San Ysidro Mission

About San Ysidro Mission

San Ysidro Mission is a small Roman Catholic mission church in the village of San Ysidro, Sandoval County, New Mexico, at the south end of the Jemez Valley where U.S. Highway 550 meets NM State Road 4. The village takes its name from Saint Isidore the Farmer (San Ysidro), the patron of farmers, and the church has served Catholic families in the community for generations. It is administered as a mission of the Mission of San Diego at Jemez Pueblo within the Archdiocese of Santa Fe.

History of the Village and Parish

San Ysidro was settled in 1699 by Juan Trujillo and a few others, making it one of the oldest European-founded communities in the Jemez Valley. The 1786 San Ysidro de los Dolores Land Grant, issued by Governor de Anza, set the boundaries of the community for generations. Catholic life was long provided by Franciscan priests from Jemez Pueblo, who rode out from the pueblo to celebrate Mass and the sacraments in the small Spanish villages. In 1947 the Jemez Valley missions were formally brought under the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. The present San Ysidro Catholic Church was built after World War II, and Mass continues to be celebrated on Saturday evenings.

• 1699 – Juan Trujillo and others settle the site that becomes San Ysidro.
• 1786 – Governor de Anza issues the San Ysidro de los Dolores Land Grant (12 × 2 miles).
• 1874 – A post office is established in the village.
• 1947 – The Jemez Valley missions join the Archdiocese of Santa Fe.
• Post-WWII – The present San Ysidro Catholic Church is built.
• Today – Mass is celebrated every Saturday evening.

The Patron: Saint Isidore the Farmer

The village and its mission are named for San Ysidro (Saint Isidore the Farmer), the 11th- and 12th-century Spanish farm laborer who is widely venerated as the patron of farmers. He is depicted in traditional New Mexican Santero art wearing blue trousers, a red shirt, and a flat hat, with a plow and ox team — accompanied by an angel said to do his plowing while he prays. His feast day is May 15, and the village marks it each year with the annual San Ysidro Fiesta Day.

• Patron saint of farmers, the village of San Ysidro, and the wider New Mexico farming tradition.
• Feast day: May 15.
• Honored every year at the village's mid-May Fiesta Day.

Part of the Mission of San Diego, Jemez Pueblo

San Ysidro Mission is one of several small mission churches served by the Mission of San Diego at Jemez Pueblo. The Mission of San Diego, headquartered at 475 Mission Rd., Jemez Pueblo, NM 87024 (telephone 575-834-7300), ministers to Spanish and Native American Catholic communities across the Jemez Valley and surrounding pueblos. As a mission chapel, San Ysidro shares the pastoral care provided by the priests assigned to the parent parish at Jemez Pueblo.

• Parent parish: Mission of San Diego, Jemez Pueblo (475 Mission Rd., Jemez Pueblo, NM 87024).
• Parent parish phone: (575) 834-7300.
• Other missions under the same pastoral care: Santo Toribio (Ponderosa), Our Lady of Guadalupe (Cañon), Our Lady of the Assumption (Zia Pueblo), and Santa Ana (Santa Ana Pueblo).

Worship and Schedule

San Ysidro Mission celebrates Mass every Saturday evening, in keeping with the mission church tradition that has served the village for generations. As a small mission chapel, the church is not staffed daily; regular sacramental and sacramental-preparation needs (baptisms, weddings, quinceañeras, etc.) are typically coordinated through the Mission of San Diego at Jemez Pueblo.

• Saturday evening Mass — weekly.
• Pastoral coordination through Mission of San Diego, Jemez Pueblo.

Visiting the Village of San Ysidro

The village of San Ysidro sits at the south end of the Jemez Valley near the junction of U.S. Highway 550 and New Mexico State Road 4, where the Rio Salado joins the Jemez River. It is part of the Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area and lies along the historic route from Albuquerque and Santa Fe westward to Cuba and the old Spanish settlements. Historic buildings still standing in the village include the Salon de Baile Histórico, built in 1922, and the post-World War II San Ysidro Catholic Church.

• Location: junction of U.S. Highway 550 and NM State Road 4.
• Setting: south end of the Jemez Valley, where the Rio Salado meets the Jemez River.
• Historic landmark: Salon de Baile Histórico (1922).