About St. Vincent de Paul Mission · Punta de Agua, New Mexico
St. Vincent de Paul Mission is a small Roman Catholic mission church serving the village of Punta de Agua in Torrance County, New Mexico. It is one of five mission chapels of St. Alice Catholic Church in nearby Mountainair, all under the pastoral care of the same priest. The mission sits along Highway 55 in a region of historic Spanish and Hispanic villages, and its rough-cut stone building reflects the simple, durable architecture of early settlers of the Manzano Mountains. Worship is celebrated in alternation with the other missions in the cluster, with Mass offered on Tuesday evenings at 5:00 pm on a rotating schedule with the Abo mission.
- Patron
- St. Vincent de Paul
- Rector
- Rev. Fr. Jordan Sánchez
- Diocese
- Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santa Fe
Why belong here
St. Vincent de Paul Mission is a tight-knit rural Catholic community that has gathered for worship in Punta de Agua for generations, and it remains the spiritual home of a ranching village along Highway 55 in the Manzano Mountains. Visiting or joining means participating in the same faith life that sustains the five-mission cluster centered on St. Alice in Mountainair, including weekday Mass, the parish St. Vincent de Paul Society (which runs the Mountainair thrift store for those in need), religious education, and First Friday and First Saturday devotions celebrated at the mother church. For anyone passing through Torrance County or seeking a quiet, historic mission chapel, it offers an authentic, lived-in expression of New Mexico Catholic heritage.
Mass times at St. Vincent de Paul Mission
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Before every Mass at St. Alice Parish, and by appointment
Adoration times
- First Friday Holy Hour of Eucharistic Adoration at 12:30 PM at St. Alice, Mountainair (with Devotions to the Sacred Heart at 12:35 PM)
St. Vincent de Paul Mission, Punta de Agua
St. Vincent de Paul Mission is a small Catholic chapel in the village of Punta de Agua, Torrance County, New Mexico, cared for by the pastor and staff of St. Alice Catholic Church in nearby Mountainair. It belongs to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santa Fe and is one of five mission churches in the St. Alice cluster that serve the rural Hispanic and ranching communities along Highway 55 and the eastern flanks of the Manzano Mountains.
- Type: Mission Church
- Diocese: Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santa Fe
- Mother parish: St. Alice Catholic Church, Mountainair
- Patron: St. Vincent de Paul
History & Heritage of Punta de Agua
Punta de Agua is one of the historic small villages along Highway 55 in Torrance County, settled generations ago by Hispanic families who built their homes, walls, and chapels from the rough-cut stone they quarried locally. The mission's stone church stands as a tangible expression of that folk-building tradition and the deep Catholic roots of the community. The neighboring Punta de Agua Catholic Cemetery, also called the St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church Cemetery, with 129 recorded memorials, is a continuing sign of the mission's long-standing role as the spiritual center of the village.
- Rough-cut local-stone construction in the Manzano Mountain vernacular style
- Punta de Agua Catholic Cemetery (Find A Grave ID 38343) adjacent to the mission
- Part of the long Catholic heritage of the Manzano Mountain villages
Worship Schedule at the Mission
Mass at St. Vincent de Paul is celebrated on Tuesday evenings at 5:00 PM, alternating with the San Lorenzo mission in Abo according to the published calendar. Because the missions share one pastoral team, the full weekly worship schedule for the whole cluster is published on the St. Alice website.
- Tuesday Mass at 5:00 PM, alternating with Abo (see parish calendar)
- Sunday and Saturday vigil Masses are celebrated at St. Alice, Mountainair and at the other missions on rotation
Sacraments & Devotions
Sacraments for the mission are administered through St. Alice Parish in Mountainair. Confessions are heard before every Mass and by appointment. First Friday and First Saturday are days of special devotion at the mother church, with a Holy Hour of Eucharistic Adoration, Devotions to the Sacred Heart, and a First Saturday Rosary leading into Mass.
- Confessions before every Mass and by appointment
- First Friday: Confessions 11:45 AM, Mass 12 PM, Holy Hour of Adoration 12:30 PM, Sacred Heart Devotions 12:35 PM at St. Alice
- First Saturday: Rosary 8:30 AM, Mass 9:00 AM at St. Alice
- Emergency Sacramental Need line: 505-226-2786
Parish Staff & Leadership
The mission is pastored by the same priest and team who serve St. Alice Parish and the other four mission chapels. The parish office, located at 301 South Roosevelt Ave. in Mountainair, is open Monday through Thursday, 9 AM to 3 PM (closed 1:00–1:30 PM for lunch).
- Rev. Fr. Jordan Sánchez — Pastor ([email protected])
- Lugie Garcia — Secretary
- Charles O'Donnell — Finance Council Chair
- Lindsey Benjamin — Director of Religious Education ([email protected])
Ministries & Outreach
Through its connection to St. Alice Parish, the mission community participates in faith formation and the work of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, the parish's charitable arm that operates a thrift store in Mountainair to assist those in need. The parish has periodically appealed for volunteers to keep the thrift store open Tuesday through Friday.
- St. Vincent de Paul Society — parish thrift store serving those in need (contact: Ramona Medina, President)
- Religious Education / Faith Formation for children and families (DRE: Lindsey Benjamin)
- Finance Council (Chair: Charles O'Donnell)
The Five-Mission Cluster
St. Vincent de Paul Mission is one of five rural missions served from St. Alice Parish in Mountainair. Together they form a single pastoral family covering a wide swath of Torrance County in the Manzano Mountains.
- Church of St. Alice — Mountainair (mother parish)
- Church of San Lorenzo — Abo
- Church of Nuestra Señora de Dolores — Manzano
- Church of St. Vincent de Paul — Punta de Agua
- Church of St. Anthony — Torreon
- Church of Our Lady of Sorrows — Willard
Visiting Punta de Agua
The mission sits in the village of Punta de Agua along Highway 55, in the same corridor of historic Manzano Mountain villages as Quarai, Abo, Manzano, Torreon, and Willard. Visitors should consult the St. Alice website for the most current rotation of weekday Masses among the missions, and may stop at the parish office in Mountainair for any sacramental needs.
- Address: Punta de Agua, NM 87036
- Parish office: 301 South Roosevelt Ave., P.O. Box 206, Mountainair, NM 87036
- Parish phone: (505) 847-2291
- Email: [email protected]