MESCALERO HISTORIC CHURCHES & COMING-OF-AGE CEREMONY / 2023

On Saturday evening we attend a private puberty rite in the forest, where we have a traditional meal served by the host families and then attend the ceremonial events. A degree of patience and endurance are required (events unfold slowly, awaiting nightfall), and appropriate respect and decorum are expected. Dances continue until around midnight; Profundo tour participants are free to come and go as they please.

On Sunday morning we meet at 11:30 to see the expansive stone “Apache Cathedral” and the Apache Christ icon housed there. (Mass begins at 10:30; anyone wishing to attend is welcome.) The church underwent a comprehensive restoration that began in 2000 and today St. Joseph Apache Mission is among the most outstanding historic religious structures in New Mexico.

After lunch (on your own; we will provide suggestions) we regroup on the far side of the reservation, in Three Rivers, and drive partially on dirt roads to the rarely seen St. Patrick, built of local stone around 1929. En route we stop at a Santo Niño de Atocha chapel, where votive offerings are plentiful.

The tour is guided by Frank Graziano, author of Historic Churches of New Mexico Today, and by one of the restoration principals, Harry Vasile, a former Franciscan who has lived on the reservation for decades. This is a self-drive tour, in your own car. Please carpool as feasible.

Diverse meal and lodging options are available in Ruidoso, Alamogordo, and at the Inn of the Mountain Gods in Mescalero. A visit after the tour to the Three Rivers Petroglyph Site is highly recommended.

Ticket revenue benefits St. Joseph Apache Mission and the host families.