Los Sauces has a church dedicated to
San Antonio de Padua.
The small church has been for years the center of community
life.
The
original church, a typical flat roof adobe structure, was
built by the villagers in 1880. The
Jesuits
were the first priests to serve the villagers. A pitched
roof was added around 1891. Then in 1920
Los Teatinos
(Theatine priests from Spain) came. In the days of my
mother's youth, the Los Sauces church was part of
Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish
in
Conejos, Colorado.
In 1939 La Capilla de San Antonio became part of
St. Joseph's Parish
headquartered to the north in
Capulin, Colorado.
Presently, priests from the
Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy
Trinity
are in residence there and serve the people of Los Sauces.
They come once a month to give Mass.
In 1923 the church building was extended about thirty feet
to the west and in the process was built over an existing
cemetery. Therefore, there are some graves in the area
under the present day altar. There are also two gravesites
in a fenced area outside the church. In 1926 a fire damaged
most of the church except the east wall. In 1928 repairs
were started incorporating the original wall. It was at
this time that a sacristy was added.
Two beautiful circular stained glass windows were installed
in 1928 behind and above the altar.
Las Hijas de María,
a young women's sodality that my mother belonged to at the
time, paid for the window on the left. The other window was
paid for by the married women of the church, who belonged
to Las Madres Cristianas. My grandmother, Preciliana
Montaño de Salazar, was a member of this organization when
the window was purchased. There are other beautiful stained
glass windows along both sides of the church donated by
church families and installed during the 1928 remodeling
period. The new church was ready for consecration in 1930.
In early 2001 La Capilla de San Antonio received a $39,000
grant from the Colorado Historical Society for repairs.
These included a new roof and restoration of the floor as
well as funds to restucco the exterior wall. The structure
was named to the State Register of Historic Properties by
the
Colorado Historical Society
in 1997.
El Día de San Antonio June 2005