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The area of
Conejos was settled in the mid-1850s by farmers and ranchers originating mostly
from northern New Mexico. Along with their knowledge of irrigation, these
settlers brought with them their customs, language and their faith. They
established Our Lady of Guadalupe in 1858. The church is recognized at the
oldest Catholic Parish in Colorado, although at the time it was built, Conejos
was considered part of New Mexico territory, and fell under the jurisdiction of
Bishop Lamy of Santa Fe. The first pastor of the historic church was Fr. V.S.
Montaño.
After the
construction of the first “jacal” church, parishioners wasted little time
before they constructed a second church under the direction of their second
pastor, Fr. Jose Vigil. Construction on second church began in 1860 and was
completed by December 12, 1863, in time for a dedication on the feast of Our
Lady of Guadalupe. Following a traditional New Mexican building technique, the
new church was built around the old one, thereby eliminating the need for a
completely new structure, and eliminating the disruption of religious services.
When it was complete the church still had earthen floors.
In 1871, the
first Jesuit Fathers arrived in Conejos. The two Jesuits were responsible for
the Guadalupe parish which included an area 120 miles long, with Saguache at one
end and Los Pinos on the other, and in between, over a dozen missions. Thus
began an era of Jesuit service that lasted forty-nine years. With the
dissolution of the clerical territory known as the Colorado-New Mexico Mission,
the Jesuit Fathers relinquished control their many “missions.”
In 1920 the
Theatine Fathers took over administration of the parishes of Conejos, as well as
those of San Luis and Capulin.
Our Lady of Guadalupe experienced what must have been its
greatest tragedy on Ash Wednesday, 1926. The historic church caught fire due to
electrical problems and was destroyed except for a few walls and the towers.
Fortunately, the record books were saved. After the fire, there was much
speculation about rebuilding the church in Antonito, where most of the
parishioners actually lived. However, it was determined that in order to
preserve the standing as the oldest parish in Colorado, the Conejos parish would
be rebuilt and remain on the original site of the parish built in 1858. Today
the parish is the spiritual home of 460 families.
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