About Our Lady of Sorrows · Seboyeta, New Mexico
Our Lady of Sorrows (Nuestra Señora de los Dolores) is a historic Roman Catholic parish in the village of Seboyeta (also spelled Cebolleta), Cibola County, New Mexico, in the Diocese of Gallup. It serves the descendants of some of the earliest Spanish settlers west of the Río Grande and is one of the oldest continuously used Catholic churches in northwestern New Mexico. The parish is part of the Cibola Vicariate and shares pastoral ministry with the mission church of Our Lady of Light in Cubero, NM.
- Established
- 1820 (present adobe church); parish erected 1864; re-dedicated 1973
- Patron
- Our Lady of Sorrows (Nuestra Señora de los Dolores)
- Rector
- Fr. Augustine Mathew (Parochial Administrator)
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup (Cibola Vicariate)
Why belong here
Our Lady of Sorrows is the spiritual heart of one of New Mexico's oldest Hispanic villages — a living adobe church whose congregation includes direct descendants of the original 1800 Spanish settlers. Mass is celebrated twice a month in a deeply rooted community that still gathers for its January 7th parish fiesta, an evening Vespers, and an outdoor procession of the hand-carved wooden statue of Our Lady of Sorrows around the church. For those who worship in the Cebolleta canyon on the flanks of Mt. Taylor, the parish offers a uniquely historic place where more than two centuries of faith and family come together.
Mass times at Our Lady of Sorrows
Weekly Mass schedule
History of Our Lady of Sorrows, Seboyeta
Seboyeta (Cebolleta) was the first Hispanic village settled west of the Río Grande. On January 23, 1800, Governor Fernando Chacón granted the Cebolleta land grant to about thirty settler families from Atrisco/Albuquerque; they took possession on March 16, 1800. During the five-day trek the colonists resolved to name their future church Nuestra Señora de los Dolores — Our Lady of Sorrows — and knelt in thanksgiving upon arrival. The present adobe church was completed in 1820, and the parish was formally erected in 1864. By 1879 the central parish had moved west to San Rafael, but Our Lady of Sorrows remained the spiritual heart of the canyon. The church has been rebuilt and repaired many times, most notably in 1985 when a pitched roof was added over an older flat roof to halt water damage to the adobe walls.
Seboyeta as Mission Headquarters
For the second half of the 19th century, Our Lady of Sorrows was the mission headquarters for a vast region of northern Arizona and New Mexico. Gallup-diocesan priests stationed at Seboyeta traveled as far west as Flagstaff to celebrate the sacraments for scattered Catholic families.
- Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Halona Mission (Zuni), 1858–1882 and 1894–1898
- San Estevan del Rey Mission at Acoma Pueblo, 1858–1884 and 1892–1900
- St. Joseph Chapel at Laguna Pueblo, 1858–1888
- Santa Rosalia mission at Moquino (now closed)
- Our Lady of Loretto mission at Bibo (now closed)
Seboyeta: The Mother Village
As relations with the Navajos improved and raiding subsided, Seboyeta became the Mother Village from which descendants and neighbors founded new Hispanic settlements across the region.
- San Mateo, 1862
- San Rafael, 1865
- El Concho, Arizona, 1869
Clergy and Parish Administration
The parish is currently led by Parochial Administrator Fr. Augustine Mathew, with Parochial Vicars Fr. Emmanuel Johnson and Fr. Aaron Alford. The parish is part of the Cibola Vicariate of the Diocese of Gallup and shares ministry with the mission church of Our Lady of Light in Cubero, NM. In 1999 the resident pastor was replaced by a deacon-parish administrator due to declining Mass attendance and a diocese-wide priest shortage; Sister Ellen Corcoran, SCSJA, was appointed administrator in July 2005.
- Fr. Augustine Mathew — Parochial Administrator
- Fr. Emmanuel Johnson — Parochial Vicar
- Fr. Aaron Alford — Parochial Vicar
- Sister Ellen Corcoran, SCSJA — former administrator (appointed July 2005)
- Vicariate: Cibola
Parish Fiesta and Procession of Our Lady of Sorrows
The parish fiesta is celebrated each year on January 7th, the anniversary of the church's dedication. On the eve of the feast, parishioners gather for Vespers inside the church and then process the hand-carved wooden statue of Our Lady of Sorrows around the outside of the church, with the path lighted by small bonfires shaped as crosses.
- January 7th — parish fiesta
- Evening before — Vespers
- Outdoor procession of the hand-carved statue of Our Lady of Sorrows
- Bonfires shaped as crosses light the processional path
Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto Shrine
Just north of town sits a shrine to Our Lady of Lourdes built into a natural grotto. The shrine includes a statue of Our Lady, an altar, and wooden pews, and is fed by natural springs in the same cave. The dirt road leading to the shrine is unpaved and can be impassable in wet weather.
- Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in a natural grotto north of Seboyeta
- Statue, altar, and wooden pews in the cave
- Natural springs at the site
- Unpaved access road — impassable in wet weather
Parish Buildings and Campus
The parish complex reflects more than two centuries of adaptation. The 1820 adobe church has had its roofline and rear sections rebuilt multiple times.
- Adobe church built 1820
- Pitched roof added over older flat roof in 1985
- Rear rooms rebuilt as sacristy and CCD classroom
- Old adobe house across the street served as the rectory
Faith Formation and Religious Education
CCD (Confraternity of Christian Doctrine) classes meet in a classroom built into the rebuilt rear of the historic adobe church. Sacramental records for the parish and its attended Native American missions (baptisms, marriages, burials) are maintained and extend from approximately 1900 to the present.
- CCD classroom in rebuilt rear of the church
- Sacramental records (baptism, marriage, burial) ca. 1900–ongoing
Contact and Location
Our Lady of Sorrows is listed by the Diocese of Gallup with both a physical and a mailing address, and shares a parish office number with the mission church of Our Lady of Light in Cubero.
- Physical address: State Hwy 279, Ceboyeta, NM 87014
- Mailing address: H.C. 77 Box 13, Ceboyeta, NM 87014
- Phone: (505) 552-6301
- Diocese of Gallup parish page: dioceseofgallup.org/parishes/new-mexico-parishes/seboyeta-our-lady-of-sorrows/
- Mission: Our Lady of Light, Cubero NM
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Gallup diocesan priests (unnamed, 19th century)through 1879
From Seboyeta as mission headquarters, priests traveled as far west as Flagstaff, AZ to celebrate sacraments.
- Pastor (unnamed)through 1999
Replaced by a deacon serving as parish administrator due to declining Mass attendance and a priest shortage in the diocese.
- Deacon-parish administrator1999–2005
Served after the resident pastor was withdrawn.
- Sister Ellen Corcoran, SCSJAJuly 2005–
Appointed parish administrator.
- Fr. Augustine Mathew
Current Parochial Administrator per Diocese of Gallup.