About Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission · Los Chavez, New Mexico
Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission (Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe) is a small mission church serving the community of Los Chavez, New Mexico, in Valencia County. It is one of four mission chapels operated by the Parish of Our Lady of Belen (the others being San Francisco Xavier in Jarales, San Isidro in Pueblitos, and Cristo Rey in Bosque), and it falls under the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santa Fe. The mission is located at 4 Guadalupe Road in Los Chavez and is part of the deeply rooted Hispanic Catholic tradition of the Middle Rio Grande Valley, a region settled along Spanish land grants dating to the 18th century. Worship at the mission is celebrated in the context of the wider Our Lady of Belen parish, which provides sacramental care, faith formation, and pastoral ministry to all four mission communities.
- Patron
- Our Lady of Guadalupe (Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe)
- Rector
- Very Reverend John Kimani (Pastor of Our Lady of Belen Parish, which administers the mission)
- Diocese
- Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santa Fe
Why belong here
Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission brings the sacraments and the Mass to the families of Los Chavez right in their own village, without the drive into Belen. As part of Our Lady of Belen Parish it shares in the wider parish's priests, deacons, faith-formation program, and sacramental life, while still preserving the close-knit, village-scale Catholic community that the older Hispanic settlements of the Río Grande Valley are known for. If you live in Los Chavez and want to worship in your own neighborhood chapel under the patronage of Our Lady of Guadalupe — and be connected to a larger parish family for baptisms, marriages, religious education, and the rest — this mission is the natural place to call home.
Mass times at Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Confessions are heard at the mother church (Our Lady of Belen, 101-A N. 10th St., Belen) on Saturdays from 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm, and on Fridays from 5:30 pm to 6:00 pm by appointment.
Adoration times
- Perpetual Adoration is available at the mother church, Our Lady of Belen (parish website).
Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission at a Glance
Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission (Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe) is the Catholic chapel serving the village of Los Chavez, New Mexico, in Valencia County. It is operated as a mission of the Parish of Our Lady of Belen, whose mother church stands in Belen, and it belongs to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santa Fe. The mission's address is 4 Guadalupe Road, Los Chavez, NM 87002, and pastoral care is provided through the parish office at (505) 864-8043.
- Patron: Our Lady of Guadalupe (feast day December 12)
- Diocese: Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santa Fe
- Parent parish: Our Lady of Belen, 101-A N. 10th St., Belen, NM 87002
- Mass: 6:00 PM on the 2nd Saturday of each month (and on any 5th Saturday)
Los Chavez and the Catholic Tradition
The settlement of Los Chávez was established on the west bank of the Río Grande in 1738 through a land grant from Atrisco to Nicolás Durán y Chávez, and by 1790 it had grown to six plazas. This Spanish-colonial heritage — tied to the broader Valencia County mission frontier — is the soil in which the local devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe took root, alongside the older Rio Abajo Hispanic Catholic communities of Belen, Jarales, Tomé, and Bosque.
- 1738: Land grant from Atrisco to Nicolás Durán y Chávez
- 1790: Los Chávez documented as six plazas
- 19th century: Catholic chapel under the patronage of Our Lady of Guadalupe serves the local plazas
Sacramental Life
Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation, Marriage, the Anointing of the Sick, and the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults are all coordinated through the Parish of Our Lady of Belen, which serves Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission along with the other three mission chapels. Parishioners of Los Chavez register with the parish office and receive preparation classes at the parish level.
- Baptism — preparation through the parish office
- Marriage — couples meet with a priest or deacon for preparation
- RCIA — adult initiation for those entering the Church
- Religious Education — parish-wide, with an Assistant Director of Religious Education who is one of the parish deacons
Parish Staff
Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission shares the pastoral team of the Parish of Our Lady of Belen. The pastor and parochial vicar travel to the four mission chapels, and four parish deacons assist with liturgy, faith formation, and outreach. The parish also maintains a Business Manager, Bookkeeper, Cemetery Manager, Parish Secretary / Bulletin Editor, Receptionist, Director of Religious Education, maintenance, and housekeeping staff.
- Very Reverend John Kimani — Pastor
- Father Albert Mutebi Ssekabembe — Parochial Vicar
- Deacon Manuel Trujillo
- Deacon Jerry Baca
- Deacon John Chavez
- Deacon Arthur Trujillo — Assistant Director of Religious Education
The Four Missions of Our Lady of Belen Parish
Our Lady of Belen Parish is a multi-site parish that includes the mother church in Belen and four historic mission chapels in the surrounding villages. Weekend Mass is celebrated at each of the four mission chapels on a rotating basis, so that every mission community receives the Eucharist at least once a month.
- San Francisco Xavier Mission — Jarales (1st Saturday, 6:00 pm)
- Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission — Los Chavez (2nd Saturday, 6:00 pm, and any 5th Saturday)
- San Isidro Mission — Pueblitos (3rd Saturday, 6:00 pm)
- Cristo Rey Mission — Bosque (4th Saturday, 6:00 pm)