About San Lorenzo Mission · Polvadera, New Mexico
San Lorenzo Mission is a small historic Catholic mission church in Polvadera, a village in Socorro County, New Mexico, situated along the Rio Grande. It is a mission of San Miguel Catholic Church in Socorro and falls under the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santa Fe. The present church was built in 1898 following a devastating flood that destroyed its predecessor, and it was formally dedicated on August 10, 1902, with Mayordomo Frutoso Barreras and Father Filiberto Martin of Socorro offering its first Mass. The mission is famous across Socorro County for the San Lorenzo statue housed inside and for the Good Friday pilgrimage that has drawn the faithful for well over a century.
- Established
- 1898
- Patron
- San Lorenzo (Saint Lawrence)
- Rector
- Fr. John Anasiudu
- Diocese
- Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santa Fe
Why belong here
San Lorenzo Mission is one of the oldest continuously used Catholic mission churches in the Middle Rio Grande Valley, and parishioners become part of a living tradition that stretches back to the late 1800s. Belonging here means joining the mayordomo tradition that has kept the building and the venerated San Lorenzo statue in beautiful condition for more than a century, and walking — or driving — in the footsteps of generations of Socorro-area faithful who make the Good Friday pilgrimage here. As a mission of San Miguel in Socorro, it shares in the larger parish's Sacramental life, faith formation, RCIA, and bilingual worship while preserving its own small-village, family character.
Mass times at San Lorenzo Mission
Weekly Mass schedule
San Lorenzo Mission in Polvadera
San Lorenzo Mission is the Catholic mission church serving the village of Polvadera in Socorro County, New Mexico. It is one of a constellation of historic mission churches along the Rio Grande that are served from Old San Miguel Mission in Socorro, the oldest Catholic church in the United States. San Lorenzo shares in the sacramental and pastoral life of San Miguel while retaining its own small-village identity, its own mayordomo tradition, and its own beloved patron.
- Patron: San Lorenzo (Saint Lawrence)
- Feast day / fiesta: August 10
- Mother parish: San Miguel Catholic Church, Socorro
- Diocese: Archdiocese of Santa Fe
History of the Mission
Polvadera and the sister village of Chamizal were served for generations by an earlier mission church, of which little documentation survives. The original San Lorenzo mission was destroyed in a catastrophic Rio Grande flood in 1898. That same year, the Luciano Luna family donated higher ground farther west, and a new adobe church was built on the site — the mission that still stands today. A sign in the church records its dedication on August 10, 1902, with Mayordomo Frutoso Barreras and Father Filiberto Martin of Socorro presiding at the first Mass. Chamizal continued to suffer — flooding again in 1929 and 1937 — and today only its hilltop schoolhouse at the end of Escuela Street survives.
- 1898 — Original mission destroyed in Rio Grande flood; new church begun on higher ground donated by Luciano Luna family.
- August 10, 1902 — Church dedicated with Mayordomo Frutoso Barreras.
- First Mass offered by Father Filiberto Martin from Socorro.
- 1898, 1929, 1937 — Major floods reshape Polvadera and Chamizal; only Chamizal's old schoolhouse survives.
The Santo of San Lorenzo and Pilgrimage Tradition
The mission is best known throughout the Socorro Valley for its venerated statue of San Lorenzo and the long pilgrimage tradition that surrounds it. Generations of the faithful have come to El Santo in thanksgiving for the birth of a child, the safe return of a loved one from war, or for strength and blessings during hardship and illness. Tokens of this devotion — including an amassed wardrobe of garments left at the church over more than a century — have been discussed and displayed in public programs sponsored by San Miguel Mission. Several miracles have been attributed to the santo, and each Good Friday many Socorroans make the roughly 18-mile round-trip pilgrimage to the mission.
- Annual Good Friday pilgrimage from Socorro (~18-mile round trip).
- Statue once stolen, reportedly taken to Mexico; now chained to its pedestal.
- Garments and tokens of thanksgiving accumulated for over 100 years.
- Several miracles attributed to the santo.
Mass and Worship Schedule
As a mission church, San Lorenzo does not celebrate Mass every Sunday but is part of the rotating Saturday Mission Mass schedule administered from San Miguel in Socorro. Mission Masses are normally celebrated at 7:00 PM on Saturday evenings and rotate among San Lorenzo (Polvadera), San Antonio (Luis Lopez), La Sagrada Familia (Lemitar), San Jose (Luis Lopez), and San Antonio (Alamillo) on a roughly monthly rotation. San Lorenzo hosts Mass on the first Saturday of the month in this rotation and again on the date of its annual fiesta.
- 1st Saturday of the month — 7:00 PM Mission Mass at San Lorenzo, Polvadera
- Annual Fiesta Mass of San Lorenzo — typically 7:00 PM (date announced by San Miguel each year)
- Sunday Masses available at San Miguel, Socorro: Saturday 5:00 PM (English anticipatory), Sunday 8:00 AM (Spanish), 10:00 AM (English); St. Mary Magdalene, Magdalena at 12:00 noon
Sacraments, Faith Formation, and Parish Staff
San Lorenzo shares the Sacramental and formation programs of San Miguel Catholic Church in Socorro. Baptisms are celebrated on the 2nd and 4th Sundays, with a required Baptism class held on the 1st Thursday of the month at 6:30 PM in the Guadalupe Chapel; parents are asked to register at least two weeks before attending class. Confessions are heard at San Miguel on Saturdays from 3:45 to 4:45 PM and at St. Mary Magdalene in Magdalena before Sunday Mass, and are also available by appointment through the parish office. RCIA is led by Deacon Mike Ybarra, and Religious Education is coordinated by Christina Romero. The parish is served by a pastor and two deacons, supported by an administrative assistant, bookkeeper, and Newman Center deacon.
- Pastor: Fr. John Anasiudu
- Deacons: Mike Ybarra, Nick Keller
- Religious Education: Christina Romero
- RCIA: Deacon Mike Ybarra
- Newman Center: Deacon Nick Keller
- Admin. Assistant: Annie Anaya
- Bookkeeper: Belinda Green
The Mayordomo Tradition
The upkeep of San Lorenzo Mission and the care of its santo have been entrusted for more than a century to a succession of mayordomos from the Polvadera community. The mayordomos — community members who take responsibility for the church, its furnishings, and the santo — have been credited with keeping the mission in excellent condition across generations. Nadine Ulibarri-Keller, herself a mayordomo of the Polvadera church and a lifelong village resident, has been one public face of that tradition, sharing the history of the accumulated wardrobe of the San Lorenzo statue at programs hosted by San Miguel Mission.
- Frutoso Barreras — Mayordomo at the 1902 dedication
- Nadine Ulibarri-Keller — Public storyteller of the santo's history
Visiting San Lorenzo Mission
San Lorenzo sits in the small village of Polvadera, just north of San Acacia and south of Socorro along the Rio Grande. Visitors coming from outside the area typically reach Polvadera via I-25 Exit 156, turning right onto NM-408 and then taking the first left to the Frontage Road north into the village. Because the mission is administered from San Miguel, the most reliable contact for Mass times, sacraments, and pilgrimage events is the San Miguel parish office in Socorro.
- Address: Polvadera, NM 87828
- Parish office (San Miguel): 403 El Camino Real, Socorro, NM 87801
- Office phone: 575-835-2891
- Fax: 575-835-1620
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.sdc.org/~smiguel