St. Joseph Apache Mission Church

The St. Joseph Apache Mission Church is a historic Catholic parish church at 626 Mission Trail in Mescalero, New Mexico, United States. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.^[1] Its parishioners are mostly members of the Mescalero Apache tribe.^[2]

Exterior in 2013

St. Joseph Apache Mission Church
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
NM State Register of Cultural Properties
Altar of St. Joseph's Church, in 1975
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Location	626 Mission Trail, Mescalero, New Mexico
Coordinates	33°9′24″N 105°46′3″W
Area	less than one acre
Built	1920-39
Architect	William C. Stanton
Architectural style	Late Gothic Revival
Website	sites.google.com/stjosephapachemission.org/stjosephapachemission/about?authuser=0
NRHP reference No.	04001588[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	February 1, 2005
Designated NMSRCP	June 11, 2004

The church was built upon the stone floor of a prehistoric Jornada Mogollon-culture ruin, estimated to date from 200 to 1400.^[3] It was designed in Late Gothic Revival style by Philadelphia architect William C. Stanton.^[3] Priest Albert Braun oversaw construction beginning in the 1920s.^[2]

The altar of the church features Apache Christ, an 8-foot painting, executed by Franciscan friar Robert Lentz in 1989, that depicts Christ as a Mescalero holy man greeting the sun atop Sierra Blanca; inscriptions around the painting are in both Apache and Greek.^[2] In 2024, the Diocese of Las Cruces removed the icon, a smaller work showing Native dancers, and ceramic chalices and baskets donated by the local Pueblo community for use in serving the Eucharist. The removal touched off a debate within the Catholic Church regarding inculturation and the melding of Apache and Catholic traditions.^[2] The diocese restored the works after their removal angered Apache parishioners; after the works were reinstalled, Bishop Peter Baldacchino met with the parish council.^[2]

See also

• National Register of Historic Places portal

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Otero County, New Mexico

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. Deepa Bharath, Apache Christ icon controversy sparks debate over Indigenous Catholic faith practices, Associated Press (July 27, 2024).
3. Mary M. Serna; James W. Steely (March 2004). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: St. Joseph Apache Mission Church / St. Joseph Apache Mission; LA 20723". National Park Service. Retrieved February 4, 2019. With accompanying six photos from 2004

External links

Media related to St. Joseph's Catholic Church (Mescalero, New Mexico) at Wikimedia Commons