Archdiocese of Santa Fe

The Archdiocese of Santa Fe (Latin: Archidioecesis Sanctae Fidei in America Septentrionali, Spanish: Arquidiócesis de Santa Fe) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the southwestern region of the United States in the state of New Mexico.

While the mother church of the archdiocese, the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, is in the city of Santa Fe, its administrative center is in the city of Albuquerque, approximately sixty miles away. The current archbishop is John Charles Wester, who was installed on June 4, 2015.

The archdiocese filed for bankruptcy in 2019, followed by a bankruptcy plan in 2022.

The Diocese of New Mexico comprises the counties of Rio Arriba, Taos, Colfax, Union, Mora, Harding, Los Alamos, Sandoval, Santa Fe, San Miguel, Quay, Bernalillo, Valencia, Socorro, Torrance, Guadalupe, De Baca, Roosevelt, and Curry.

The history of Catholicism in New Mexico began in the early 17th century, with the arrival of the Spanish settlers. Spanishs conquistadors had passed through the region in search of gold and silver as early as 1527. However, there were no Spanish settlements until 1598, when the explorer Juan de Oñate arrived from New Spain with 500 Spanish settlers in present-day Santa Fe.

De Oñate was accompanied by ten Franciscan priests who built the first Spanish missions in New Mexico. By 1608, the Franciscans had converted over 7,000 Puebloans to Catholicism. The Franciscans in 1610 constructed the San Miguel Mission in Santa Fe with labor provided by Tlaxcalans from Mexico. It is considered one of the oldest churches in the United States.

While they attended mass and followed other Catholic traditions, the Puebloans continued to practice rituals and customs from their own religion. The Franciscans attempted to outlaw the use of entheogenic drugs in Puebloan religious ceremonies and seized Puebloan masks, prayer sticks, and effigies.

During the 1650's, the Spanish governor of New Mexico, Bernardo López de Mendizábal, attempted to protect the Puebloans' rights by enforcing labor laws and allowing them to hold their own religious ceremonies. In response, the Franciscans denounced de Mendizábal to the Mexican Inquisition. He was removed from office and convicted in Mexico City of heresy.