Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe

United States New Mexico  Archives and Libraries  Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe

Presently the Archdiocese of Santa Fe covers an area of 61,142 square miles. There are 91 parish seats and 216 active missions throughout this area.

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"The liturgical center and "cathedra" or chair of the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe to this day remain in Santa Fe. Administrative offices of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, however, were relocated to Albuquerque by Archbishop James Peter Davis, ninth Archbishop of Santa Fe, in 1967. The administration of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe is now conducted from offices located at the Catholic Center on the West Mesa in Albuquerque." Contact Information

History
Pope Pius IX created the Vicariate Apostolic of New Mexico on July 19, 1850. Its first Bishop was Father Jean Baptiste Lamy who arrived in New Mexico in the summer of 1851. Within two years the Vicariate Apostolic had become a See in its own right, the Diocese of Santa Fe. On February 12, 1875, the Diocese of Santa Fe was elevated to an Archdiocese with Bishop Lamy as its first Archbishop. After the death of Archbishop Lamy (February 14, 1888), John Baptist Salpointe became the Archbishop.

The territory covered by the Archdiocese of Santa Fe was so immense,that in time it began dividing itself into other entities. Arizona and Colorado Vicerates were created and later became dioceses. The southernmost part of New Mexico is now the Diocese of Las Cruces which was created on October 18, 1982. The north western and west central portion of New Mexico became part of the Diocese of Gallup when it was created on December 16, 1939.