About San Juan Mission · Veguita, New Mexico
San Juan Mission is a small Catholic mission church in the rural village of Veguita, Socorro County, New Mexico, dedicated to St. John (San Juan). It is one of five mission churches served by Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in La Joya, under the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santa Fe. San Juan shares weekend and weekday Masses with the other mission communities of Abeytas, Sabinal, Las Nutrias, and Contreras, and is closely tied to the farming and ranching families of the lower Rio Grande valley. A companion San Juan Mission Catholic Cemetery, with burials dating back to the late 1800s, sits just off NM-304 north of the village and remains a tangible link to generations of Catholic faithful in Veguita.
- Patron
- St. John (San Juan)
- Rector
- Rev. Tobe Oluoha (pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish and its missions, including San Juan, Veguita)
- Diocese
- Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santa Fe
Why belong here
San Juan Mission gives the families of Veguita a Catholic home in their own village, with the added richness of belonging to a five-mission parish that worships in both English and Spanish and serves farms and ranches across the lower Rio Grande. Weekday and Saturday Masses are celebrated right at San Juan, and parishioners share Sunday Mass with neighbors at Our Lady of Sorrows in La Joya or the sister missions at Abeytas, Sabinal, Las Nutrias, and Contreras. Weekly Adoration is offered in Veguita following the Wednesday evening Mass, making it a genuine spiritual anchor for the rural community.
Mass times at San Juan Mission
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Weekdays 8:30–8:50 AM at the parish (except Wednesdays), per Our Lady of Sorrows cluster schedule
- Sundays 8:30–9:00 AM before Mass (1st Sundays, Unity Mass at La Joya)
- Also by appointment through the parish office
Adoration times
- Adoration is offered weekly following the Wednesday 5:00 PM Mass in Veguita
About San Juan Mission
San Juan Mission is a small Catholic mission church serving the village of Veguita in Socorro County, New Mexico. It is dedicated to St. John and is one of five mission churches that together make up Our Lady of Sorrows Parish, centered in nearby La Joya. Like the other four missions in the cluster (San Antonio in Abeytas, San Antonio in Sabinal, San Isidro in Las Nutrias, and San Jose Chapel in Contreras), San Juan is rooted in the centuries-old Hispanic Catholic tradition of the middle Rio Grande valley.
- Type: Mission church
- Dedication: San Juan (St. John)
- Village served: Veguita, NM
- Cluster: Our Lady of Sorrows Parish, La Joya
Parish Cluster & Diocese
San Juan Mission is administered from Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in La Joya (19 Calle de la Iglesia, La Joya, NM 87028), which oversees all five missions and provides the pastoral staff, sacramental record-keeping, and parish office. The cluster is part of the Belen Deanery of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santa Fe. The parish office is operationally based at 1056 Hwy 304 in Veguita itself, which means San Juan parishioners can often handle parish business without traveling to La Joya.
- Mother church: Our Lady of Sorrows, La Joya
- Sister missions: San Antonio (Abeytas), San Antonio (Sabinal), San Isidro (Las Nutrias), San Jose Chapel (Contreras)
- Deanery: Belen (Dean: Very Rev. John Kimani)
- Diocese: Archdiocese of Santa Fe
- Parish phone: (505) 864-4461
History of the Mission
The San Juan community of Veguita has been a Catholic mission settlement along the Rio Grande for well over a century. The adjacent San Juan Mission Catholic Cemetery records burials from the 19th century onward, including pioneers like Catalina Lucero (1870–1951) and Librada P. Chavez (1858–1950). In modern times the mission has been cared for as part of the Our Lady of Sorrows cluster; the Archdiocese of Santa Fe's official record preserves the transitions of Rev. Denis Kaggwa (departing June 2015 to his home diocese of Kiyinda-Mityana, Uganda) and Rev. Felipe Valadez, appointed pastor effective June 1, 2015 by Archbishop John C. Wester.
Clergy & Pastoral Leadership
The current pastor of the cluster — and therefore of San Juan Mission — is Rev. Tobe Oluoha. Previously the parish was led by Rev. Felipe Valadez (from 2015) and before him by Rev. Denis Kaggwa. Pastoral care for all five missions is coordinated from the parish office, which is locally based in Veguita.
- Current pastor: Rev. Tobe Oluoha
- Former pastor: Rev. Felipe Valadez (appointed 2015)
- Former pastor: Rev. Denis Kaggwa (departed June 2015)
Languages & Liturgical Life
San Juan Mission's regular Masses (Wednesday evening and Saturday Vigil) are typically celebrated in Spanish, reflecting the historic Hispanic Catholic identity of Veguita and the surrounding villages. English is used at the La Joya mother church and for parts of the cluster's liturgy, so both English- and Spanish-speaking parishioners find a home across the cluster.
- Spanish — regular Masses at San Juan (Wednesday evening, Saturday Vigil)
- English — used at the La Joya mother church and parts of cluster liturgy
San Juan Mission Cemetery
Just off NM-304, set back on the east side of the road north of Veguita, the San Juan Mission Catholic Cemetery (GPS N 34.51268, W 106.76758) preserves the burials of generations of Veguita's Catholic families. The transcribed burial register compiled by the New Mexico Tombstone Transcription Project documents more than 30 graves, with the earliest recorded burials in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and continuing into the 2010s — a tangible link between today's mission community and its deep roots in the Rio Grande valley.
- Cemetery of San Juan Mission, Veguita, Socorro County
- GPS: N 34.51268, W 106.76758
- Directions: I-25 Exit 75, east 3.2 mi on US-60 to NM-304, then north 6.6 mi on NM-304 (cemetery on east side)
- Documented burials span the late 1800s through the 2010s
Contact & Visit
Parishioners and visitors can reach the Our Lady of Sorrows Parish office (which serves San Juan Mission) by phone, email, or in person. The mother church is in La Joya, but the operational parish office sits in Veguita at 1056 Hwy 304 (PO Box 534), close to San Juan Mission and convenient for Veguita-area parishioners. The official website publishes the latest bulletin, Mass schedule, and any changes to the rotating mission schedule.
- Parish phone: (505) 864-4461
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://olslajoyanm.org/
- Mother church: 19 Calle de la Iglesia, La Joya, NM 87028
- Parish office: 1056 Hwy 304, PO Box 534, Veguita, NM 87062
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Denis Kaggwauntil June 2015
Returned to home diocese of Kiyinda-Mityana, Uganda in mid-2015
- Rev. Felipe Valadezfrom June 1, 2015
Appointed pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows in La Joya and its missions by Archbishop John C. Wester
- Rev. Tobe Oluohacurrent
Current pastor of the cluster, including San Juan Mission