Presidio Chapel of San Elizario

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: San Elizario, El Paso, Texas, United States

Members of the Parra and Guerra families and the other families living in San Elizario, El Paso County, Texas attended the Presidio Chapel of San Elizario, also known as the Iglesia de San Elceario.^[1] Masses were held every Sunday. Children were baptized and confirmed there. Priests officiated at weddings. Funeral masses were conducted. It was the community center for the farming families that lived in the region.

San Elizario began as a Spanish presidio or fortress in 1790. Spanish soldiers were stationed at the presidio, protecting settlers and the travelers passing along the Camino Real, the road to Mexico City, from hostile Native Americans. A chapel was constructed inside the presidio and a Franciscan priests provided for the spiritual needs of the soldiers and civilians of the community.

The presidio moved elsewhere but the chapel and its surrounding community remained. In 1829, a flood destroyed the presidial chapel. A new church was constructed. During the Mexican-American War of 1846, the community was occupied by United States soldiers from California. The post-1829 church gradually fell into disrepair.

The current church was constructed in 1877. It was built from adobe walls, plastered and painted white. The roof is flat. A bell hangs in the rounded parapet. Inside a choir balcony is at the rear of the church, with the altar at the front.

The church is dedicated to San Elceario (St. Elzear of Sabran), a French saint. He was born in 1285 in Provence, France, and died on 27 September 1323 in Paris, France. He was known for his life of piety and his faithful practice of Catholicism.^[2] On his feast day of September 27 in 1882, the current church was dedicated.^[3]

The church was damaged in a fire in 1935 and rebuilt, the original wooden beams lost in the fire.

The Chapel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on 14 September 1972.^[4] A note on the nomination form states: “If they didn’t have so many candles, there’d be less chance of fire!” The church is located at 1012 North Mesa in El Paso, El Paso County, Texas.

Photographs and architectural drawings of the church are available on the Library of Congress's Historic American Building Survey website.^[5]

The records of the church are available online at the Familysearch.org website.^[6] These include baptisms from 1845 to 1956, Confirmations from 1893 to 1956, Marriages from 1845 to 1956, and Deaths from 1846 to 1956. The marriage records have been indexed but the other records have to be browsed through page by page to locate the ones you might be interested in. Another set of records, from 1840 to 1862, is also available, searchable by name.^[7]

As an example of what can be learned from the records, Derek Parra’s 3rd great grandfather Lino Guerra’s death is reported on page 26 of a book of interments. ^[8] The record indicates Lino died on 5 May 1904 and was buried the following day. He was born in San Elizario, Texas and was 75 years old. The cause of death was old age. The priest conducting the funeral was M. Hernandez and Lino was buried in the cemetery at San Elizario. His widow was Ascension Estrada.

Sources

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidio_Chapel_of_San_Elizario
2. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elz%C3%A9ar_of_Sabran
3. ↑ https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/tx/tx0400/tx0456/data/tx0456data.pdf
4. ↑ https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40971831
5. ↑ https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/tx0456.sheet.00002a/resource/
6. ↑ https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/263843?availability=Family%20History%20Library
7. ↑ https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/264747?availability=Family%20History%20Library
8. ↑ Parish registers, 1845-1956: "Parish registers, 1845-1956"
   Catalog: Parish registers, 1845-1956 Marriages, 1845-1956 Deaths, 1846-1956
   Film number: 007858930 > image 587 of 759
   FamilySearch Image: 3Q9M-CS7C-44QV (accessed 1 May 2022)