La Purísima Concepción del Socorro, El Paso, Texas November 2013
La Purísima is home to the Socorro Mission, one of three Spanish missions under the stewardship of the Diocese of El Paso. The mission is a registered Texas historic landmark and listed in the national register as a site with national significance. In addition to the mission, La Purísima Parish includes a rectory and cemetery dating from the 1800s.
Originally, Nuestra Señora del Socorro was established near Fabens and moved to present day Socorro in 1683. In 1691, Governor Diego de Vargas gave the name of Misión de Nuestra Señora de la Limpia Concepción de los Piros de Socorro to the mission. By 1766, the Socorro Mission was being referred to as La Purísima Concepción del Socorro. In 1829, flooding on the Rio Grande shifted the river’s course, leaving the towns of Ysleta, Socorro and San Elizario on the future American side of the river and destroying the church in Socorro. The mission was rebuilt in 1843 about half a mile to the west using the vigas of the original mission church. Today, the oldest original relics in Texas are the ceiling beams in the Socorro Mission.
There is an important legend about the statue of San Miguel Arcángel that endures and has been passed on from generation to generation. Legend has it that in 1838 the statue was being transported from Mexico to a church in northern New Mexico when the oxen wagon bogged down at the site of the Socorro Mission and could not be freed either with more animals or by human hands. The people therefore decided this was a sign that St. Michael wanted a shrine built at Socorro in his honor. Today, the statue rests in the left transept of the mission.
In 2000, La Purísima began a significant restoration project for the Socorro Mission which included returning the exterior and interior of the mission to its original appearance. Today, La Purísima serves 600 families and hosts an annual bazaar each September.
La Purísima Concepción del Socorro, El Paso, Texas November 2013
La Purísima is home to the Socorro Mission, one of three Spanish missions under the stewardship of the Diocese of El Paso. The mission is a registered Texas historic landmark and listed in the national register as a site with national significance. In addition to the mission, La Purísima Parish includes a rectory and cemetery dating from the 1800s.
Originally, Nuestra Señora del Socorro was established near Fabens and moved to present day Socorro in 1683. In 1691, Governor Diego de Vargas gave the name of Misión de Nuestra Señora de la Limpia Concepción de los Piros de Socorro to the mission. By 1766, the Socorro Mission was being referred to as La Purísima Concepción del Socorro. In 1829, flooding on the Rio Grande shifted the river’s course, leaving the towns of Ysleta, Socorro and San Elizario on the future American side of the river and destroying the church in Socorro. The mission was rebuilt in 1843 about half a mile to the west using the vigas of the original mission church. Today, the oldest original relics in Texas are the ceiling beams in the Socorro Mission.
There is an important legend about the statue of San Miguel Arcángel that endures and has been passed on from generation to generation. Legend has it that in 1838 the statue was being transported from Mexico to a church in northern New Mexico when the oxen wagon bogged down at the site of the Socorro Mission and could not be freed either with more animals or by human hands. The people therefore decided this was a sign that St. Michael wanted a shrine built at Socorro in his honor. Today, the statue rests in the left transept of the mission.
In 2000, La Purísima began a significant restoration project for the Socorro Mission which included returning the exterior and interior of the mission to its original appearance. Today, La Purísima serves 600 families and hosts an annual bazaar each September.