Hatch, New Mexico

The Parish of Our Lord of Mercy was canonically established September of 1889 under the patronage of St. Francis de Sales. This area was then part of the Vicariate Apostolic of Arizona under Bishop Peter Bourgade, D. D.

The first of a succession of French missionaries to New Mexico was Father J. B. Geniesse. The parish seat was El Colorado (now Rodey) with missions colorfully named as follows: Santa Ana (Salem), Santa Teresita (Placitas), Angostura, San Isidro (Garfield and Derry), Arroyo Bonito (Arrey), Rincon, Hillsborough (Hillsboro), Lake Valley and Kingston.

In 1897 Tucson, Arizona, was made a diocese and in 1900 Bishop Henry Granjon became the ordinary. When Hillsboro was at its peak during the mining boom in 1900, the parish seat was transferred there for a few years. After the decline in mining in the Hillsboro-Kingston area, the seat of the parish was returned to Rodey, New Mexico.

The El Paso diocese was established in 1917 and the parish came under the jurisdiction of the Ordinary of El Paso, Bishop Anthony J. Schuler, S.J.D.D. He headed the See until November of 1942 when Bishop Sidney M. Metzger, D.D succeeded him. The area of the parish became part of the Diocese of Las Cruces on October 18, 1982. The first and current Bishop of this Diocese is Most Rev. Ricardo Ramirez, C.S.B.

The construction of Elephant Butte Dam in 1917 established the Hatch valley as a stable farming community. The priests kept pace with the growing community. Many of the missions waned, diminishing in population -- Lake Valley, Kingston, Angostura and Hillsboro. The village of Hatch gradually emerged as the center of a thriving farm community. More and more acreage of river bottomland was turned into fertile farms. Cotton, alfalfa, barley, chile, lettuce and onions and later pecan groves gave the valley a healthy diversity of crops. In time the small farms were incorporated into larger tracts.

Rincon served as an important railroad center for many years. With the decline of passenger traffic Rincon's economy suffered and the population decreased rapidly. It still remains a hub for railroad freight.

In 1937 Garfield became a parish in its own right with the missions of Hillsboro, Arrey and Kingston. The first Pastor was the Rev. James Canyellas.

During the forties, the parish sent many of her sons to fight for our country. At the end of the war the parish settled down to a comparatively peaceful existence.

In the middle 50's, Fr. Justin Klumbis was assigned Pastor. He attempted to found a parochial school in Rincon but his efforts failed. Subsequently Father erected the Shrine of Our Lady of All Nations in Rincon.

With the population of Hatch increasing and Rodey gradually becoming depopulated, in 1963 a new church was built in Hatch under the title of Our Lord of Mercy. Once the church in Hatch was completed, the seat of the parish was transferred there and the church in Rodey was closed.

In recent years, many people from Mexico have come to the Hatch area in search of better economic conditions for their families. Sometimes men would come alone to work in the fields. They would send money back to their families and would often times eventually return to Mexico with enough savings to purchase a piece of land in Mexico. Many of the immigrants arrived without proper immigration documents. In 1986, the U.S. government offered amnesty to illegal immigrants who had lived in the United States for several years and met other requirements. The amnesty program changed the social situation in the Hatch area. Now many of the Mexican farm workers became permanent residents of the community. Currently, perhaps close to half of the parish consists of first generation Mexican immigrants. Now new factors are altering the socio-economic environment of the parish. Most notably the recent NAFTA trade agreement between the United States and Mexico has resulted in an influx of imported agricultural products grown and harvested in Mexico with less expensive labor. This is making it increasingly more difficult for the Hatch area farmers to competitively sell their products on the market. Since so many of the parishioners' livelihood depends on the economic viability of agricultural products, the community is in a period of uncertainty concerning how the market factors will play out.

In 1996 the pastor, Rev. Bill McCann, requested that a Mexican religious women's community, the Dominicas de la Doctrina Cristiana, help establish a catechetical program in the parish for the children of the Mexican immigrants. This women's community began to send two nuns to the parish each weekend to organize the Spanish-speaking catechetical program and form catechists in the community. The old chapel in Salem was owned by a parishioner and used for the storage of chile peppers. An agreement was reached whereby the parish rented the facility and after many hours of volunteer work and donated materials, the old chapel has been transformed into a catechetical center for the community of Salem.

What does the future hold for Our Lord of Mercy parish? Only time and God's grace will reveal the answer. Economically, the community is in a time of flux. Physically, the area is very beautiful and the climate makes the surrounding county of Dona Aña an attractive place for living. There are proposals to build a national spaceport only a few miles from Rincon. If that were ever to become a reality, the area would change dramatically.

Spiritually, our community is subject to some of the same dynamics that effect the larger society as a whole. Much of the parish resources are being directed toward the children and youth of the parish so that the faith might be passed on to the next generation. We live in times in which a faith in Jesus is so important and yet so challenging to maintain. May our Lord of Mercy and the Lady of All Nations always keep us close to Jesus.

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