About San Lorenzo · Ramah, New Mexico
San Lorenzo is a small Catholic mission church in the village of Tinaja, just east of Ramah in west-central New Mexico, within the Ramah Navajo (Zuni Mountains) area. It is a parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup, listed on the diocese's parish locator under the McKinley Vicariate, and is served by the pastor and parochial vicars of the parish cluster that also covers other nearby missions. San Lorenzo celebrates one weekly Mass on Sunday morning and offers Confessions before or after Mass, fitting the rhythm of a rural mission serving a widely scattered community on the Eastern Navajo Agency lands.
- Patron
- Saint Lawrence (San Lorenzo)
- Rector
- Fr. Patrick McGuire
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup
Why belong here
San Lorenzo is a faithful Catholic mission in the Ramah/Tinaja area offering Sunday Mass and Confessions before or after Mass — a reliable weekly touchpoint for Catholic life in a rural stretch of western New Mexico. Worshippers gather at a small church on Ice Cave Road between Ramah and El Morro, served by priests assigned to the diocesan McKinley Vicariate cluster, in the long Gallup-diocese tradition of bringing the sacraments to Native American and rural mission communities.
Mass times at San Lorenzo
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Before or after Sunday Mass
Parish Identity
San Lorenzo is a mission church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup, listed by the diocese under the parish-name 'Tinaja/Ramah – San Lorenzo.' It is one of more than forty parishes across New Mexico served by the Diocese, and it falls within the McKinley Vicariate. The church's patron is Saint Lawrence, the early Christian deacon and martyr, and the parish takes its Spanish name 'San Lorenzo' from him.
- Name: San Lorenzo (Diocese of Gallup parish listing: Tinaja/Ramah – San Lorenzo)
- Diocese: Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup
- Vicariate: McKinley
- Patron: Saint Lawrence (San Lorenzo)
Clergy & Pastoral Administration
San Lorenzo is pastored as part of a multi-parish cluster under Fr. Patrick McGuire, Pastor, with two parochial vicars, Fr. Innocent Nzewuji and Fr. Anil Kumar Kanna, assisting across the mission's parishes. The missionary staffing model is characteristic of the Diocese of Gallup, in which a small team of priests serves many widely scattered parishes and missions across western New Mexico.
- Pastor: Fr. Patrick McGuire
- Parochial Vicar: Fr. Innocent Nzewuji
- Parochial Vicar: Fr. Anil Kumar Kanna
Patron Saint — Saint Lawrence
The parish is named for Saint Lawrence (San Lorenzo), one of the most venerated early Christian martyrs and a traditional patron of the poor. Catholic missions named San Lorenzo are common throughout the Spanish-speaking Catholic world, and a mission on the Ramah/Tinaja Navajo lands reflects this broader tradition.
- Patron: Saint Lawrence (San Lorenzo)
- Feast Day: August 10
Location & Setting
San Lorenzo Catholic Church sits on Ice Cave Road (NM-53) east of the village of Ramah and west of El Morro National Monument in west-central New Mexico. The surrounding area lies within the Ramah Navajo Chapter of the Navajo Nation and is administered as part of the Eastern Navajo Agency (T'iists'óóz Ńdeeshgizh Bił Hahoodzo). The setting is rural high-desert, near the Zuni Mountains, El Malpais National Conservation Area, and the historic Ice Cave lava-tube attraction that gives the road its name.
- Mailing address: 3928 Ice Cave Rd., Ramah, NM 87321 (mail routed via Vanderwagen)
- Road: Ice Cave Road (NM-53)
- Proximity: El Morro National Monument, El Malpais lava fields, Zuni Mountains
- Jurisdiction overlap: Eastern Navajo Agency / Ramah Navajo Chapter lands
Contact & Practical Info
Parishioners and visitors can reach the mission through the diocesan parish office line, listed at (505) 783-4301, and through the Diocese of Gallup's parish website. Mail for the mission is sent to the Vanderwagen address listed on the diocesan page.
- Phone: (505) 783-4301
- Mailing address: 3928 Ice Cave Rd., Ramah, NM 87321 (send mail to Vanderwagen)
- Diocesan parish page: dioceseofgallup.org/parishes/new-mexico-parishes/tinaja-ramah-san-lorenzo/
Archival & Historical Notes
San Lorenzo is recognized in academic and archival guides to Native American Catholic records. Marquette University's Raynor Library archives catalog the parish as 'Ramah (Tinaja) – San Lorenzo Church, NM-44,' placing it alongside other Gallup-diocese missions serving Native American communities. The church's presence in the area reflects the Diocese of Gallup's long missionary commitment to the Zuni Mountains and Ramah Navajo communities.
- Marquette University archival reference: 'Ramah (Tinaja) – San Lorenzo Church, NM-44'
- Diocese of Gallup New Mexico parish roster listing: Tinaja / Ramah – San Lorenzo