Located in Old Town Plaza, San Felipe de Neri Parish is the oldest surviving building in the city of Albuquerque New Mexico. The original parish was started in 1706 by Fray Manuel Moreno, a Franciscan priest, who came to Albuquerque with thirty families from Bernalillo around 1704. The first church was completed in 1718 and was initially named San Francisco Xavier by Don Francisco Cuervo Y Valdez, the founder of Albuquerque. The parish was named after the viceroy of New Spain but the Duke of Albuquerque ordered the name changed to San Felipe de Neri in honor of King Phillip of Spain. During a very rainy summer in 1792 the church collapsed and the next year in 1793 the present structure was built. The towers were built in 1861, the parish school in 1878, in 1881 a two-story convent was built for the Sisters of Charity who taught in the school. In 1890 the Jesuits built a portico around the inner courtyard, a second story to the rectory and a thirty foot porch. During the Civil War the parish was occupied by Confederate Troops and then recaptured when the Union Troops defeated the Confederates near Pecos. The Union Army leased the rectory for several years following the end of the war. San Felipe de Neri was the most elaborate building in the city and became the social center for the community. It is presently undergoing extensive renovations |
