The Immaculate Conception Church in Lourdes was built sometime prior to December of 1876. Ernie Leger began corresponding with Cornerstones to preserve the church in the 1990s -- the Leger family remains deeply connected to this place and this landscape. Their ancestors are buried there. This community represents some of the real story of New Mexico settlement and agricultural use from colonial times leading to the Second World War.
Jake Rodriguez completed the initial The New Mexico Historic Building Inventory Form in 1986. Later on, Jake joined Cornerstone’s board, a position he retired from just last month. We thank him for his long years of dedication to this organization. Jake’s profession as an architect is reflected in his tidy handwriting and the simple, but careful drawing that he made on the report.
New Mexico Historic Building Inventory Form - Mission Church Survey (Click to view)
More often than not, there is more work to be done than there are funds available. The team prioritizes what is most important with the hopes that more can be done later. In May 1996, the Historic Preservation Office completed an Assessment which concluded that the “primary concern was the stability of the roof.” There are detailed drawings and plans in the files that reflect this.
Conception Church Roof Assessment (Click to view)
The McCune Foundation provided support for this project in 1997. Now, twenty-four years later, McCune continues to provide financial support to New Mexico communities via Cornerstones’ work. Funding also came directly from the community. Our files contain a copy of a $5 ticket from a raffle that the community organized to raise funds to repair the church.
Cornerstones projects almost always include hands on support from our volunteers. In this case photos show a great crew working on remudding the church. Where you one of them? If so, we’d love to hear from you in the comments. Click the images to see a larger version and captions.
Now the Church would benefit from renewed attention. Jake Barrow and I made a trip to the Church last week. The location is spectacular and remote - 10 miles off I25 in San Miguel County. The setting of this mission church in the valley is breathtaking.
We saw that the roof replacement done in the late 1990’s has done more to save this building than anything else. The very hard and durable mud plaster had eroded about 25% over a 20 year period and needs to be re-done. A structural crack on the left corner by the door telegraphs through to the inside. There are broken windows and a doorway without a door, but with unusually decorative trim for a rural New Mexico church of this genre. The interior is more or less intact. It is very simple and very beautiful in that simple way. It is a place that is in transition. A roof, stable walls, interior protection, and some level of monitoring/maintenance are needed.
As was the case when the team did the initial work on the Church, we will look at the financial resources that we have available to decide what work we can accomplish and what work is most essential. We will be looking at this project in the context of the many adobe structures in New Mexico that would benefit from our work. If you would like to support these kinds of projects, please donate to Cornerstones.
Immaculate Conception also captivated Jeff Black, a talented professional photographer. He sent us some incredible images that he generously allowed us to use for our work to restore churches.
Tracey Enright
Executive Director
Cornerstones Community Partnerships
February 8, 2021