About San Isidro · Santa Fe, New Mexico
San Isidro Catholic Parish serves the historic Agua Fría village community on the south side of Santa Fe, New Mexico, in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. The parish centers on a 19th-century adobe church (built 1835) on Agua Fría Street, with Mass also celebrated in a larger modern Parish Center and the Mission of San José in La Cienega. San Isidro is a bilingual (English/Spanish) parish of roughly 1,800 registered families, with deep roots in the traditional Hispanic farming village along El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro and a growing immigrant population from Mexico and Latin America.
- Established
- 1975
- Patron
- San Isidro Labrador (St. Isidore the Laborer)
- Rector
- Fr. John Cannon
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Santa Fe
Why belong here
San Isidro is one of the most historically rooted parishes in Santa Fe, worshiping in the same 1835 adobe church that the founding Gallegos families built on Agua Fría Street. It is a genuinely bilingual community, with weekend Mass offered in both English and Spanish, weekday Mass in the historic mission church, and a beloved annual Blessing of the River on the feast of San Isidro. With about 1,800 families, a Knights of Columbus council, religious education for children, and ministries serving local families and recent immigrants, San Isidro welcomes anyone seeking a parish that lives out Hispanic Catholic tradition in Northern New Mexico.
Mass times at San Isidro
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 1:00 PM – 3:30 PM, Parish Center / Centro Parroquial
History of San Isidro Parish
The historic adobe church of San Isidro in the village of Agua Fría was built in 1835 on land deeded by Don José Jacinto Gallegos. A beloved local legend says Gallegos tossed his sombrero into the air and declared that wherever it landed would be the spot of the church's altar; the whole community came out of a nearby dance hall to help build it. For decades the Agua Fría faithful had to travel by buggy or on foot into Santa Fe for Mass, weddings, and funerals — so the new church immediately became the spiritual center of this farming community along El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro. On October 25, 1975, Archbishop Robert F. Sanchez of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe formally elevated San Isidro from mission status to a full parish, a milestone the community celebrated in 2025. The parish's deep roots are still visible: descendants of the families who worshipped here in 1835 still fill the pews, joined in recent decades by a wave of immigrants from Mexico and Latin America that has reshaped parish life.
- Adobe church built in 1835 on Gallegos-donated land
- Legend of Don José Jacinto Gallegos's sombrero marking the altar site
- Formal parish status granted Oct. 25, 1975 by Archbishop Robert F. Sanchez
- 50th anniversary of the parish celebrated in 2025
- Listed in the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro historic marker series
The Historic Adobe Church
The 19th-century adobe mission church still stands on Agua Fría Street (the historic El Camino Real), with its retablos, strong adobe walls, and a striking altarscreen by Luis Tapia, the Chicano sculptor who grew up in Agua Fría. Tapia's altarscreen is painted in green, red, and purple, and his retablo depicts San Isidro beside the outline of the Santa Fe River, the church, and the blue Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the distance. A sculpture of San Isidro, venerated as the patron saint of farmers, looks out over the congregation; it was likely brought from Italy and is an especially apt patron for what was historically an agricultural village.
- Altarscreen and retablo by Luis Tapia
- Sculpture of San Isidro (patron of farmers), likely brought from Italy
- Listed on a 1960 historical marker by the NM Historic Preservation Division
Pastoral Team
San Isidro is staffed by a bilingual pastoral team serving both English- and Spanish-speaking parishioners. Fr. John Cannon is listed as pastor, alongside Deacon Anthony Trujillo and Deacon Michael Salazar. Sr. Juanita Gonzales, SC, directs Religious Education, and Maggie Montoya serves as parish secretary. Parish office hours are Monday 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM and Tuesday through Friday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM.
- Fr. John Cannon, Pastor
- Deacon Anthony Trujillo
- Deacon Michael Salazar
- Sr. Juanita Gonzales, SC — Director of Religious Education
- Maggie Montoya — Secretary
Mission of San José, La Cienega
San Isidro Parish also serves the Mission Chapel of San José in the village of La Cienega, south of Santa Fe. San José is a small mission chapel attached to San Isidro for clergy, sacramental support, and parish life.
- Address: 116 Camino San Jose (Co. Rd. 50A), La Cienega, NM 87507
- Sunday Mass at 10:00 AM
- Feast Day Mass for San José on March 19 at 5:30 PM
Faith Formation & Religious Education
Religious Education at San Isidro is led by Sr. Juanita Gonzales, SC. The parish offers sacramental preparation and catechesis for children and youth of the Agua Fría village and surrounding neighborhoods, in both English and Spanish.
- Director of Religious Education: Sr. Juanita Gonzales, SC
- Sacramental prep for First Communion, Confirmation, and Baptism
- Bilingual (English/Spanish) catechesis
Parish Ministries & Outreach
The parish supports a Knights of Columbus council and parish social outreach, including utilities-assistance help for families in need. San Isidro is known as a welcoming parish for new immigrants, with bilingual ministries and sacramental preparation that meet a diverse community.
- Knights of Columbus council
- Utilities assistance and parish outreach to families in need
- Bilingual pastoral and liturgical support for recent immigrants
El Día de San Isidro & Blessing of the River
Each May 15 the parish and the wider Agua Fría community celebrate El Día de San Isidro, the patron's feast day, with a procession from the church down to the Santa Fe River for the Blessing of the River. The historical marker on El Camino Real notes that Agua Fría has observed May 15 as 'His Day of Goodwill' in honor of the saint's role in this agricultural village.
- Annual May 15 feast day celebration
- Blessing of the River procession from San Isidro Church to the Santa Fe River
- Continuation of a tradition tied to the village's agricultural roots