St. Joseph's Catholic Church in New Mexico

St. Joseph's Catholic Church is an imposing edifice on the Mescalero Apache Reservation, not far from Ruidoso, New Mexico. The church has walls four feet thick in some places. It is currently nearly through a renovation period.

The church was decorated for Christmas when we visited. In the center of the sanctuary (altar area) was a white tepee with the Holy Family in a manager scene inside the tepee. The Holy Family were Native American images. Adam and Isaac, our grandsons, were fascinated by the manger scene.

Not shown in our pictures is a painting of Jesus as a Native American. The two stations of the cross in the last picture also depict Native Americans.