Socorro Mission Rectory
The Socorro Mission, Nuestra Senora de Limpia Concepcion de Los Piros de Socorro del Sur (Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception of the Piros of Socorro of the South), was established in the late seventeenth century by Spanish missionaries in attempt to Christianize the Piro Indians.
Mission Chapel
The Socorro Mission remains a functioning Catholic parish and is open to the public. The mission complex includes the mission, the Lourdes Grotto, old and new cemeteries, the Parish hall, grounds and the one-story adobe rectory. The 1840s rectory is the only surviving example of a Mexican/Territorial structure intended for use by a parish priest in the region. Thought to have been constructed in an L-shape, the rectory now has a square floor plan with a center courtyard.
Over time, the building has served multiple purposes. It was used to house the parish priest and to lodge priests who were passing through Socorro. From 1915-1918, it was a parochial school with an enrollment of 65 children, administered by the Sisters of the Incarnate Word. In the 1970s, it was used as Socorro’s Head Start Center.
The rectory was placed on Preservation Texas’s 2009 MEP list. At that time, the building was in poor condition due to moisture entrapment and differential movement caused by the application of cement-based products beginning in the 1920s. Cracks and fractures were visible in the interior and exterior stucco surfaces.
Rectory before rehabilitation
UPDATE: After completing the restoration of the chapel several years ago, the parish has focused its attention on the restoration of the rectory. Comprehensive rehabilitation began in 2014 and was completed in 2015. The building now houses parish offices, classrooms and meeting rooms.
Rectory after rehabilitation
ADDRESS: 328 S Nevarez Rd, Socorro (El Paso County)
DESIGNATION: NRHP
STATUS: Saved!
OWNER: La Purisima Catholic Church
RESOURCE TYPE: Religious
YEAR LISTED: 2009
