The Saint Francis of Asis Catholic Church is located in the northern New Mexico town of Ranchos de Taos. It was constructed between 1772 and 1816 and is still an active church. It is built of adobe and the church members spend two weeks in June ever year remudding the exterior with a mixture of mud and straw. If you look closely you can see the straw in the exterior walls. It is considered to be Spanish Colonial architecture.

It was designated at National Historic Landmark in 1970 by the National Park Service.

It’s obviously well loved by the parishoners.

The church has been a favorite subject for years by artists and photographers including Georgia O’Keefe and Ansel Adams. (Check the links for images of the art work.) The artists have focused almost exclusively on the back of the church which has three massive beehive shaped buttresses. I guess that I am not artist because I find the front of the church to be much more interesting.

The interior is gorgeous. The altar looks beautiful. I brightened the image above so you could see but did not advance beyond the closed entrance door. It was almost pitch dark and did not want to disturb anyone who might be in there praying.

I’ve been seeing this church almost my whole life. Whenever we went through the area when I was a kid we would stop and look. I think it has an almost magical presence. It had been almost 30 years since I last saw it though before our recent trip and I still love it.

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