The original mission church built in 1682 of adobe and a tin-roofed bell tower has been reconstructed several times in its history due to flood and fire damage. The current structure though of the original dimensions and on the original footings, was reconstructed in 1851 and repaired after a major fire in 1907. The current ceiling, façade and upper tower date from 1908. The parish has the honor of being the oldest Roman Catholic Church in continuous use in the United States.

In the mission church the oldest statue is that of El Santo Entierro (the Buried Christ) under the altar of St. Anthony. It dates from 1726. This statue is taken in procession by the Tigua people at the end of Good Friday Liturgy of the Passion of Our Lord. The procession takes el Santo Entierro from the main church through the streets around the mission complex. The statue is then replaced in the mission church. This commemorates the death of Christ and his being laid in the tomb. The Easter Vigil begins at the doors of the Mission Church on Holy Saturday night with a procession to the main church.

Other statues in the mission are of different periods. Some are plaster statues (e.g. St. Anthony, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel), some older ones (probably from before 1850) are wooden with plaster over layering (e.g. San Lorenzo, the Sacred Heart of Mary, and St. Joseph). The St. Joseph statue has a small metal plaque at its base with the artisan’s name: Francisco Tapia de D. F. (Mexico City). The statue of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, in the side chapel, is from 1927. Note that on the base of the statue of San Martín de Porres is written “Bto”, short for “beato” (Blessed) which indicates that this statue dates from before ____, the year the saint (santo) was canonized.

In 2004 a permanent statue of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, patron of Native Americans, will be among the mission’s santos. This will be in honor of the annual national Tekakwitha Conference being held in El Paso in July 2013.

The stations of the cross, retelling the story of Jesus’ passion, already appear in a 1925 photo of the church interior. They were most likely placed in the church after the 1907 fire.

An original bell is hanging in a pedestal in front of the Mission church. There is a large hook on this pedestal where the Tigua Indians’ “war drum” is hung on the Tigua’s traditional feasts (see dates below) during services in the church. The Mission bell tower has three bells of different sizes cast by the Meneely Bell Company, Troy, NY, in 1925.
The Mission church’s baptismal font was sold to a now schismatic Catholic community in the 1980s. Since then, unsuccessful efforts have been made to have the font returned to the Mission church.

There is a foot pump organ in the loft, as well as an electronic organ.

The name of the parish was changed to Our Lady of Mount Carmel in 1874 at the request of the French pastor and the non-indian parishioners. The Tigua have continued their devotion to San Antonio, thus the parish in effect has two patronal feasts: June 13 for San Antonio and July 16 for Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.

There is still a strong presence of the Tigua speaking Indians in the parish. Their festival days help to connect the contemporary community to the days when the Mission was begun.

Special Events:
Tigua Tribal Feasts
Eucharistic Liturgy at 2:30 pm with Tigua Native Dances
January 1 New Years
January 6 Three Kings/Epiphany
June 13 St. Anthony Patron Saint of the tribe and Misión
8:00 am Mass with dances and native ritual all day
June 24 John the Baptist / San Juan Bautista
June 29 Sts. Peter and Paul / San Pedro y Pablo
July 25 St. James / Santiago
July 26 St Anne / Sta. Ana
November 30 St. Andrew / San Andres
December 25 Christmas / la Navidad Midnight & 2:30 pm
December 28 Holy Innocents / los Inocentes

Under the terror of the Mexican regime of the time of Calles’ and Obergon’s rule, came years of political and religious persecution. During this period, the Pro family suffered great great financial and personal hardship. Meanwhile Miguel and the other novices of the Jesuit order were also under severe threat of persecution, as Catholic priests and religious were among the targets of the Mexican reign of terror. After a raid of the religious’ house, their superiors ordered Miguel and the other novices to escape from Mexico. Miguel’s travels took him to diverse countries such as the U.S., Grenada, and eventually Belgium where he was ordained a priest on August 21, 1925. Even though his family could not be physically present at his ordination ceremony, Father Pro was spiritually present with them; blessing their individual photographs one by one.

Even though he sought to make his internal and physical turmoil hidden from those around him, Father Pro suffered great emotional pain over the constant worry he felt over his family and the physical pain which was caused by stomach troubles. Those around him even noted that at the times he felt the most pain; physical or emotional, that he would seem the most cheerful. Father Pro’s physical health weakened despite several operations. In hopes of helping Father Pro to regain his health, his superiors granted his wish to return home to mexico to be nearer to his family. Little did his superiors realise the extent of the trouble that the Church in Mexico faced.

In 1926, Father Pro returned to Mexico during the height of political terror; at a time in which the Catholic Church faced great opposition as a result of constitutional amendments and legislation which severely restricted public worship. Any Catholic priest who would dare to continue to serve the sacraments such as communion, baptism, confession, confirmation and marriage risked persecution, torture, arrest and even execution!

And so began Father Pro’s adventure for God, evading police in any way possible in order that he may minister to the physical and spiritual needs of all people which included the poor, the rich, workers, laborers, business and even Socialists and Communists (who were often openly hostile to Catholic Priests and the Church).Traveling via bike, and acquiring disguises such as that of a mechanic, a servant and even that of a cultured man of the world; he was able to carry out his duties for his people such as administering the sacraments and attending to the needs of people. In the spirit of Paul, the apostle, he literally became all things to all people for the sake of Christ. He won souls for Christ through prayer, humor and also through physical and spiritual aid.

While the solders and the police had their guns and rifles, Father Pro had the greatest of all weapons as he had once stated in reference to the crucifix: “Here is my weapon. With it along, I have no fear of anyone.” [Ball, 32]

Father Pro’s Martyrdom

“I am ready to give my life for souls, but I want nothing for myself. All that I want is to lead them to God. If I kept anything for myself, I should be a thief, infamous; I should no longer be a priest.”

In November 1927, Father Pro, along with his brother Humberto, became the scapegoat for an assassination attempt on the corrupt future president. The government authorities linked the Pro brothers to the crime through an old used car that had belonged to one of the brothers. Even though the authorities were well aware of the fact that the brothers were innocent, they were both guilty for being Catholic Priests. Because Catholic Priests were considered to be enemies of the corrupt regime, the government had an ulterior motive for convicting Miguel and his brother because they were the perfect scapegoat. Without due process or trial, the brothers were condemned to die. They were innocent of any crime. They were only guilty of being Catholic priests.

On the morning of November 23, 1927, Father Pro was led from his cell to the location of his execution. It did not matter to the police and soldiers that beyond the wall, within earshot, a man was shouting that he had in his hands a stay of execution that would free the brothers. The shouts were ignored and Father Pro was lead to his death. As he was led to death, one of the police men responsible for his capture asked for his forgiveness which Father Pro freely gave. Just minutes before he was to be executed, Father Pro asked to be able to pray as a last request. During this short amount of time, he kneeled upon the hard, uncomfortable ground, near the bullet riddled wall where he would soon be executed. In submission to God’s will, he accepted his fate, stood up, stretched his arms out wide in the shape of the cross in preparation for his death. After forgiving his executors, and as the squad raised its weapons, Father Pro shouted in a clear, yet loud voice : “Viva Cristo Rey!” (Which means long live Christ the king in Spanish.) With humility and bravery, Father Pro met his martyrdom.

On September 25, 1988, Father Pro was beatified by Pope John Paul II.