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History and Tradition of
The Santa Rita Church in Lucero, NM
The annual function of the Santa Rita Church in Lucero, New Mexico was held on May 22, 2010 with Father Jimmy Sanchez giving the mass. The little church was filled to capacity with local residents and visitors. After the mass Mr. Luis A. Montoya and his family presented the mayordomos, David Rael and Margaret Vigil with a written history of the church and requested that it be displayed in the church. The mayordomos accepted the history and thanked the Montoya family.

Mr. Montoya’s great great grandfather, Jose Antonio Lucero, used to come through this valley from Penasco to reach the vicinity of Wagon Mound. He fell in love with this beautiful valley and decided to settle there and start a settlement. The church was built in 1886 and other parts of the settlement grew to be a school,a grocery store, a post office, three bars and 2 dance halls and a sala (meeting place) It was a thriving community in the old days. It was popular place. Pancho Villa even stayed there. The town was famous at the time.

Mr. Montoya’s mother, Cinconita Montoya was the only Lucero name. It was on his mother’s side. His father died when he was only three years old. He was the youngest of 7 children but his mother continued to live on their ranch and raise her children. She worked the ranch until she was 85 and had to quit and move away from her ranch. She died when she was 89. Mr. Montoya’s mother,Maria Leonites Montoya was a descendant of the Lucero de Godoy family. His aunt Senoconita Montoya was a teacher there. She received her early education at Allison – James Presbyterian School in Santa Fe and later attended the Normal College (Highlands University)

The little community is almost vacant now with homes and establishments gone excepting for a few people who still live there, and the Santa Rita Church. T he population had declined due to economic reasons. Mr. and Mrs. Montoya are still tied to the community although he and Mrs. Montoya live in Las Vegas. He has his ranch in Lucero and they go there every day to care for his animals and they love the little church of their youth.

The Montoya’s worked in Las Vegas most of their lives and are both retired. He was a police officer for the city of Las Vegas for 30 years and Assistant Chief of the 18 years, his wife Rosie was an insurance agent. They have 2 daughters, Rita, an English teacher at Robertson High School and Lisa, a fifth grade teacher at Legion Park Elementary School. They have 2 grandchildren, Gabriela and Armando Almanza and their extended family, Dennis, Cindy,

Joshua, and Jacob Esquibel. The history of Santa Rita Church as Mr. Montoya wrote it.

More History of the Church
Construction of the Santa Rita Church at Lucero began in 1918 and was completed in 1921. The church was built inside the old church which was built in 1886 and was deteriorating. When the new church was completed the old church was torn down around it. Construction was spear headed by local resident, Marcelo Montoya. Marcelo and several villagers built the church, the alter, and installed the wooden floor. The bell from the original church was used. Residents of the area had given prendas and what gold they had for the casting Also used was bronze, brass, copper and silver. Several castings were attempted in the village of Lucero but none would come out complete until they moved the casting site three miles north where another casting was made successfully. Local legend was that there were bad spirits that had prevented the successful casting in the village.

The original bulto of Santa Rita was brought from the old church. Mass was held once a month by a priest from Mora. For many years there was no seating or adequate heating. People would kneel or sit on the wooden floor. In 1944 Maria Leonires Montoya, Marcelo’s sister and a direct descendant of the village settlers, and her son, Lee A. Montoya, became mayordomos. During this time, Lee was drafted into the service as World War II was raging on. Maria’s intent upon becoming mayordomo was to obtain pews for the church. Upon leaving Lee gave her $200 and promised to send what little money he could to help her with the endeavor. Maria started contacting people in the village of Lucero and surrounding areas asking for donations. Once she had accumulated some funds she spoke to her brother-in-law, Epifanio Montoya, who was a carpenter and builder, about building the church pews. They agreed on a simple design and 20 pews were built, two holy water founts and a corner table for votive candles. In May of 1945 the pews were delivered to the church by horse drawn wagon. Several trips were made by Epifanio’s sons, Margarito and Gilberto Montoya. The pews were installed in time for the function that year. Maria had gone to Las Vegas and purchased a used heating stove. She contacted Damian Montoya, Epifanio’s brother, who owned a truck, to deliver the stove to Lucero where Dennis J. Montoya, Maria’s son helped install the stove.

(Article is continued on our Community News page.)