About St. Anthony Mission · Sandia Pueblo, New Mexico
St. Anthony Mission is a Roman Catholic mission church located at 308 Parrot Boulevard within the Sandia Pueblo (Tiwa: Tuf Shur Tia), a federally recognized Native American pueblo in central New Mexico. It is one of three active mission churches served by the Parish of Our Lady of Sorrows in nearby Bernalillo, alongside San José Mission in Algodones and San Antonio Mission in Placitas. As a pueblo mission with deep Tiwa heritage, St. Anthony is closely tied to Sandia's communal religious life, and the pueblo's annual public feast day on June 13 honors St. Anthony of Padua, the mission's patron. Mass is celebrated Saturday evenings, and sacramental care for the mission is administered through the parish clergy and deacons based in Bernalillo.
- Established
- 18th century (mission rebuilt with pueblo in 1740s; Fray Menchero documented construction of St. Anthony Mission in the colonial period)
- Patron
- Saint Anthony of Padua
- Rector
- Rev. Clement Niggel (Pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish, which administers St. Anthony Mission)
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Santa Fe
Why belong here
St. Anthony Mission is the spiritual home of Catholic life for the Sandia Pueblo community, where the June 13 feast of St. Anthony remains the pueblo's most important public religious celebration, weaving together Catholic Mass with traditional Tiwa music and dance. Worshippers come to a small, historically rooted mission chapel within the pueblo itself, supported by a multi-deacon and bilingual pastoral team that connects the Sandia community to the wider Our Lady of Sorrows family in Bernalillo. It is a rare place where centuries-old Franciscan-Tiwa Catholic heritage and living Indigenous tradition meet.
Mass times at St. Anthony Mission
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- By appointment through the parish office in Bernalillo (Mon–Thu 7:40 AM, Sat 3:30 PM at the main church, per OLOS schedule)
About St. Anthony Mission
St. Anthony Mission (308 Parrot Blvd, Sandia Pueblo, NM 87004) is a Catholic mission church within the Sandia Pueblo, a federally recognized Tiwa-speaking Pueblo community in central New Mexico. It is administered as a dependent mission of the Parish of Our Lady of Sorrows in Bernalillo, under the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. The mission serves the pueblo community with weekly Mass and sacramental care coordinated through the Bernalillo parish office.
History of the Mission
Catholic mission life at Sandia Pueblo goes back to the 1610s–1620s, when Franciscans like Fray Esteban de Perea established the earlier San Francisco Mission there. After the 1680 Pueblo Revolt drove the Spanish from the region and the pueblo was burned, the Sandia people eventually resettled permanently in November 1742 under Governor Tomás Vélez Cachupín. In the mid-18th century, Fray Juan Miguel Menchero, O.F.M., corresponded with Cachupín about rebuilding the Sandia missions, including St. Anthony, to serve the Tiwa people. The mission's full colonial title — 'Nuestra Señora de los Dolores y San Antonio de Sandía' — links it devotionally to Our Lady of Sorrows in Bernalillo, an association that continues today.
- Fray Esteban de Perea, OFM, arrives at Sandia in 1610; Mission San Francisco de Sandia established 1617.
- Sandia participates in the 1680 Pueblo Revolt; village abandoned and burned in August 1680.
- Sandia resettles permanently in November 1742 under Governor Tomás Vélez Cachupín.
- Fray Juan Miguel Menchero, OFM, oversees construction of Our Lady of Sorrows and St. Anthony Missions for the Tiwa.
- Mission continues under Archdiocese of Santa Fe, administered today from Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Bernalillo.
Feast Day and Pueblo Tradition
The Sandia Pueblo's principal religious celebration is the annual June 13 feast of St. Anthony, which is open to the public. The day integrates Catholic Mass with traditional Tiwa music and dance — participation in the dancing is considered a great honor. This syncretism of pre-contact Pueblo religion and Catholicism is a hallmark of life at Sandia and gives St. Anthony Mission a distinctive character in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe.
- Public feast day: June 13, feast of St. Anthony of Padua.
- Traditional Pueblo dance and music integrated with the Mass.
- Syncretism of Catholic and pre-contact Tiwa religious practice preserved to this day.
Parish Clergy and Staff
The mission is pastored by the team assigned to Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Bernalillo. The pastor and parochial vicar celebrate Mass at St. Anthony on rotation, and four deacons assist with parish-wide sacramental and pastoral ministry, including ministry to the Sandia community.
- Rev. Clement Niggel — Pastor
- Rev. Moses Nwankwo — Parochial Vicar
- Deacon Jose De Jesus Cervantes
- Deacon Gonzalo Calderon
- Deacon Eric Buenaventa
- Deacon Dan Kennedy
Ministries of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish
As one of three missions of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish, St. Anthony Mission's parishioners take part in the wider parish's parish-wide ministries, which include outreach, devotion, men's fellowship, and Bible study.
- St. Vincent de Paul — parish outreach to those in need.
- God's Little Angels — children's ministry.
- Our Lady of Fatima – Blue Army — First Saturday devotion and Fatima spirituality.
- Knights of Columbus — Catholic fraternity and service.
- That Man Is You! — men's faith and fraternity program.
- Placitas Bible Study — Scripture study hosted at the Placitas mission area.
- OLOS Counting Team — parish finance/collection counting volunteers.
Faith Formation and OCIA
The parish runs an OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults — formerly RCIA) program and a faith formation program for children and adults across the four-church family (Our Lady of Sorrows, San José, San Antonio, St. Anthony). Persons preparing for Baptism, First Communion, or Confirmation, or seeking to enter the Church, are invited to sign up through the parish office.
- OCIA – Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (parish-wide).
- Faith Formation classes for children and youth (parish-wide).
Contact and Visit
All pastoral care, scheduling, and sacramental bookings for St. Anthony Mission are handled through the parish office of Our Lady of Sorrows in Bernalillo. Visitors are warmly welcomed while respecting tribal protocols on the pueblo.
- Parish Office: 301 S. Camino del Pueblo, Bernalillo, NM 87004.
- Phone: (505) 867-5252. Fax: (505) 867-0267.
- Website: https://www.olosbernalillo.org/
- Facebook: facebook.com/olosbernalillonm/
- Mission address: 308 Parrot Blvd, Sandia Pueblo, NM 87004.
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Clement Niggelcurrent
Pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish; oversees St. Anthony Mission along with the other Bernalillo missions.