At the Crossroads of History, Culture, and Faith

by Rob Kaiser

They are baptized at the church and later buried from there, and in between they lead lives informed by the rhythms of the little white adobe parish.

They are the people of Isleta Pueblo, a Native American community beside Interstate 25 in the scenic Rio Grande Valley of New Mexico, and the church is St. Augustine, a centuries-old house of worship pastored by a Norbertine priest from Albuquerque’s Santa Maria de la Vid Abbey.

St. Augustine – named for the Algerian theologian-turned-saint Augustine of Hippo – is the hub of Norbertine ministries to the people of the historic pueblo in Isleta, a Native American community of 5,000 people, 3,000 of them living in the pueblo. Priests at the abbey, which is about seven miles north of Isleta Pueblo, have reached across cultural, ethnic, and historical divides as well as the vast swell of time – Norbertines founded their community in New Mexico in 1985, the church since 1613 – to forge deep and lasting connections at Isleta Pueblo.

“The tagline we have on our humble website is ‘at the crossroads of history, culture, and living faith,’” St. Augustine pastor Graham Golden says. “I believe that describes ministry at Isleta very well.”

The Norbertine ministry at Isleta Pueblo includes parish, educational, and pastoral outreach, according to Santa Maria de la Vid Abbot Joel Garner. Santa Maria de la Vid serves the communities around the abbey through service in two local parishes, one of which is St. Augustine, at Isleta Pueblo, says abbey communications director Joseph Sandoval. But it goes beyond that, Golden says.

“Being pastor at Isleta at times feels more like being a chaplain overseeing the liturgical and spiritual ministries as just one part of a much larger interconnected network of daily community activities,” Golden says. Life in the pueblo community is deeply connected to the rhythm of the liturgical year, he says. “The pueblo feast days … as well as other major celebrations like Christmas … all involve not only parish- and church-related activities, but also celebrations that impact all levels of community life.”

St. Augustine Church, which is home to the archdiocesan shrine of the Catholic saint Kateri Tekakwitha, a Mohawk-Algonquin laywoman who converted to Catholicism when she was 19, is in many ways synonymous with the Pueblo of Isleta, Golden says. Established in 1613, nearly destroyed in the pueblo revolt of 1680, and rebuilt in 1720, the church remains vibrant today. While the church is similar to a smaller parish in terms of Sunday attendance, confirmations, and first communions, it’s a “very large” parish based on its rate of sacramental celebrations – baptisms and funerals, in particular.

“It would be easy to just see the profound history of walls erected over four centuries ago,” Golden says. “But we are still a living, vibrant community of faith.”

Where God and government intersect
The tribal government and leadership of Isleta Pueblo are deeply connected to the life of St. Augustine Church. In mid-June, a special feast-day celebration, mass, and procession are held in honor of the tribal governor.

The governor and his administration serve particular functions in major liturgical celebrations. Because the parish itself is owned and maintained by the tribe, daily functions and operations are conducted in constant communication and collaboration with tribal leadership.

Over the past decade, the tribe has invested millions of dollars in the historic restoration and preservation of the church and its art. The tribe built a new catechetical facility and office building for the faith formation of their children.

Although St. Augustine is a small parish, it has the resources and support of the pueblo government’s continual investment in the parish as an integral part of the life of the pueblo.

April 30, 2021

In memoriam the Rev. Graham Golden, O.Praem. (1986-2021).

An automobile accident May 21, 2021, claimed the life of Father Graham. His loss is mourned by confreres and parishioners alike, and the authors of this article share in their grief as they honor the memory of a beloved and influential man of God.

The History of the Norbertines in New Mexico

Members of the 900-year-old Norbertine religious order came to New Mexico in 1985 from St. Norbert Abbey in De Pere, Wisconsin, outside of Green Bay. Their mission: to establish a Southwest abbey under the Archdiocese of Santa Fe.

The Norbertines eventually built a monastery in the South Valley outside Albuquerque, Santa Maria de la Vid Abbey. Groundbreaking for Santa Maria de la Vid – named after an abbey in Spain that was built in the 12th century – was in 1997.

Until July 2020, priests at Santa Maria de la Vid Abbey served as pastoral ministers not only at Isleta Pueblo’s St Augustine Church but also at Albuquerque’s Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Catholic Community. That year, personnel changes forced the Norbertines to make a choice between continuing at Holy Rosary or at Isleta Pueblo, according to Abbot Joel Garner. The Norbertines opted to stay with Isleta Pueblo because of the unique relationship between the pueblo and the abbey, says the Rev. Graham Golden.

“As the architect of the transition, I can say that it was as much driven by the mutual trust and history developed between our two communities (abbey and pueblo) as it was the material needs of St. Augustine,” Golden says.

In addition to serving St. Augustine, the Norbertines also serve the South Valley parish St. Edwin’s.

Timeline: Milestones in the life of St. Augustine Church

1613
Established and built by the people of Isleta Pueblo

1680
Nearly destroyed in the pueblo revolt of 1680, an uprising of indigenous people against Spanish colonizers

1720
Rebuilt with original four-foot adobe walls, name changed to St. Augustine, the patron saint of Isleta Pueblo

2012
Became home to the shrine of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, a Catholic saint who was an Algonquin–Mohawk laywoman