About St. Francis of Assisi Mission · Nambe Pueblo, New Mexico
St. Francis of Assisi Mission (San Francisco de Asís) is a Catholic mission church located in Nambé Pueblo, New Mexico, a Tewa-speaking Pueblo community in the Pojoaque Valley north of Santa Fe. It is served by the Parish of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe del Valle de Pojoaque (which has its main church in Pojoaque and includes sister missions in Nambé and Los Ranchos de Alcalde) and falls within the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. The present church was designed by architect Allen L. McNown, dedicated in 1975 after fourteen years of fundraising by the St. Francis Women's Club, and remains deeply integrated with the Nambé Pueblo community, hosting special Masses that include traditional Pueblo dances. Weekly Mass is celebrated on Saturday evening at 5:30 pm.
- Established
- 1613
- Patron
- St. Francis of Assisi (San Francisco de Asís)
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Santa Fe
Why belong here
St. Francis of Assisi Mission offers a unique window into living Pueblo Catholicism in northern New Mexico. The community gathers weekly at the pueblo's 1975 adobe church — a building that the St. Francis Women's Club raised over fourteen years of benefit dances and that artists, pilgrims, and Pueblo families now regard as a beloved landmark. Saturday-evening Mass is regularly enriched with traditional Pueblo dances and other special celebrations of the Nambé community, making this small mission one of the most distinctive places of worship in the Pojoaque Valley and a meaningful stop for anyone exploring the living Catholic heritage of the Tewa people.
Mass times at St. Francis of Assisi Mission
Weekly Mass schedule
St. Francis of Assisi Mission
San Francisco de Asís is the Catholic mission church of Nambé Pueblo, New Mexico. It is one of three mission churches served by the Parish of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe del Valle de Pojoaque, whose main church and parish offices are in Pojoaque. The mission sits inside the pueblo and is deeply woven into the life of the Nambé community — Pueblo families help host the liturgies, and the regular Saturday Mass is regularly celebrated with traditional Native dances on major feast days. Visitors are warmly welcomed to attend.
- Saturday Vigil Mass: 5:30 PM
- Located off Santa Fe County Rd 84F (Aveh Poe), Nambé Pueblo, NM 87501
- Parish phone: (505) 455-2267
- Website: pojoaquecatholics.com
History of the Mission
The Catholic presence at Nambé Pueblo stretches back more than four centuries. The Spanish established a mission at the pueblo in 1613, and the first church was built four years later, in 1617. That original church was destroyed during the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. A grand replacement church was completed in 1725 and dedicated with great celebration; a beam from that church bore the inscription, 'The Lord Governor Don Juan Domingo Bustamente built this church at his own expense, Year of 1725.' That church stood until its pitched roof collapsed around 1908, and a simpler third church — built in 1910 — was condemned and demolished in the early 1960s, leaving Nambé Pueblo without a church of its own for roughly a decade.
- 1613: Spanish mission established at Nambé Pueblo
- 1617: First church built; destroyed in the 1680 Pueblo Revolt
- 1725: Second church dedicated; its dated beam documented the cost
- 1910: Third ('barn-style') church built
- Early 1960s: Third church condemned and demolished
- 1974: Construction of the present San Francisco de Asís church begins
- 1975: New church dedicated
The 1975 Church
After the demolition of the third church, the St. Francis Women's Club took on the work of raising a new sanctuary. Members organized fourteen years of community fundraising — including the long-running Fourth of July dances, now held at the Nambé Falls Recreation Area — that drew dancers from neighboring pueblos. In 1974, sufficient funds were raised to build the present church. Architect Allen L. McNown designed it in a contemporary style rooted in the Pueblo tradition: low massed adobe walls, an undulating surface, a transverse clerestory, and tall, narrow windows fitted with tinted glass that fills the nave with warm, diffused light. Above the doorway hangs the bell salvaged from the 1725 church — a tangible link between today's congregation and the pueblo's colonial past. The church was formally dedicated in 1975.
- Designed by architect Allen L. McNown in a contemporary Pueblo Revival style
- Built of adobe with transverse clerestory and tinted-glass windows
- Display the 1725 bell on a beam above the entrance
- Funded largely through 4th of July benefit dances by the St. Francis Women's Club
Parish of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe del Valle de Pojoaque
St. Francis of Assisi Mission is served by the Parish of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe del Valle de Pojoaque, whose main church and offices sit in nearby Pojoaque. The parish was officially recognized by Archbishop Edwin V. Byrne of Santa Fe in January 1959, on the recommendation of Father Augustine Cortes of Santa Cruz de la Cañada. In addition to the mission at Nambé Pueblo, the parish family includes Sacred Heart in Nambé and Holy Family in Los Ranchos de Alcalde, all tracing their roots to the seventeenth-century Spanish missions established in the Tewa-speaking villages along the Pojoaque Valley.
- Main church: Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, Pojoaque
- Sister missions: San Francisco de Asís (Nambé Pueblo), Sagrado Corazón de Jesús (Nambé), and Holy Family (Los Ranchos)
- Parish office: 9 Grazing Elk Dr., Pojoaque, NM
Liturgy and Community Life
The mission's regular weekly liturgy is the Saturday Vigil Mass at 5:30 PM, which also satisfies the Sunday obligation. Beyond the regular schedule, the mission hosts special Masses around major feast days that are celebrated together with the Nambé Pueblo community, often featuring traditional Native dances at the church and on the plaza. The Fourth of July dances — the very tradition that helped build the present church — continue to bring dancers from many pueblos to Nambé each summer.
- Saturday Vigil Mass at 5:30 PM
- Special feast-day Masses with traditional Pueblo dances
- Annual Fourth of July dances (now held at Nambé Falls Recreation Area)
Visiting the Mission
St. Francis of Assisi Mission welcomes visitors to its Saturday evening Mass and to any of the special feast-day celebrations. The mission lies in Nambé Pueblo, southeast of the village of Nambé, just off Santa Fe County Road 84F (also known as Aveh Poe). Masses and schedules are coordinated through the parish office in Pojoaque at (505) 455-2267, and the parish's website at pojoaquecatholics.com carries the most up-to-date information.
- Directions: in Nambé Pueblo, off Santa Fe County Rd 84F (Aveh Poe)
- Parish phone: (505) 455-2267
- Parish website: pojoaquecatholics.com
- Coordinator: Parish of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe del Valle de Pojoaque