San Juan Bautista -Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes (Historic Church)

Parish Overview & Welcome

San Juan Bautista Parish & Tewa Missions traces its origins to 1598 and today numbers roughly 1,200 registered families. Father Nathan Lopez, ordained in 2019 and assigned as pastor in 2022 after serving as assistant pastor, leads the community with the help of three deacons and a small staff. The parish publishes a single combined bulletin for San Juan Bautista and its ten Tewa-speaking missions, including services at the San Juan church and the mission church in Alcalde.

Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine

Directly across the plaza from the parish church stands the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, a French Gothic chapel of lava rock completed in 1890. Fr. Camilo Seux built it to shelter the pilgrims who came to kneel at the eight-foot bronze statue he had erected in front of the church in 1888; he is buried beneath the Shrine's central floor. Architects Antoine and Projectus Mouly — also responsible for the Santa Fe Cathedral and Loretto Chapel — designed the building, which contains a replica of the Lourdes grotto and is one of only 19 lava-rock buildings in the United States. The Shrine was restored and rededicated on December 8, 2004 by Archbishop Michael J. Sheehan, and is once again used for daily Mass, rosaries in May and October, and pilgrimage devotion.

• Built 1889–1890; dedicated June 20, 1890
• Lava-rock, French Gothic; architects Antoine and Projectus Mouly
• Interior grotto replica of the Lourdes apparition site
• Restored and rededicated December 8, 2004 by Archbishop Michael J. Sheehan

Parish History

The parish was founded in 1598 by Juan de Oñate's expedition at the pueblo the Spanish called San Juan de los Caballeros. Four earlier churches were built and replaced before Fr. Camilo Seux — a French priest who served 56 years as pastor — built the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in 1890 and the present neo-Gothic church in 1913 (after ordering the demolition of the 1706 adobe church). The Shrine and church are listed on the National Register as part of the Ohkay Owingeh Historic District (1974); the pueblo itself officially returned to its Tewa name of Ohkay Owingeh in 2005.

• 1598 — Parish founded by Juan de Oñate's expedition; first Mass September 8, 1598
• 1706 — Fourth church built on the present site
• 1868 — Fr. Camilo Seux (Lyon, France) becomes pastor; serves 56 years
• 1888 — Bronze statue of Our Lady of Lourdes erected
• 1890 — Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes completed June 20
• 1913 — Present French neo-Gothic church completed
• 1974 — Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
• 2004 — Shrine restored and rededicated by Archbishop Michael J. Sheehan
• 2005 — Pueblo renames itself Ohkay Owingeh
• 2013 — Parish celebrates 415th anniversary

Parish Staff

The pastor, three deacons and a small staff keep the parish running. Fr. Nathan Lopez is joined by Deacons Dennis Montoya, John Bird and Greg Aguilar in liturgical ministry, with Monica Naranjo at the front office, Robert Gress handling maintenance, Miquela Vigil as Director of Religious Education, and Alice Martinez editing the bulletin.

• Fr. Nathan Lopez — Pastor
• Deacon Dennis Montoya — 505-692-0409
• Deacon John Bird
• Deacon Greg Aguilar
• Monica Naranjo — Receptionist / Office Assistant
• Robert Gress — Maintenance / Custodian
• Miquela Vigil — Director of Religious Education, 505-927-2751
• Alice Martinez — Bulletin Editor

Tewa Missions & Mission Churches

San Juan Bautista Parish and its pastor oversee ten mission churches in the Tewa-speaking communities of northern New Mexico (commonly called the Tewa Missions), each with its own worship schedule coordinated through the parish office. The parish publishes a combined bulletin and posts weekly Mass times for San Juan and the 11:00 AM Sunday Mass at the mission church in Alcalde.

• San Juan Bautista (mother church, Ohkay Owingeh)
• San Francisco Mission Church at Estaca
• Mission church at Alcalde (Sunday 11:00 AM Mass)
• Other Tewa-speaking missions including Tesuque, Nambé, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso, Santa Clara, San Francisco de Asís (Taos) area communities

Ministries

Parish life at San Juan Bautista is carried by a wide network of lay ministries. The Knights of Columbus, chartered at the parish in 2004, raise funds and assist the priests; the Homebound Eucharistic Ministry brings Communion to the elderly and medically fragile; the SVdP St. John the Baptist – Ohkay Owingeh Conference conducts home visits and helps neighbors with utilities, rent and food, plus holiday food boxes, jackets, blankets and school backpacks. Young adults belong to the regional Las Palmas ministry, ACTS retreats are organized locally by Fernando and Patricia Romero, and altar servers, the Liturgy of the Hours group and the Healing and Deliverance Ministry round out the spiritual life of the parish.

• Knights of Columbus — Grand Knight Ron Padilla, Deputy Grand Knight Mike Montoya
• Homebound Eucharistic Ministry — Carlos Trujillo (505-927-1153)
• SVdP St. John the Baptist – Ohkay Owingeh Conference — 505-692-3417
• Las Palmas Young Adult Ministry — Fernando & Patricia Romero (505-929-2834)
• ACTS — Fernando & Patricia Romero
• Altar Servers
• Liturgy of the Hours
• Healing and Deliverance Ministry
• Parish Choirs (Tewa, Spanish, Gregorian chant)

Religious Education & Sacraments

Religious Education (CCD) serves more than 400 youth of the parish under the direction of Miquela Vigil ([email protected], 505-927-2751). Sacramental preparation — including Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation and Marriage — is coordinated through the parish office, and a dedicated Sacramental Emergency line (505-231-0724) reaches Fr. Nathan outside of office hours.

Contact & Office Hours

The parish office at 185 Po'Pay Ave, PO Box 1075, Ohkay Owingeh, NM 87566 is open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM and is closed on most national holidays. The general phone line is 505-852-4179, the email is [email protected], and Sacramental Emergencies are routed to 505-231-0724.