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The Ysleta Mission is the oldest Spanish mission church in the state of Texas. It’s located within the city limits of El Paso in the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and is part of the El Paso Mission Trail.
Origins
The Ysleta Mission was founded in 1680 by Spanish governor Antonio de Otermín and Friar Francisco de Ayeta. The first church was built out of logs and reeds by Tiwa puebloans who had escaped New Mexico during the Pueblo Revolt of 1680.
Two years later, they built an adobe church that was dedicated as the Mission of Saint Anthony of Ysleta del Sur (La Misión de Corpus Christi de San Antonio de la Ysleta del Sur).
In the 1740s, 1829, and the mid-1850s, the church was damaged or destroyed by flooding from the Rio Grande. The building was renovated or rebuilt each time, as well as after a fire in 1907.
French Priests
In 1848, the Ysleta Mission was transferred from Mexico to the United States after the border between the two countries was defined. After this, the Franciscan friars left the mission and French priests under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe took over, serving until 1881. They changed the name to Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Misión Nuestra Senora del Carmen).
Jesuits
Jesuits from Mexico City took over the church in 1881, running it until 1990. In 1918, they established a school run by the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary until 1921, and the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word from 1921 until it closed in 2005. Lay teachers joined the sisters in the 1980s.
During their time, the Jesuits also established smaller mission churches that have since become their own parishes. On July 31, 1972, the Ysleta Mission was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Conventual Franciscans
Conventual Franciscans from Indiana have administered the Ysleta Mission since 1992. The Tiwa people still identify with the church, and celebrate several feast days throughout the year. The most important is the Feast of Saint Anthony of Padua on June 13.
