About San Antonio Mission · Placitas, New Mexico
San Antonio Mission is a small Catholic mission church serving the community of Placitas, New Mexico, in the high desert of Sandoval County. It is one of three mission churches of the Parish of Our Lady of Sorrows in Bernalillo, alongside San Jose Mission in Algodones and Saint Anthony Mission in Sandia Pueblo. Worshiping under the historic patron Saint Anthony (San Antonio), the mission offers a Sunday Mass for the rural Placitas faithful and gathers its community in an adjacent building that is itself a piece of New Mexico history — a former WPA-era schoolhouse turned parish community center.
- Established
- 1840
- Patron
- Saint Anthony (San Antonio)
- Rector
- Reverend Clement Niggel
- Diocese
- Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santa Fe
Why belong here
San Antonio Mission offers the rare experience of a small, traditional Catholic mission church in the heart of rural Placitas, where the entire faith community gathers each week for one Sunday Mass celebrated at 9:30 AM. The mission is supported by a strong cluster of ministries through its parent parish — including St. Vincent de Paul, the Knights of Columbus, the Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima, That Man Is You!, and a Placitas Bible Study — so even a small congregation is plugged into a vibrant Catholic life. After Mass, parishioners gather in the historic WPA-built community center, a tangible link to the village's heritage and a warm setting for fellowship.
Mass times at San Antonio Mission
Weekly Mass schedule
San Antonio Mission at a Glance
San Antonio Mission is the Catholic mission church serving Placitas, New Mexico, a small unincorporated village in the northern foothills of the Sandia Mountains in Sandoval County. The mission is part of the Parish of Our Lady of Sorrows in Bernalillo, sharing its Sunday-only worship schedule with two other mission churches in the cluster. Its patron is Saint Anthony, the Franciscan Doctor of the Church whose feast the universal Church celebrates on June 13.
- Mission of the Parish of Our Lady of Sorrows, Bernalillo
- Patron: Saint Anthony (San Antonio)
- Sunday Mass at 9:30 AM
- Address: 43 Paseo de San Antonio Rd., Placitas, NM 87043
- Parish phone: (505) 867-5252
History of the Placitas Mission
Catholic life in the Placitas area predates the present building by generations. The mission congregation itself dates to 1840, when the village's Hispanic settlers and ranching families were formally gathered as a Catholic mission chapel under the then-Diocese (later Archdiocese) of Santa Fe. The present San Antonio church building was constructed in 1919, and it has served the village continuously since, remaining a Sunday-only mission chapel supported by the much larger Our Lady of Sorrows parish in nearby Bernalillo.
- Mission congregation founded: 1840
- Present church building constructed: 1919
- Jurisdiction: Archdiocese of Santa Fe
The WPA-Era Mission Community Center
A unique feature of San Antonio Mission is the adjoining community center, a two-room building originally built by the Works Progress Administration as the Placitas Elementary School. According to the Living New Deal project, the building was very well built and originally housed two classrooms, a hallway, and bathrooms — including flush toilets, an unusual amenity for a rural school of its era. It also briefly housed the village's first library. After decades as a public school, the building was transferred to the Archdiocese of Santa Fe in a land swap: Bernalillo Public Schools received a new gymnasium at Our Lady of Sorrows in the Town of Bernalillo, while the Archdiocese acquired the old Placitas school. It is now used as a gathering space for parishioners after Sunday Mass and for parish events, preserving a tangible piece of Depression-era Placitas heritage on the mission grounds.
- Original use: Placitas Elementary School, a WPA project
- First housed the village's first library
- Acquired by the Archdiocese of Santa Fe via a school-system land swap
- Today: parish community center used after Sunday Mass
Worship Schedule and Sacraments
As a Sunday-only mission, San Antonio Mission offers one weekly celebration of the Eucharist for the Placitas community. The full sacramental schedule — including daily Mass, confessions, weddings, and baptisms — is centered at the main parish church of Our Lady of Sorrows in Bernalillo, a short drive south down NM-165. Confessions at the main parish are heard Monday through Saturday mornings and Saturday afternoons, and parishioners are invited to celebrate Mass at any of the parish's four worship sites.
- Sunday Mass (English): 9:30 AM at San Antonio, Placitas
- Daily Mass at Our Lady of Sorrows, Bernalillo: Mon–Fri 8:00 AM
- Saturday Vigil at Our Lady of Sorrows: 5:00 PM
- Sunday Masses at Our Lady of Sorrows: 8 AM, 10 AM, 12 PM (Spanish)
- Confessions at Our Lady of Sorrows: Mon–Sat mornings around 7:40 AM and Saturday 3:30 PM, plus by appointment
Ministries and Community Life
Although San Antonio itself is a small mission, parishioners participate in the broader ministry life of the Our Lady of Sorrows parish cluster. The parish's ministry page highlights groups spanning outreach, formation, men's spiritual life, Marian devotion, and parish operations. The Placitas Bible Study is specifically identified as a Placitas-based gathering, making it the most directly local of the parish's ministry offerings.
- Placitas Bible Study (Placitas-based)
- St. Vincent de Paul — parish outreach to those in need
- God's Little Angels — children's formation/ministry
- Our Lady of Fatima – Blue Army — Marian devotion and reparation
- Knights of Columbus — Catholic fraternal service
- That Man Is You! — men's spiritual program
- OLOS Counting Team — parish financial stewardship
Clergy and Staff
San Antonio Mission is served by the clergy team of the Parish of Our Lady of Sorrows in Bernalillo. The current pastor leads the cluster of four worship sites (the main parish church, the Santuario de San Lorenzo, and the three missions), and is assisted by a parochial vicar and a team of four permanent deacons. All sacramental and pastoral care for San Antonio Mission is coordinated through the parish office in Bernalillo.
- Pastor: Reverend Clement Niggel
- Parochial Vicar: Reverend Moses Nwankwo
- Deacon Jose De Jesus Cervantes
- Deacon Gonzalo Calderon
- Deacon Eric Buenaventa
- Deacon Dan Kennedy
The Wider Parish of Our Lady of Sorrows
San Antonio Mission belongs to one of the historic pastoral clusters of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. The mother parish, Our Lady of Sorrows, is based at 301 S. Camino del Pueblo in Bernalillo and shares pastoral care across four sites. This cluster model allows small rural and tribal communities such as Placitas, Algodones, and Sandia Pueblo to have regular Catholic worship and pastoral presence without the resources of an independent parish.
- Mother parish: Our Lady of Sorrows, 301 S. Camino del Pueblo, Bernalillo, NM 87004
- Santuario de San Lorenzo, Bernalillo (historic shrine)
- San Jose Mission, Algodones — Sunday Mass 8:30 AM
- San Antonio Mission, Placitas — Sunday Mass 9:30 AM
- Saint Anthony Mission, Sandia Pueblo — Saturday 6:30 PM (tribal members only)