San Francisco de Asis Mission Church, Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico
There are many historic churches in New Mexico, which date back to the days when the state was a viceroyalty of Spain. San Francisco de Asis Mission Church is a standout among these churches, a gorgeous example of Spanish colonial architecture.
Erected between 1772 and 1816, it San Francisco has seen continuous use to the present. The church is largely unchanged, save for dictats stemming from post-counciliar, Vatican 2, “reforms,” requiring the freestanding altar, the removal of the communion rail, and of course the dumbing-down of the mass and use of the vernacular.
Those two dubious reforms aside, the church is in fine repair and well-cared for. Although, like the other Catholic churches in Taos, there is no organ, which probably owes to the difficulty of porting the instruments 200 or more years ago, thus establishing a president. The music of the mass, as with most Catholic churches, is awful, and there is no early mass anymore (banned by our ethically challenged archbishop), where one could escape it.
Complaints aside, San Francisco de Asís is a wonderful, holy place in which to pray and worship our Lord.
The Taos Tatler 