San Estevan del Rey Mission Church -- Acoma Pueblo, NM
N 34° 53.721 W 107° 34.934
13S E 264039 N 3864480
The mission church at Acoma Pueblo, cruelly built with Acoma slave labor, is nevertheless treasured by the Acoma. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is also a National Historic Landmark.
Waymark Code: WMMAAJ
Location: New Mexico, United States
Date Posted: 08/21/2014
Views: 2
IMPORTANT: The Acoma Pueblo is only accessible by guided tours. For information on how to get on the tour, see here: (
visit link)
SECONDLY: You will need to purchase a permit for any camera you bring to Sky City, and follow their rules for what you can photograph, and what is off limits (including the people of the Pueblo).
MOST IMPORTANTLY: Once on the tour, you may take photographs of the OUTSIDE of the church ONLY. There is NO PHOTOGRAPHY allowed of the mission cemetery walls, the graves in the cemetery, OR of the inside the church itself. Please respect the Acoma's beliefs and traditions in these instances. Thank you.
The Acoma's stories of the suffering their people endured and their cruel treatment by Spanish soldiers AND Franciscan friars broke our hearts. It shone a light onto the other side if the story of Spanish colonization and Indian acculturation in the 1600s.
When the Franciscans ordered that this church be built, they forced Acoma men to bring logs from the San Mateo mountains 40 miles away AND NEVER DROP THEM or be cruelly punished.
After the church was finished, the King of Spain sent a beautiful church bell to the people as his Royal gift -- except that the price of the gift was 30 children to be taken to Mexico and placed in his service, never to return home. That bell is still in the tower of the church today.
The Franciscan friars would take another 8-12 children by force from the Pueblo from time to time, sending them under guard by Spanish soldiers into Mexico to serve their religious order, again, never to return. Is it any wonder that the Puebloan Indians revolted in the 1690s?
This mission church is still in use today. It is an interesting blend of priceless 17th and 18th century catholic art and artifiacts (including an amazing altar), interspersed with Indian motifs and symbols.
From the National Historic Landmark website: (
visit link)
"Statement of Significance (as of designation - April 15, 1970):
Founded in 1629 by Franciscan Fray Juan Ramirez, this is a large, impressive example of the Spanish Colonial mission church in New Mexico, blending a European plan and general form with Pueblo construction and decorative detail."