About Our Lady of Sorrows Mission · Willard, New Mexico
Our Lady of Sorrows is a small historic Catholic mission church in the village of Willard, New Mexico, in the Manzano Mountains area of Torrance County. It is one of five mission churches served by St. Alice Parish in neighboring Mountainair, within the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. The mission church stands at 909 North Becker Avenue and is celebrated locally for its commissioned hand-carved cedar-wood statue of Our Lady of Sorrows, brought from Sevilla, Spain. Mass is celebrated there on Thursdays at 10:00 a.m. and on alternating Saturdays, drawing a faithful community from Willard and the surrounding rural countryside.
- Established
- 1912
- Patron
- Our Lady of Sorrows (Nuestra Señora de los Dolores)
- Rector
- Rev. Fr. Jordan Sánchez
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Santa Fe (Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santa Fe)
Why belong here
Our Lady of Sorrows offers a rare gem in New Mexico Catholic life — an intimate, historic rural mission with a hand-carved Spanish cedar statue of the Sorrowful Mother, surrounded by the quiet of the Manzano foothills. Belonging here means joining a tight-knit community that gathers Thursday mornings and on alternating Saturdays for the Eucharist, with confession offered before Mass. It is one of five mission communities served by St. Alice Parish in Mountainair, so parishioners also benefit from the broader parish's faith formation, St. Vincent de Paul outreach, Knights of Columbus and Catholic Daughters activities, and vocations support from the Archdiocese of Santa Fe.
Mass times at Our Lady of Sorrows Mission
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 3:30 PM – 4:00 PM, when Mass is celebrated in Willard
- Confessions are heard before every Holy Mass at the parish
Our Lady of Sorrows Mission
Our Lady of Sorrows is a historic Catholic mission church serving the small village of Willard, New Mexico, in the foothills of the Manzano Mountains. It is one of five mission communities of St. Alice Parish in neighboring Mountainair and is part of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. The mission stands at the corner of Becker Avenue and 10th Street and is known locally for a commissioned hand-carved cedar statue of the Sorrowful Mother brought from Sevilla, Spain.
History
The church was built between 1912 and 1915 under the direction of its founding pastor, Rev. Julius Hartmann, as confirmed by Father Hartmann's gravestone on the church grounds. Father Hartmann was a German-born priest (Dingelstädt, 1885) who had been chaplain of the 1910 New Mexico Constitutional Convention before being assigned as the first pastor of Willard in 1912. He went on to serve across the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and famously composed the song "47th Star" performed at New Mexico's statehood inaugural. Today Our Lady of Sorrows continues as a mission of St. Alice Parish, Mountainair.
- 1912 – Rev. Julius Hartmann assigned as founding pastor of the new Willard parish
- 1912–1915 – Church built under Hartmann's direction
- Hartmann later chaplain of St. Anthony's Orphanage, Albuquerque; pastor in Socorro, Isleta, St. Charles Borromeo (Albuquerque), Cristo Rey (Santa Fe)
- Died 1970; buried on the church grounds
The Our Lady of Sorrows Statue
The parish commissioned a breathtaking hand-carved cedar-wood statue of Our Lady of Sorrows from Sevilla, Spain, for its historic Willard mission church. The parish modestly describes it as 'the most beautiful statue in all of New Mexico.' The statue is a centerpiece of the mission's devotional life and identity, tying the small rural community to centuries of Spanish Marian tradition.
Parish Staff (St. Alice Parish & Missions)
Our Lady of Sorrows is served by the clergy and staff of St. Alice Parish in Mountainair. Fr. Jordan Sánchez is the current pastor. Fr. Jose Lucero offers spiritual direction and guided personal retreats for parishioners of the missions.
- Rev. Fr. Jordan Sánchez — Pastor ([email protected])
- Rev. Fr. Jose Lucero — Spiritual Director & Retreat Director
- Lugie Garcia — Secretary
- Charles O'Donnell — Finance Council Chair
- Lindsey Benjamin — Director of Religious Education ([email protected])
- Ramona Medina — President, St. Vincent de Paul Society
Ministries and Organizations
Parishioners of the Willard mission participate in the broader ministries of St. Alice Parish. The St. Vincent de Paul Society runs the parish thrift store and has issued an urgent appeal for three volunteers to help keep it open. The Knights of Columbus and Catholic Daughters of the Americas have active councils, and there is a faith-formation program for children and youth directed by the DRE.
- St. Vincent de Paul Society (thrift store; volunteer coordinator Ramona Medina)
- Knights of Columbus — parish council
- Catholic Daughters of the Americas — parish court
- Religious Education / Catechism / Confirmation classes
- Faith Formation (Lindsey Benjamin, DRE)
- La Sociedad De San Jose of Torreon — offers two $300 scholarships annually to graduating senior members of St. Alice Parish (deadline May 15)
- Archdiocese of Santa Fe Vocations discernment support — recently hosting Mr. Morgan Bleth on priestly discernment
Sacraments
The mission offers the Eucharist and Confession on the schedule above. For all other sacraments — Baptism, Marriage, Anointing of the Sick, and emergency sacramental needs — parishioners contact the parish office at St. Alice in Mountainair.
- Holy Mass — see Mass times
- Confession — before Mass; Saturday 3:30–4:00 p.m. when Mass is in Willard
- Emergency Sacramental Need line: 505-226-2786
- Baptism, Marriage, Anointing — contact parish office
Visit and Contact
Our Lady of Sorrows Mission is located at 909 North Becker Avenue in Willard, NM 87063, on the corner of 10th Street — 13 miles northeast of Mountainair on U.S. Highway 60. All administrative needs are handled through the St. Alice Parish office in Mountainair, open Monday–Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (closed 1:00–1:30 p.m. for lunch).
- Address: 909 North Becker Avenue, Willard, NM 87063
- Parish Office (Mountainair): 301 South Roosevelt Ave., P.O. Box 206, Mountainair, NM 87036
- Phone: (505) 847-2291 (office) / (505) 226-2786 (emergency sacraments)
- Email: [email protected]
- Pastor email: [email protected]
- Office hours: Mon–Thu, 9:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. (closed 1:00–1:30 p.m.)
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Julius Hartmann1912 – c.1915+
Founding pastor; church built under his direction 1912–1915. Ordained 1908; previously chaplain of the 1910 NM Constitutional Convention; later chaplain at St. Anthony's Orphanage in Albuquerque and pastor at several parishes in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. Died 1970.