About Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Mission · Ocate, New Mexico
Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe is a small Catholic mission church in the village of Ocate, Mora County, New Mexico, on the eastern slopes of the Sangre de Cristo mountains where the Rocky Mountains meet the high plains. It is one of four mission churches administered by Santa Clara Parish in nearby Wagon Mound, alongside Los Hueros, Los LeFebres, and Watrous. The well-maintained, whitewashed adobe building is the religious heart of this rural Hispano farming and ranching community whose roots go back to the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and Mass is celebrated monthly with the other missions served only on their respective feast days.
- Patron
- Our Lady of Guadalupe (Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe)
- Rector
- Rev. Agustin Henderson (also pastor of Holy Family–St. Joseph in Roy/Mosquero, appointed by the Archdiocese of Santa Fe effective January 14, 2025)
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe
Why belong here
Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe is the spiritual and social heart of Ocate, a small Hispano ranching and farming village that retains its historic adobe character. Worshippers who appreciate the quiet rhythm of rural New Mexican Catholic life — a monthly Mass in a centuries-old village, the rhythm of feast-day gatherings and processions, and a tight-knit community rooted in land, family, and Marian devotion — will find this mission a deeply authentic place. As one of only four churches served by Santa Clara Parish in Wagon Mound, it offers a rare connection to the long Hispano Catholic tradition of Mora County.
Mass times at Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Mission
Weekly Mass schedule
About Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Mission
Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe is a small adobe Catholic mission church in the village of Ocate, Mora County, New Mexico. It is administered as one of four mission churches by Santa Clara Parish in nearby Wagon Mound. The church is dedicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe, the beloved Marian patroness of Mexico and the Americas whose image is venerated across the Southwest.
History of Ocate and Its Church
The Ocate area was opened to Spanish settlement after the Comanche Peace of 1786, when families from Trampas, Embudo, and Picuris began moving into the Mora Valley. The Mora Land Grant was awarded in 1835. By the 1860s Ocate was an established Hispano plaza of farmers and ranchers. Catholic life was historically served by priests traveling from Wagon Mound, and the village's whitewashed adobe Our Lady of Guadalupe church became the religious and social heart of the community.
- Settlement of the Ocate area opened after the 1786 Comanche Peace
- Settlers came from the Rio Grande villages of Trampas, Embudo, and Picuris
- Mora Land Grant awarded in 1835
- Manuel LeFebre worked with Charles Bent and Manuel Alvarez in 1846 to formalize settlement of the Ocate Valley
- By 1860 the population of Ocate and Guadalupita was overwhelmingly native New Mexican
- Santa Clara Parish in Wagon Mound (established 1920) became the supervising parish
Parish Family — Santa Clara, Wagon Mound
Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe belongs to Santa Clara Parish, 805 Calhoun Avenue, Wagon Mound, NM 87752. Santa Clara was formally established in 1920 and supervises four mission churches across the surrounding Mora County ranch and farm country. Rev. Agustin Henderson was appointed pastor of Santa Clara (along with Holy Family–St. Joseph in Roy/Mosquero) by the Archdiocese of Santa Fe effective January 14, 2025.
- Parish: Santa Clara, Wagon Mound (est. 1920)
- Sister missions: Los Hueros, Los LeFebres, Watrous
- Only Ocate receives a monthly Mass; the other three missions are served only on their feast day (fiesta day)
- Deanery: Wagon Mound (Archdiocese of Santa Fe)
- Pastor: Rev. Agustin Henderson
Mass and Service Schedule
Mass is celebrated at Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe on the 2nd Saturday of each month at 3:00 PM (call to confirm). The three other Santa Clara mission churches — Los Hueros, Los LeFebres, and Watrous — receive Mass only on their individual feast day, with the schedule arranged through the parish. Visitors should call Santa Clara Parish at (575) 666-2478 to confirm before traveling.
- Mass: Saturday, 3:00 PM, 2nd Saturday of the month
- Phone: (575) 666-2478 (Santa Clara Parish, Wagon Mound)
- Address: NM-120, NW of NM-442, Ocate, NM 87734
Architecture and Setting
The mission is a well-maintained, whitewashed adobe church in the traditional Hispano New Mexican mission style, with thick earthen walls and a simple rectangular plan. It stands about a quarter-mile southwest of the junction of NM 422 and NM 120 in the village of Ocate, on the eastern slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains where the Rockies meet the plains. Like many rural mission churches in the area, it is described as having no running water or electricity and is lit and warmed simply during worship.
- Style: traditional New Mexican vernacular adobe mission
- Walls: whitewashed adobe
- Setting: village of Ocate, Mora County, NM
- Geographic context: eastern slope of the Sangre de Cristo mountains
Visiting and Community Life
Ocate is a quiet Hispano ranching and farming village. The mission is best visited during the monthly Saturday Mass or on the December 12 Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, when the community gathers for Mass and traditional celebration. Because schedules for rural missions change, visitors are encouraged to call Santa Clara Parish at (575) 666-2478 before traveling.
- Best times to visit: monthly Saturday Mass or the December 12 feast day
- Call Santa Clara Parish to confirm the current schedule
- Quiet rural setting — respect local privacy
Feast Day and Devotion
The mission is dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Virgin of Tepeyac whose apparition to St. Juan Diego in 1531 is the most beloved Marian devotion in Mexico and the American Southwest. The parish family of Santa Clara celebrates the December 12 feast with Mass and traditional Hispano gathering; Ocate is the only one of the four Santa Clara missions that receives a regular monthly Mass, making it a stable anchor of devotion between feast days.
- Patron: Our Lady of Guadalupe
- Feast day: December 12
- Devotion central to Hispano Catholic life in the Mora Valley