Last week I tagged along on a photo safari to document the conditions of several churches in Mora Valley. Our guide for the day was Rebecca Montoya. After our day together I think of Rebecca as the advocate for these churches. She is knowledgeable and passionate about all of them, but she is especially devoted to Santa Teresita Church in El Turquillo. She has served the Mayordoma of Santa Teresita since 2008.

Even on a grey rainy day, I was struck by the vibrancy of Santa Teresita. This is true for its appearance and the role that this church and Rebecca play in the community. Like Rebecca, her church is warm and welcoming. As you step into the vestibule you immediately want to enter and explore the extraordinary interior.

Santa Teresita demonstrates that some historic adobe churches are thriving and change with the needs of their communities. For example, Rebecca shared with me how she installed a porch on the side of the church to use during pot lucks. Previously she had been dragging out 2x4s to keep the tables steady on the uneven ground. The roof protects people and food in hot weather.

This church is the center of many traditions that the community has restored over the past decade or so. In addition to a regular Mass schedule, they host Posadas during Christmas, Rosary to the Blessed Mother in May and an annual Feast Day of Saint Therese, Good Friday Pilgrimage.

Watch Rebecca describe the story of the many projects at Santa Teresita.

Video by Barb Odell, All Girls Media

A Brief History of Santa Teresita Church

The Historic Building Inventory Form in Cornerstones’ files dates this church to 1920.

Our files also have an image of a photo from the late 1800s of Jacinto Duran and Maria Ignacia Rivera with notes indicating that they are both buried in Santa Teresita.

In 1983 after the church had been closed for 15 years, several members of the community joined together to make repairs to the church which included a new roof, new interior wood framing and sheetrock, and a cement slab. They halted plans for a concrete contrapared1 when Sam Baca, Cornerstones’ then Program Director, advised them that this is not the best treatment for wet adobe walls.

Tragically, in 2001 a drunken driver smashed into the church.

From 2003-2006 Cornerstones worked with the community to restore Santa Teresita’s physical structure. A special aspect of this collaboration was a Mora Valley Youth and Mayordomo training program. Participants learned the process of mud plastering so that they can continue to restore and preserve churches for future generations.

In a letter in our files Rebecca describes that “during our work days, we have formed a family and community…as we gather during our pot luck lunches and share stories of our childhood days attending mass at Santa Teresita and memories of our ancestors.”

Santa Teresita is a project that I think of as mission critical. These are buildings and communities that represent the real core of why Cornerstones was founded in 1986. While our mission has expanded to encompass other types of work, projects like this hold a special place in our heart.

If you would like to support the mission-critical work that we do at Cornerstones, you can donate online and find details on how to send us a check at https://www.cstones.org/donate

Tracey Enright

Executive Director

Cornerstones Community Partnerships