base community — from initiation sacraments for children and adults to marriage, funerals, and memorial services. Coordination goes through the chapel office at (505) 853-5000.
- Baptism
- First Communion
- Confirmation
- Marriage (Wedding)
- Funeral and memorial services
- Anointing of the Sick — available through the Duty Chaplain
Faith Formation and Religious Education
Religious education is offered to the Kirtland community through the chapel's Catholic and Protestant programs, preparing children and youth for the sacraments and supporting adult faith growth. Because the parish is small and military, schedules are typically tailored to the rhythms of base life and deployments.
- Catholic religious education for children
- Preparation for First Communion and Confirmation
- Adult faith formation
Family, Youth, and Pre-Deployment Ministries
The Chaplain Corps builds resiliency through dynamic marriage and family ministries, and runs youth, singles, and pre-deployment family retreats. These programs are a key part of how the Catholic and Protestant communities support military families before, during, and after deployments.
- Marriage and family ministries
- Youth retreats
- Singles ministry retreats
- Pre-deployment family retreats
Pastoral Counseling and Spiritual Care
The chapel team provides 100% confidential counseling, spiritual triage, and pastoral intervention for Airmen, dependents, and authorized civilians — regardless of religious or non-religious affiliation. Chaplains and chaplain assistants are stationed not only at the chapel but also in flightline units, the clinic, and near the Airmen dorms to ensure care is available where people are.
- 100% confidential pastoral counseling
- Spiritual triage and crisis intervention
- Flightline and Airmen dorm ministry
- 24/7 duty chaplain reachable through the 377th Command Post at (505) 846-3777
The Gravity Airman Ministry Center
Adjacent to the Airmen dormitories, the Gravity Airman Ministry Center at 1421 First St. serves as a hub of authentic community, character formation, and leadership development. It hosts a contemporary Protestant worship service on Sundays at 11:00 a.m. and is a key part of the Chaplain Corps' outreach to single Airmen living on base.
- Located at 1421 First St., near the Airmen dormitories
- Contemporary Protestant worship — Sundays 11:00 AM
- Community, character, and leadership formation for Airmen
Worship Locations on Base
Catholic worship on Kirtland AFB is split between two spaces: the larger Base Chapel, which hosts the Sunday 9:00 a.m. Mass, and the Kirtland Chapel (Building 20107 at 1950 Second St. SE), which hosts the Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday 11:30 a.m. weekday Masses. Both are within the same chapel complex on Second Street SE.
- Base Chapel — Sunday 9:00 AM Catholic Mass; 11:00 AM Protestant service
- Kirtland Chapel (Bldg. 20107, 1950 Second St. SE) — Tue/Thu/Fri 11:30 AM Mass
- All services open to anyone with base access
Contact and Visiting
The chapel's normal duty hours are 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and the front desk can be reached at (505) 853-5000. After hours, the duty chaplain is reachable through the 377th Command Post at (505) 846-3777. A recorded chapel info line is also available at (505) 853-1286 for current service times and special events.
- Chapel phone: (505) 853-5000
- Chapel info line (recorded): (505) 853-1286
- After-hours duty chaplain: (505) 846-3777 (377th Command Post)
- Email: [email protected]
- Duty hours: 7:30 AM – 4:30 PM