History of Church of the Ascension

Church of the Ascension is located in the southwestern unincorporated boundaries of Albuquerque, New Mexico, often referred to as the South Valley, a predominately rural community, rich in history, and tradition. It is located along The Historic Camino Rael and is less than 6 miles north of our neighbor and once considered a mission of St. Augustine Catholic Church located on the Native American Pueblo of Isleta.

Built in 1962, the Church would later incorporate the missions of San Andres, which is Spanish for Andrew, a disciple of Jesus Christ, and San Isidro patron saint of Farmers. The church bell which was once part of the San Isidro mission was transferred to the Church of the Ascension where it is still used to this day.

In the early years, many families supported the church volunteering their time and labor. By 1966 Ascension was listed separately as an independent parish and serving the missions of St. Augustine, San Isidro and San Andres.

In the 70 years plus the Church of the Ascension and the historic mission churches of San Isidro and San Andres were incorporated into the Church of the Ascension and now serves the mission church of St. Augustine. It currently has a multi-purpose Parish Hall and a classroom used in educating the children, youth and adults in the sacraments. In addition to serving the spiritual and sacramental needs of the community, the church has administrative, maintenance and fiscal oversight of Pajarito Catholic Cemetery, and serves as the fiscal administrator of the community cemetery of Los Padillas.

In addition, Church of the Ascension for the last 40 plus years has made available to the community a Perpetual Adoration Chapel. The chapel is visited by many in and outside the Albuquerque Area.

Located in southwest Albuquerque, in what is known as the South Valley it is best described as a community predominately Hispanic, yet multicultural in nature populated by a diverse group of people which includes white, Native American, black and other races.