Churches of the Rio Abajo: The Socorro Mission Churches 2010

By Ana Beall

History of the Socorro Mission Churches with illustrations depicting the Little Churches in 2010. My five year experience observing miracles while walking in faith along the Camino Real.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jul 3, 2016
• ISBN: 9781365235764

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Churches of the Rio Abajo: The Socorro Mission Churches 2010

Churches of the Rio Abajo: The Socorro Mission Churches 2010

Written and illustrated by Ana Beall

424 General Chennault NE

Albuquerque NM 87123

Edited by Connie Kallman

Produced by Marti Adams

Foreword

For more than 500 years, foreigners have been invading the Great Southwestern Desert by way of the Camino Real de la Tierra Adentro. The Royal Road to the Interior, as it was named by the Spanish Crown, began in Vera Cruz, Mexico; wound its way across Mexico to El Paso, where it followed the Rio Grande up into what is now the state of New Mexico; and from here launched centuries of change throughout the United States. In 1598 the Spanish Conquistador Juan de Oñate renamed the area around the Senecu Pueblo Nuestra Señora de Perpetua Socorro (Our Lady of Perpetual Help), in honor of the help and rest he found there with the local natives. He left two padres to build a church: a resting place for those who would one day follow; a beacon of civilization in a rough and wild country; and, of course, a house of worship for the faithful.

The journey between El Paso, Texas, and Socorro, New Mexico, was particularly treacherous. The terrain was rocky or sandy, deep canyons and arroyos abounded, water was scarce, and danger prevalent. Over the centuries, many died along this stretch of the trail, so many in fact that it became known as Jornada del Muerto, the Journey of Death. The Old San Miguel Mission in Socorro was the end of the dry, arid, desert part of the trail and the beginning of the rich, fertile land along the banks of the Rio Grande. Socorro was founded as and has always been a crossroads of pioneers, industry, civilization, and