About St. Joseph · Cerrillos, New Mexico
St. Joseph Catholic Parish & Missions serves the historic mining village of Los Cerrillos, New Mexico, and two mission communities in the surrounding hills: Nuestra Señora de Los Remedios in Galisteo and San Francisco de Asís in Golden. The parish is part of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and is housed in a 1922 adobe-and-stone church that replaced the original 1884 building constructed under the direction of its first pastor, Franciscan Father Hesse. Under the current pastor, the Rev. Adrian Sisneros (appointed August 2023), the parish has been physically refurbished and is reviving old customs such as a Christmas Eve midnight Mass and the nine-night Spanish celebration of Las Posadas.
- Established
- 1884
- Patron
- St. Joseph
- Rector
- Rev. Adrian Sisneros
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Santa Fe
Why belong here
St. Joseph's is a historic adobe parish anchoring three villages along the Turquoise Trail—Cerrillos, Galisteo and Golden—where almost everyone in the pews either grew up there or knows someone who did. Under Fr. Adrian Sisneros, the church has been physically renewed and the doors are open 24 hours a day by code so that anyone can come in to pray at any hour. The parish keeps a close circle of daily Mass (Tue–Fri), Sunday Masses across all three mission churches, and a revived Spanish-tradition liturgical calendar with Las Posadas and a midnight Christmas Mass that fills the streets and the rectory.
Mass times at St. Joseph
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday 8:15–8:45 AM at St. Joseph, Cerrillos
- Saturday 3:15–3:45 PM at San Francisco de Asís, Golden
- Sunday 10:45–11:15 AM at Nuestra Señora de Los Remedios, Galisteo
Adoration times
- 24-hour adoration chapel available by key-code access at St. Joseph, Cerrillos
Parish History
Catholic life in Los Cerrillos dates to the 1880s mining boom. The original St. Joseph's was built about 1884 under Franciscan Father Hesse with builder Frank Schmidt. It was replaced in 1922 by the present church. Cerrillos became its own parish in 1939 under Father Rousseau. Twelve Franciscans served here in succession, the best known being Fray Angélico Chávez (1960–64). Father Donnen, the last Franciscan pastor, retired in 2002 and the parish passed fully to the Archdiocese of Santa Fe.
- 1884 — first church built
- 1922 — present church built
- 1939 — erected as a parish
- 1960–64 — Fray Angélico Chávez serves
- 2002 — last Franciscan pastor retires
- 2023 — Fr. Adrian Sisneros arrives
Franciscans at Cerrillos
From 1884 until 2002, the parish was staffed largely by Franciscan friars — twelve of them served across the years. The arrival of Franciscans shaped the visible culture of the church: the stucco of San Francisco de Asís, the religious art on the walls, the mission-style furnishings. Under Fr. Adrian Sisneros the parish has re-centered artwork depicting that Franciscan heritage as a connection between today's parishioners and 'all the Franciscans that were here before.'
- Twelve Franciscans served 1884–2002
- Fray Angélico Chávez, 1960–64
- Father Donnen, last Franciscan, retired 2002
Refurbishment Under Fr. Adrian Sisneros (2023–)
Soon after his August 2023 arrival, Fr. Adrian Sisneros and his father—a craftsman—undertook a four-month refurbishment of the century-old church. They tore out plaster and added a burnished wooden entry door with an electronic key-code system that locks automatically 30 seconds after entry, repainted the walls, refinished a wooden floor in a converted storage room now serving as a 24-hour adoration chapel, and built a handcrafted pulpit and a chapel altar containing a reserved sacrament. A life-size crucifix and a large canvas of Franciscan friars receiving Christ's wounds were pulled from storage and rehung in deliberate symmetry.
- New wood and electronic key-code entry door
- 24-hour key-code adoration chapel
- Repainted walls and refinished wood floors
- Recovered life-size crucifix and Franciscan canvases rehung
- Handcrafted pulpit and chapel altar built by pastor's father
Restored Traditions
Fr. Sisneros has revived Catholic customs that had lapsed at the parish, most visibly the nine-night Spanish celebration of Las Posadas from December 16 to 24 and a Christmas Eve midnight Mass. The parish gathers at the rectory between nights for shared meals, and after the midnight Mass the community processes to an outdoor shrine of Virgin Mary sculptures lit by farolitos.
- Christmas Eve midnight Mass
- Las Posadas, Dec. 16–24
- Outdoor shrine with Virgin Mary sculptures and farolitos
Missions of the Parish
St. Joseph in Cerrillos is the parish church; two mission churches belong to it. Nuestra Señora de Los Remedios in Galisteo has had a Catholic presence on the old Tano Pueblo site since about 1606 and the present (third) church dates to a 1884 reconstruction. San Francisco de Asís in Golden sits on a scenic stretch of NM Hwy 14 and was famously redesigned by Fray Angélico Chávez after 1959–60 storms blew off its roof twice in a row.
- Nuestra Señora de Los Remedios, Galisteo — third church 1884; mission of St. Joseph since 1957
- San Francisco de Asís, Golden — NM Hwy 14; rebuilt in old-mission style by Fray Angélico Chávez
Golden Mission Restoration (Spring 2024)
In spring 2024 the parish partnered with Nuevo Mexico Profundo on the exterior restoration of San Francisco de Asís in Golden. The project covered exterior repairs followed by a waterproofing and stabilizing stucco system, with work performed by Mudd Brothers Construction of Albuquerque.
- Exterior repairs and stucco stabilization
- Mudd Brothers Construction of Albuquerque
- Collaboration with Nuevo Mexico Profundo
Parish Cemetery
The parish maintains a cemetery on a triangular parcel of land across the San Marcos arroyo on the Santa Fe road, purchased by Father Defouri for St. Joseph's Church in October 1891.
- Cemetery site purchased October 1891 by Father Defouri
- Located across the San Marcos arroyo on the Santa Fe road
Visiting and Contact
The parish office can be reached by phone or email; mass times are also listed on the village of Cerrillos' tourism site. The Cerrillos church itself is now open 24 hours a day via the key-code entry installed in 2023.
- Office: [email protected]
- Phone: (505) 451-4896
- Address: 7 1st St., Los Cerrillos, NM 87010
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Hesse, OFM1884–
Franciscan first pastor who directed construction of the original 1884 church alongside builder Frank Schmidt of Cerrillos.
- Father Rousseau1939–
First resident priest when Cerrillos was formally erected as a parish.
- Fray Angélico Chávez, OFM1960–1964
12th Franciscan to serve here; celebrated New Mexico historian, author and artist; during his tenure also rebuilt the San Francisco de Paola mission at Golden.
- Father Donnen, OFM–2002
Retired in 2002 after 9 years of service; the last Franciscan pastor to serve at Cerrillos before the parish passed fully under the Archdiocese of Santa Fe.
- Rev. Adrian Sisneros2023–
Current pastor; arrived August 2023; refurbishing church interior and restoring traditions such as Las Posadas and Christmas Eve midnight Mass.