About Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine & Parish · Mesilla Park, New Mexico
Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine & Parish, sited in the historic Tortugas community of Mesilla Park, New Mexico, is the spiritual heart of a centuries-old Indo-Hispanic settlement just southwest of Las Cruces. The parish serves the descendants of the Piro, Manso, and Tiwa peoples who trace their roots to the Mission Indians of the El Paso Valley, and is staffed by Conventual Franciscan friars (Order of Friars Minor Conventual). Its adobe church, begun in 1909 and completed in 1914, anchors the National Register-listed Tortugas Pueblo Fiesta of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a three-day December 10–12 celebration that weaves Indigenous matachines dances with Catholic veneration of the Virgin of Guadalupe and culminates in a four-mile pilgrimage up Tortugas Mountain. Weekend Masses are offered in both English and Spanish, and the parish runs the official annual pilgrimage and fiesta of southern New Mexico.
- Established
- 1852 (community settled); 1914 (parish church completed)
- Patron
- Our Lady of Guadalupe (Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe)
- Rector
- Fr. Valentine Jankowski, O.F.M. Conv.
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces
Why belong here
Our Lady of Guadalupe is more than a Sunday church: it is a living Indo-Hispanic community whose three-day Fiesta of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 10–12 is recognized on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places for its cultural and religious significance. Worshippers are drawn by the bilingual (English/Spanish) Mass schedule, the matachines dances that knit Indigenous and Catholic traditions together, the ancient four-mile December pilgrimage up Tortugas Mountain, and the warm Conventual Franciscan pastoral care. It is also a working parish — daily morning Mass, Saturday confessions, religious education, and ongoing outreach — in a small adobe pueblo community tucked just southwest of Las Cruces.
Mass times at Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine & Parish
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 11:00 a.m.
- Saturday 4:30–5:15 p.m.
- Or by appointment
Welcome & About the Parish
Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine & Parish is the spiritual and cultural heart of Tortugas, a centuries-old Indo-Hispanic village on the southwest edge of Las Cruces, New Mexico. The parish and shrine are cared for by Conventual Franciscan friars of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual (O.F.M. Conv.), and the community is bilingual, celebrating the Eucharist in both English and Spanish. The mailing address is P.O. Box 298, Mesilla Park, NM 88047; the church sits at 3600 Parroquia Street.
- Liturgical Rite: Roman (Latin)
- Languages: English and Spanish
- Type: Catholic Parish & Shrine
- Diocese: Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces
- Served by: Conventual Franciscans (O.F.M. Conv.)
- Pastor: Fr. Valentine Jankowski, O.F.M. Conv.
- Parish Secretary: Kathy Paz
- Director of Religious Education: Margie Graham
Parish Office & Contact
Parish office hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The office is staffed by Secretary Kathy Paz, with religious education coordinated by Margie Graham, DRE.
- Office: 575-526-8171
- Fax: 575-523-1175
- Friary (after hours/emergencies): 575-652-3603
- Email: [email protected]
- Address: 3600 Parroquia St., Mesilla Park, NM 88047 (Mailing: P.O. Box 298, Mesilla Park, NM 88047)
History of the Parish
The Tortugas community was established in 1852 just south of Las Cruces by Mexican and Native American families from El Paso who worked the farms of Mesilla Park. The first documented land grant in the village was surveyed by Antonio Torres in 1854. By the late 1800s the pueblo comprised two historic settlements — the older village of San Juan and, adjoining it, the village of Guadalupe. December dances and devotions honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe were held as early as 1885 in front of Saint Genevieve's Catholic Church on South Espina Street in Las Cruces until Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish Church in Tortugas was begun in 1909 and completed in 1914. The congregation incorporated in 1914 as Los Indígenes de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Corporation after the U.S. Government deeded forty acres to the Town of Guadalupe in 1908. Today the entire cultural landscape — seven religious buildings, three outdoor shrines, and the public ceremonial spaces of the annual fiesta — is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places as a Traditional Cultural Property.
- 1852 — Tortugas community founded by Mexican and Native American families from El Paso
- 1854 — Antonio Torres documents community landholdings
- 1885 — Earliest recorded Guadalupe dances at St. Genevieve's, Las Cruces
- 1908 — U.S. Government deeds 40 acres to the Town of Guadalupe
- 1909–1914 — Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish Church constructed in adobe
- 1914 — Parish church completed; Los Indígenes de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Corporation incorporated
- 20th c. — La Capilla, Casa del Pueblo, Casa de la Comida and Casa de Descanso built; corner tower replaced by central Gothic tower
- c. 2000 — Grotto of Our Lady of Guadalupe built adjacent to La Capilla
- Listed on U.S. National Register of Historic Places as the Tortugas Pueblo Fiesta of Our Lady of Guadalupe Traditional Cultural Property
The Fiesta of Our Lady of Guadalupe (December 10–12)
The annual Fiesta of Our Lady of Guadalupe is the parish's signature celebration and the reason Tortugas is recognized as a shrine. From its first observance in 1910 the three-day event has woven Indigenous matachines dancing with Catholic veneration of the Virgin of Guadalupe in her 1531 apparition to St. Juan Diego on Tepeyac Hill. The fiesta now welcomes hundreds of pilgrims from across southern New Mexico and the nation, and is the principal vehicle of the community's cultural and religious identity.
- Day 1 (Dec. 10) — Mayordomos process the anda from La Capilla to the Casa del Pueblo, where a velorio (wake) is kept all night with Rosary interwoven with matachine dancing.
- Day 2 (Dec. 11) — Four-mile pilgrimage from the parish church up to the summit of Tortugas Mountain (4,931 ft), passing under I-10 and I-25; mass at the summit before returning to the Casa del Pueblo for the Ceremony of Los Abuelos.
- Day 3 (Dec. 12) — Great community feast at the Casa de la Comida, prepared all day on December 11; Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
- The anda remains at the Casa del Pueblo until January 1, when it is returned to La Capilla for the rest of the year.
The Danzantes (Matachines) & La Capilla
Inside the fiesta the Danzantes — matachine dancers of Catholic Indo-Hispanic heritage — keep the velorio alive throughout the night of December 10, dancing the same steps their ancestors danced in front of St. Genevieve's in 1885 and at this church since 1910. La Capilla is the small adobe chapel that houses the anda (carried image) of Our Lady of Guadalupe from January 1 until the eve of each fiesta; its west wall is adorned with milagros, crucifixes, and rosary beads from past fiestas, and the adjacent Grotto of Our Lady of Guadalupe (c. 2000) provides an open-air devotional altar with bench seating.
- Danzantes (matachines): Catholic-heritage dance troupe
- Indios: indigenous community rooted in Ysleta del Sur
- La Capilla: small adobe chapel housing the anda
- Grotto of Our Lady of Guadalupe: c. 2000 open-air devotional shrine
The Pilgrimage Route up Tortugas Mountain
The four-mile pilgrimage route from Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish Church to the summit of Tortugas Mountain follows Stern Drive, the sandy Tortugas Arroyo, Wells Street, and Geothermal Drive, passing under Interstates 10 and 25 and threading between the Bend Colony subdivision and the NMSU golf course. At the base of the mountain, three trails climb the west face; the unpaved Observatory Road is used to drive supplies and the elderly or infirm to the top. The summit features a concrete-and-stone nicho bearing the Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a stone altar, and scores of family hearths and shrines. Although this route is not within the National Register boundary (because of one owner's objection), the ceremonies that begin and end the pilgrimage are held inside the listed pueblo.
- Length: ~4 miles, road and trail
- Mountain elevation: 4,931 ft
- Summit shrine: stone-and-concrete nicho of Our Lady of Guadalupe + family shrines
Sacraments & Faith Formation
Beyond Sunday Mass the parish celebrates the full sacramental life of a Roman Catholic community. Reconciliation is offered Saturday mornings and late afternoons (and by appointment), and Baptisms, Marriages, Anointing of the Sick, and religious-education preparation for First Communion and Confirmation are scheduled through the parish office. Margie Graham serves as Director of Religious Education.
- Reconciliation: Saturday 11:00 a.m. and 4:30–5:15 p.m., or by appointment
- Baptism, Marriage, Anointing of the Sick: by arrangement through the parish office
- Director of Religious Education: Margie Graham
Architecture, Buildings & Shrines of the Pueblo
The five core blocks of central Tortugas — bounded by Emilia Road, East Guadalupe Street, Juan Diego Avenue, and Stern Drive — contain seven religious buildings, three shrines, and open ceremonial spaces, all of which contribute to the National Register–listed Tortugas Pueblo Fiesta of Our Lady of Guadalupe Traditional Cultural Property.
- Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish Church (1909–1914): long rectangular adobe nave with Gothic windows, buttresses, and a central tower of three graduated tiers of Gothic arches
- La Capilla (c. 1920s): small adobe chapel housing the anda; walls adorned with milagros
- Casa del Pueblo (c. 1920): flat-roofed adobe dance hall with bancos lining the walls and a wood-plank and viga ceiling
- Casa de la Comida: site of the great December 12 community feast
- Casa de Descanso (c. 1920): originally a rest space for the Danzantes; now stores equipment and supplies for the fiesta
- Grotto of Our Lady of Guadalupe (c. 2000): open-air masonry devotional shrine adjacent to La Capilla
- Two other religious buildings and additional outdoor shrines within the five-block core
Community Outreach & Charities
The parish is networked with the wider Las Cruces-area Catholic charities. It is listed with Share New Mexico as a utility-assistance referral point for residents of Doña Ana County and shares in the diocese's outreach to the Mesilla Valley. Bingo and other parish fundraisers support ongoing operations and the annual fiesta.
- Utility assistance referrals for Dona Ana County residents (Share NM)
- Parish office: 575-526-8171
- Diocese of Las Cruces: http://www.dioceseoflascruces.org/