inSPIREd Sunday

Sally and Beth host inSPIREd Sunday!

December 2014 - Mesilla NM

Unfortunately the church was not open, we were told that it would open at 12:30 but we would be gone by then.

San Albino - The Mexican-American War had just ended and land that belonged to Mexico would soon become part of the United States. A group of refugees from present day northern New Mexico, Doña Ana County, and villages south of El Paso del Norte (now El Paso/Juarez) banded together under the direction of Cura Ramón Ortíz.

The priest was appointed by the government of Mexico to be Commissioner of Emigration to assist Mexican citizens who wanted to resettle in Mexican territory. It was this band of settlers that arrived west of the Rio Bravo Grande del Norte to establish La Mesilla around 1850.

The settlers soon established a central plaza which included a Catholic church on the south side of the plaza. Constructed of mud and logs, this primitive structure was named San Albino.

San Albino is one of the oldest missions in the Mesilla Valley.


It was established by order of the Mexican government in 1851.


In 1906, the present building was constructed on the foundation of the original adobe church.


The bells of San Albino date to the early 1870s.

New Mexico! You cannot beat the incredible skies and lighting.