About San Felipe Mission · San Felipe Pueblo, New Mexico
San Felipe Mission is an active Catholic mission church serving the Pueblo of San Felipe (Keres: Katishtya), a federally recognized Native American pueblo on the Rio Grande about 35 miles southwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is one of four active Mission Churches of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Parish in Peña Blanca, alongside Santo Domingo Mission (Kewa Pueblo), St. Bonaventure Mission (Cochiti Pueblo), and Santa Barbara Mission (Sile). The mission is part of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and continues a Franciscan tradition of worship that reaches back to the early 1600s, with the present adobe church facing the river just south of the pueblo's main plaza.
- Established
- 1605
- Patron
- St. Philip the Apostle
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Santa Fe
Why belong here
San Felipe Mission offers Catholics of San Felipe Pueblo and visitors a Sunday Mass in English at 10:00 AM, as one of four active mission churches served by Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Parish in Peña Blanca. The mission is part of a centuries-old Keres Catholic community where worshippers gather by the call of pregoneros going house to house, sit on the packed-earth floor of the historic adobe church, and celebrate a renowned Christmas Eve Mass. Daily Mass, confession, and adoration are available at the main parish in Peña Blanca, with a single parish phone number — (505) 465-2226 — connecting all four missions.
Mass times at San Felipe Mission
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 5:00 PM – 5:30 PM at Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, Peña Blanca
Adoration times
- Saturday 5:00 PM – 5:30 PM at Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, Peña Blanca (prior to Vigil Mass)
San Felipe Mission at a Glance
San Felipe Mission is an active Catholic mission church in San Felipe Pueblo, New Mexico, one of four active Mission Churches of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Catholic Parish in Peña Blanca. Worship is celebrated in English, with Sunday Mass at 10:00 AM. The mission belongs to the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and is reached via Exit 252 off I-25 onto Indian Service Route 85.
- Type: Mission (active Mission Church of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Parish, Peña Blanca)
- Diocese: Archdiocese of Santa Fe
- Sunday Mass: 10:00 AM, English
- Address: ChurchHill Rd. and Rainwater, San Felipe Pueblo, NM 87041
- Parish phone: (505) 465-2226
- Website: https://olgpb.org
History
Catholic life at San Felipe began in 1605 when Fray Cristóbal de Quiñones, assigned by Oñate, supervised the building of the pueblo's first church. After the 1680 Pueblo Revolt, the people withdrew to a defensive position atop Santa Ana Mesa. Once the 1696 revolt was quelled, Fray Juan Álvarez reported in January 1706 that 'a new church and pueblo are being built, the latter having been moved down from a high mesa.' The church has stood on the same site south of the plaza ever since. In 1736 Fray Andrés Zeballos rebuilt the structure with 84 drain spouts; Fray Pedro Montaño arrived in 1743 to repair the long-neglected convento. The mission was reduced to a visita of Santo Domingo in 1782, secularized by the Mexican government in 1823, and the Franciscans returned to serve the pueblo from Peña Blanca on July 9, 1900 — an arrangement that continues today.
- 1605 — first church built under Fray Cristóbal de Quiñones
- c. 1700 — pueblo relocated from Santa Ana Mesa to the river
- January 1706 — Fray Juan Álvarez reports new church being built at present site
- 1736 — Fray Andrés Zeballos rebuilds the church
- 1743 — Fray Pedro Montaño repairs the ruined convento
- 1782 — mission reduced to a visita of Santo Domingo
- 1801–1808 — Fray José Pedro Rubí de Celis rebuilds the church with two new towers
- 1823 — Mexican government secularizes the New Mexico missions
- July 9, 1900 — Franciscans return to San Felipe, serving from Peña Blanca
Architecture & the Mission Building
The mission church is a continuous-nave adobe structure, less than a hundred yards south of the pueblo's main plaza and facing east toward the Rio Grande. Two buttressed bell towers flank the doorway, with a roofed balcony between them. The two-tiered belfries were sketched by Lt. Abert in 1846 and Lt. Bourke in 1881. Inside, the sanctuary retains a wooden reredos with carved twisted pillars, and the carved wooden statue of St. Philip the Apostle by Bernardo de Miera y Pacheco is still venerated here, much repainted. The facade between the towers is stuccoed and freshly painted in light brownish gold, orange rust, black, and white. Painted pinto horses — a San Felipe and Santo Domingo tradition — face each other at balcony level.
- Continuous-nave adobe plan, two buttressed bell towers, roofed balcony
- Two-tiered belfries documented by Abert (1846) and Bourke (1881)
- Main altar screen (reredos) with twisted pillars
- Carved statue of St. Philip the Apostle by Bernardo de Miera y Pacheco
- Painted pinto horses on the upper eastern facade
- Packed-earth floor; worshippers traditionally sit on the ground
Patron Saint & Feast
San Felipe takes its name from St. Philip the Apostle, to whom the church is dedicated. The pueblo was given its Spanish name in 1591 by Gaspar Castaño de Sosa, who 'christened it San Felipe.' The feast of St. Philip, traditionally May 1, is the pueblo's costumbre day for whitewashing the church inside and out — an annual practice noted by travelers since at least 1915, when Linnie Marsh Prince observed that the building 'glistens in the bright sunlight.'
- Patron: St. Philip the Apostle
- Feast: May 1
- Annual whitewashing of church interior and exterior is customary at feast time
Liturgy & Worship
Sunday Mass at San Felipe Mission is celebrated in English at 10:00 AM. Weekday Masses, confession, and adoration are offered at the parish's main church — Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe — in nearby Peña Blanca, and the parish also schedules Mass at the other mission churches (Santo Domingo at 7:00 AM, St. Bonaventure at 8:30 AM). San Felipe's famous Christmas Eve Mass is a long-standing tradition that has drawn visitors since the days when travelers arrived by train and hired a conveyance into the pueblo. In pueblo custom, the congregation is gathered not by the ringing of the church bell but by pregoneros going house to house.
- Sunday Mass: 10:00 AM, English (San Felipe Mission)
- Saturday Vigil Mass: 5:30 PM at Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, Peña Blanca
- Daily Mass Tue 5:00 PM, Thu 9:00 AM, Fri 9:00 AM at Peña Blanca chapel
- 1st Friday: 5:30 PM at Santa Barbara Mission, Sile
- Confession: Sat 5:00–5:30 PM at Peña Blanca
- Adoration: Sat 5:00–5:30 PM at Peña Blanca
- Christmas Eve Mass at San Felipe is a renowned tradition
- Pregoneros gather the congregation house to house
Visiting San Felipe Mission
San Felipe Pueblo is on the east bank of the Rio Grande about 35 miles southwest of Santa Fe. From I-25, take Exit 252 and head west on Indian Service Route 85 to reach the pueblo. The mission sits just south of the plaza, facing the river. Visitors should observe standard pueblo protocols — many areas are private, and photography of people, ceremonies, and certain buildings is restricted. The parish office at 816 NM-22, Peña Blanca, can be reached at (505) 465-2226 for current Mass and event information.
- From I-25 take Exit 252, then west on Indian Service Route 85
- Church is south of the plaza, facing east toward the Rio Grande
- Parish office in Peña Blanca: 816 NM-22, Peña Blanca, NM 87041
- Parish phone: (505) 465-2226
Parish Context: Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, Peña Blanca
San Felipe Mission is served as one of four active mission churches by Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Catholic Parish in Peña Blanca, NM. The parish also ministers to St. Bonaventure Mission in Cochiti Pueblo (Sunday 8:30 AM), Santo Domingo Mission in Kewa Pueblo (Sunday 7:00 AM), and Santa Barbara Mission in Sile (1st Friday 5:30 PM), plus the Mission of San Miguel at La Bajada, where Mass is held only occasionally. The Peña Blanca church is at 816 State Highway 22.
- Parish: Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, Peña Blanca, NM
- Missions: San Felipe, Santo Domingo (Kewa), St. Bonaventure (Cochiti), Santa Barbara (Sile)
- Occasional Mass at San Miguel Mission, La Bajada
- Parish website: https://olgpb.org
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fray Cristóbal de Quiñones1598–c.1607
Assigned to San Felipe by Oñate; supervised construction of the pueblo's first church in 1605. Died and was buried inside the mission a few years later.
- Fray Juan Álvarezearly 1700s
Reported in January 1706 that a new church and pueblo were being built at the present site after the people moved down from Santa Ana Mesa.
- Fray Andrés Zeballos (Zevallos)1732–1741
Rebuilt the church in 1736, using 84 drain spouts; paid little attention to the convento.
- Fray Pedro Montañofrom late summer 1743
Veteran friar who repaired the ruined convento, doors, windows, and kitchen in just over three months.
- Fray José Pedro Rubí de Celisfrom shortly after 1801
Rebuilt the church with its two new towers; noted by Father Pereyro in 1808.
- Young Father Jerome Hesse, OFMearly 20th century (serving from Peña Blanca)
Franciscan stationed at Peña Blanca; described San Felipe customs in a 1920 article.