Preserve Sacred Ground ~ For 400 years, this adobe church has held the stories, spirit, and soil of our community. Built by hand. Sustained by faith. Now, it’s our turn to preserve it—forever.
Give to the Chapel's Perpetual Preservation Project. Your gift makes history last.
"THE OLDEST CHURCH" ~ COMMUNITY ~ FAITH ~ HISTORY ~ MUSIC
One of the most significant yet overlooked national historical sites, San Miguel Chapel is the oldest Catholic religious structure in the continental United States. Built about the same time the City of Santa was founded, circa 1610,
San Miguel sits upon its original foundation over a Tewa pueblo Indian dwelling
(c. 1300) called O’Ga P’Ogeh Owingeh.
The chapel is located at the crossroads of the Old Santa Fe Trail, El Camino Real and the Spanish Trail. It began as a shrine to St. Michael the Archangel and has served as a place of Catholic worship for indigenous Mexican, Franciscan Missionaries, Spanish Conquistadores, and native Pueblo Indians. Original construction was thought to be rectangular in shape and composed of a dirt floor and mud roof.
The Chapel was most likely constructed by the indigenous people from the province of Tlaxcala (Tlash-cal’-a) Mexico who came to New Mexico as Catholic, Spanish Allies and settlers. They built the chapel for themselves and the Spanish soldiers under the directions of the Franciscans.
The Tlaxcalans near Vera Cruz, Mexico, converted to Catholicism and became citizens of Spain. They assisted the Spanish in conquering the Aztecs and arrived in Santa Fe with them. They were honored with their own coat of arms given to them by the king of Spain.
Tlaxcala Coat Of Arms - above Left. The Oldest House - Above Right
The chapel is located in the Barrio de Analco district, which means the “other side of the river” in Nahuatl. The district is 2 ½ blocks south of the Plaza and is where the non-Spanish worked and lived. The church was partially destroyed in 1640 at the hands of Luis de Rojas, a provincial governor who feuded with church authorities.
1680
San Miguel was targeted by the Pueblo Revolt as a base for Spanish allies. The roof was burned and part of the walls were damaged. Everyone hiding in the chapel perished. It was a concerted attack that drove the Spanish as far south as El Paso for a 12-year exile.
Don Diego De Vargas, Above
In 1692-1693, Governor General Don Diego De Vargas fought his way back to Santa Fe and resettled the area for the Spanish. The second rebuilding of San Miguel was completed in 1710.
Arriving in New Mexico during the reconquest of Santa Fe in 1693, Captain Nicolás Ortiz III oversaw the Presidio of Santa Fe until his death in a clash with Comanche warriors in 1769.
Nicolas III’s son Antonio José Ortiz supported the construction of religious structures in Santa Fe including the Rosario Chapel, the Santuario de Guadalupe, and the restoration of La Parroquia (parish church) of St. Francis and the Chapel of La Conquistadora. Today, the Hilton Hotel chain owns the eastern Ortiz property, which is presently used for its Ortiz restaurant. Similarly, the western Ortiz property is occupied by professional offices and it is no longer identifiable as a home. Because of their historical significance, the City of Santa Fe saved both Ortiz houses by designating a zoning ordinance prohibiting their demolition
1798
The mayor of Santa Fe, José Antonio Ortiz funded major repairs and the construction of the beautiful altar screen, Retablo (reredos) which is indicative of the Spanish Colonial architecture by the “Laguna Santero”, an anonymous but hugely influential artist who worked in New Mexico between 1776 and 1808. Its twisted “Solomonic columns” on either side are thought to be the first examples in New Mexico and are very typical of the Laguna Santero.
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1848
A three-tiered bell tower was added to the chapel and in 1856, the 780- pound San José Bell was added to the tower.
The origins of the San José Bell are unknown. Legend and oral tradition state the bell was cast in Spain to commemorate a Christian victory of the Moors. The bell made its way across the ocean and up through Mexico where Señora Loretta Ortiz, the mayor’s wife, purchased the bell in Vera Cruz and brought it to Santa Fe. Another legend says the bell was cast in sand in New Mexico.
1859
The newly appointed Archbishop Lamy commissioned the La Sallian Christian Brothers to start a school for boys.
A three-story building, now called the Lamy Building, was constructed close to San Miguel which eventually housed the dormitory students from 1859-1968. The third floor no longer exists due to a fire in 1926, and the Lamy building was granted status on the National Register Historic District in 1975. St. Micheal’s High School used the chapel during this time period and is still the proud owner and caretaker of this historic treasure.
1872
A horrific windstorm destroyed the two tiers of the tower and knocked the San Jose Bell to the ground leaving it either broken into pieces or cracked. It has been inside the chapel since 1895. Its origins are unknown.
1887-1889
The 100% adobe Chapel was in need of serious repair. Due to lack of funds and manpower it was going to be destroyed. The villagers came together and, as a gift, built stone buttresses to shore up the adobe walls, and a tar and gravel roof to replace the old mud roof. Two years later, buttresses were added to the north wall. The Christian Brothers added a wooden floor three feet above the earthen floor, a communion rail and a large door at the western entrance. The altar screen was covered in white paint to hide the decades of neglect plus soot and dirt collected on its surface. Thus began the centuries-old tradition of community support, still in practice today!
1926
The wooden third floor of the school building burned leaving two stories as a dormitory. At this time there were over 500 students in attendance. This is how the chapel and school building look today.
1955
Ms. Elizabeth Boyd (A Spanish Colonial art curator) initiated a restoration of the beautiful Retablo (reredos) and removed five layers of white paint that was used to cover soot and dirt on the Retablo. The original dirt floor and sanctuary steps beyond the communion rail can now be seen through the plexiglass altar floor windows. Many human remains from the builders of the chapel in 1610 and pieces of pottery were discovered buried below the church using ground penetrating radar. These remains are thought to be from the people who built the chapel.
During this restoration and archeological process, the current painting of Christ The Nazarene at the present center of the retablo was found in the small space behind the altar screen.
In addition, a curator from Colorado Springs, CO, Cornelius, peeled a more recent painting of St Michael off of the original paining of St Michael. Bernardo Miera y Pacheco, a renaissance man of his time, painter and map-maker, is the artist who painted the St Michael, San Miguel, which now holds a spot of honor at the top of the retablo.
1957
Señor Roman Rochas, Mexican carved the 14 lovely, pine stations of the cross as a gift in return for the Christian Brother’s kindness shown him during an illness. Rocha’s other gifts reside at the Brothers’ residence at St. Michael’s High School.
The current roof we see was put into place in 1830 using ponderosa logs from the Santa Fe National Forest
1967-1968
The Sisters of Loretto Girls' School fails in 1967. St Michael's School welcomed the girls. In 1968, St Michael's High School sold the now called Lamy Building to the state of New Mexico. It now houses state offices and a Visitors' Center.
2008
St. Michael’s High School entered into a collaborative relationship with Cornerstones Community Partnerships organized by Director Emeritus David K Blackman for the preservation of San Miguel Chapel. Cornerstones is noted for its preservation, restorations and maintenance of old adobe buildings throughout Northern New Mexico and the southwest.
Between 2010 and 2014, The Portland cement stucco applied to the exterior decades before, was removed, the adobe was repaired, and adobe plaster finish coat was applied. In the spring, of 2020, another external chapel wall was restored and preserved with adobe plastering and lime whitewash. A video of this process can be viewed on this website's PRESERVATION page.
Artwork in the Chapel:
Two Hide paintings that date back to the 1630s. They are some of the few surviving locally produced sacred artworks of the period. On the left on a buffalo hide is the story of the crucifixion. On the right on an elk or deer hide is believed to be St John the Baptist. These were the "powerpoints for the padres". They would be rolled up and packed onto a burro or backpack, taken out to a village or another settlement, unfurled and used as teaching tools.
2023
Solar power panels are ballast-held onto a new roof provided by Saint Michael's High School. The 5 year plan came to fruition with the careful planning by David K Blackman and Cornerstones Community Partnerships: the equipment supplied by Positive Energy Solar.
On the left wall of the sanctuary is a painting of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, a 15th-Century Byzantine icon. The original icon is housed in St. Alphonsus de Liquori church in Rome. It was gifted to the De Lasallian Brothers by Pope Leo XIII.
ARTWORKS ON THE ALTAR SCREEN - details below (From viewers’ left to right, bottom to top) #1-9 starting at the top, left to right.
Ovals from Viceroyalty of New Spain, 18th Century.
Oval #1: Saint Teresa de Avila/Santa Teresa
Painting #2: (Top Center) Archangel Michael/San Miguel (New Mexico, c.1755, restored)
An early work by Spanish-born artist, mapmaker, and civic leader Bernardo Miera y Pacheco (1713-1785, commissioned and gifted to the Chapel by patron Manuel Saenz de Garvisu)
Oval #3 Saint Clare of Assisi/ Santa Clara
(Contemporary of Saint Francis and co-founder of the Franciscan order of nuns, the Poor Clares (This portrait was previously identified as Santa Gertrudis/Gertrude the Great of Germany)
Oval #4: Saint Francis of Assisi/San Francisco
Painting #5: Christ the Nazarene/Jesus Nazareno (New Spain, XIX restored)
Oval #4:
Saint Louis IX, King of France/San Luis Rey.
Bulto #7: unidentified saint, New Mexico, XIX. Possibly St. Gertrude or St. Francis.
Bulto #2: Archangel Michael/San Miguel, New Spain, XVIII
Bulto #3: likely Saint Anthony/San Antonio or Staint Roche (Roque). New Mexico, early XIX.
