Educational travel and volunteer service trips available for groups of all sizes, including students, families, businesses, churches, volunteer and youth groups.

Custom trips available in collaboration with the Community Learning Network, a local 501 (c) 3 organization, born and based in the Guadalupe District of Santa Fe.
                                                                                                                                                      
  • Apply Catholic Social Teachings
  • Learn Environmental Stewardship
  • Explore Catholic History and Heritage
  • Volunteer on Regional Projects
  • Meet Local Community Members
  • Enjoy Special Events and Speakers
  • Experience Historic Santa Fe
  • See the Beauty of the Southwest
  • Discover the Enchantment of New Mexico
Contact:
info@communitylearningnetwork.org
www.communitylearningnetwork.org
DISCOVER:
  • Environmental Stewardship and Service Learning
  • Rich Catholic History and Heritage of New Mexico
  • Catholic Social Teachings and Immersion

SANTA FE
In 1598, Franciscan Friars entered what is now New Mexico. These priests accompanied the Spanish colonists, who had migrated north from Mexico City and founded the city of Santa Fe in 1610.   Santa Fe was originally called the Royal City of the Holy Faith of St. Francis of Assisi or, as it was named in Spanish, La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Assisi.

OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE SANTUARIO AND SHRINE
Built in 1781 along the Santa Fe River just west of the Plaza, the historic Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe church is considered the oldest shrine honoring of our Lady of Guadalupe in the United States. Home to a small art and history museum, the old adobe Santuario houses a collection of traditional New Mexican santos (carved images of the saints) as well as classic paintings from both the Italian Renaissance and Mexican baroque periods, including one of the largest and finest oil paintings of the Spanish Southwest, painted by Jose de Alzibar in 1783, one of Mexico's most renowned painters. Walk the Living Rosary stones, enjoy the rose gardens, and visit the Statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe, dedicated December 12, 2008 by Archbishop Michael Sheehan who noted "if the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis is the heart of Santa Fe, then the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe is the soul of Santa Fe".www.ologsf.com

SAN MIGUEL MISSION CHURCH
Founded in 1610, San Miguel Mission church is the oldest church in continuous use in the United States. Mission San Miguel was built by and for the Tlaxcalan Indians who traveled north from Mexico with the Spaniards and was named for St. Michael as a warrior's church, after St. Michael depicted as the Archangel who slayed the dragon, symbolizing Satan. Mass in Latin is still held on Sundays at 2pm.

THE LORETTO CHAPEL
"Inside the Gothic structure is the staircase referred to as miraculous, inexplicable, marvelous and is sometimes called St. Joseph’s Staircase. The stairway confounds architects, engineers and master craftsmen. It makes over two complete 360-degree turns, stands 20’ tall and has no center support. It rests solely on its base and against the choir loft. The risers of the 33 steps are all of the same height. Made of an apparently extinct wood species, it was constructed with only square wooden pegs without glue or nails. The Sisters of Loretto arrived in Santa Fe in 1852 and opened the Academy of Our Lady of Light (Loretto) in 1853. The school was started and grew from very small beginnings to a school of around 300 students, despite the challenges of the territory (smallpox, tuberculosis, leaky mud roofs and even a brush with the rowdy Confederate Texans during the Civil War). It was decided that the school needed a chapel. Property was purchased and in 1873 work began on the Loretto Chapel.
Undoubtedly influenced by the French clergy in Santa Fe, the Gothic Revival-style chapel was patterned after King Louis IX's Sainte-Chapelle in Paris; a striking contrast to the adobe churches already in the area." http://www.lorettochapel.com/history.html

THE CATHEDRAL BASILICA OF SAINT FRANCIS
"In 1610, the first church was built on this site. The original adobe church was replaced in 1630 by a larger one, which was destroyed by the Pueblo Indian Revolt of 1680.  The expelled Spaniards returned in 1693, but were not able to rebuild the church until 1714. This new church was named in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi, the Patron Saint of Santa Fe.  The only part of this church still existing is the small adobe chapel dedicated to Our Lady La Conquistadora. La Conquistadora is the oldest representation of the Virgin Mary in the United States and was brought from Spain in 1625. In 1850, Santa Fe received its first Bishop, Father John Baptiste Lamy of France. Judging the 1714 old adobe church as inadequate for the seat of the Archdiocese, Bishop Lamy ordered a new Romanesque church built, and brought French architects and Italian stonemasons to build his Cathedral.  Construction of the Cathedral began in 1869 and continued until 1887. In 1987, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the dedication of the stone church, a monumental altar screen depicting famous saints of North and South America was installed.  The Cathedral was elevated to a Basilica by Pope Benedict XVI in 2005. Basilica means a church of particular importance in Rome and abroad. Churches are honored by the Holy Father because of their importance in the history of spreading Catholicism."  http://cbsfa.org/parish-life/about

LA CONQUISTADORA
The oldest statue of the Virgin Mary, Madonna, in the United States, La Conquistadora was brought from Spain in 1625.

THE SANTUARIO de CHIMAYO
About 30 minutes north of Santa Fe, New Mexico, in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo mountains, is the tiny community of Chimayó. Over 200 years ago, a wooden crucifix was unearthed there and in response to a miracle that took place, The Santuario de Chimayó was built in 1816. Since then, thousands of pilgrims and travellers visit each year, as it is world-renowned as a place of miraculous healing.

SAN FRANCISCO DE ASIS MISSION CHURCH
Built between 1772 and 1816m San Francisco de Asis Mission Church is located on the plaza in Ranchos de Taos, a historic district about four miles southwest of the town of Taos, New Mexico. Has inspired some of the greatest number of depictions of any building in the United States. It was the subject of several paintings by Georgia O'Keeffe and photographs by Ansel Adams, Paul Strand and Ned Scott. Georgia O'Keeffe described it as "one of the most beautiful buildings left in the United States by the early Spaniards." The Taos Chamber of Commerce states that the building is "one of the most photographed and painted churches in the world." It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1970.It is also designated as a World Heritage church. Every spring, the people of the community gather to mud a new layer of adobe on the walls, preserving their church in the time-worn ways of northern New Mexico, with a mixture of mud and straw. The work is called “enjarre”, or re-mud.mmInside the parish office resides “The Shadow of the Cross,” or “the Mystery Painting,” by Henry Ault.

AND SO MUCH MORE...