Father Donato Gasparri

Father Donato M. Gasparri, S. J. was born in Biccari Nella Capitania, Italy, in 1834 and died on the 18th of December, 1882. Know as a walking encyclopedia to the locals; he was a man who was dedicated to helping others, just as the other four founding Jesuits were.

The start of the Jesuit missions in the American-Southwest started with (then) Bishop Lamy traveling to Rome in 1866. There, Lamy approached the leaders of the exiled Province in Naples. Lamy approached the Neapolitan Provincial because of the precarious position the Italian Jesuits found themselves in during the secularization of a unified Italy. About 320 members of the province fled for refuge abroad, with 40 of the men finding themselves teaching in Spain. Gasparri being one of them. In Spain, Gasparri was employed as a parish priest and as a confessor in the diocesan seminary of Valencia. Bishop Lamy convinced the Superior General of the Jesuits, Francesco Ferrante, S. J., to supply him and his new diocese with missionaries.

The advantage of these five Jesuits coming with Bishop Lamy was their ability to speak, read and write in Spanish. Their knowledge of the Iberian culture also helps to prove an advantage, although the Iberian culture in New Mexico was diluted and stuck in the 17th century. Nevertheless, the Italian Jesuits would be great candidates for the start of the missions in the Southwest. Later accounts would claim that the Neapolitans were the best orators (preachers) in Spanish among the clergy in New Mexico. This reputation would help escalate their popularity in the territory.

After Lamy successfully gathered his new entourage of missionaries and laypersons, all bound for the Americas, they set sail on the 11th of May (1866) and arrived in New York on the 23rd of May. From New York, they would travel to Leavenworth, Kansas, by rail and the rest of the way by wagon. Bishop Lamy wrote, "They arrived in Santa Fe on the 15th of August, 1867, fittingly, after a long, difficult, and dangerous trip."

Shortly after arriving in Santa Fe, the new Jesuit missionaries were assigned to the parish in Bernalillo. It was there that Father Gasparri lamented that their duties were "no different than those of other parish priests." A sense of betrayal by the bishop and his promise, the true nature of their work, was not expressed by Lamy. Having promised the availability to teach and help train the future clergy of New Mexico. The Italian Jesuits also hoped to exercise those traditional ministries of the order and live in a manner they had been accustomed to in Europe. Typically, Jesuits would reside in communities where they engaged in shared ministries such as teachers, preachers, and spiritual directors. The New Mexican Missions proved to be nothing like their experience in Naples.

Due to the scattered nature of the territory, the Jesuit Fathers found themselves having to establish a system to minister to the countless missions and villages that would require a visit—following a circular system that centered on significant towns or villages. Albuquerque and Las Vegas in New Mexico; El Paso in Texas; Conejos, Pueblo, and Trinidad in Colorado were some of the hubs that the Jesuit Fathers would return to after a pastoral trip to the far-off villages. As the report that Father Gasparri wrote to the Superior General stated:

"It soon became apparent that visiting all of these places, whether regularly or on special occasions, took more effort than they were generally worth. So, on its own, Father Gasparri adopted the following system. Upon arriving in a plaza where his duty called him, he would go out in the afternoon and, either by ringing the church bells three times or by some other means; he would signal the people to assemble in the evening. In the meantime, he visited here and there, wherever he was needed. Once the people had assembled, either in the chapel or in some house, they recited the rosary and then heard a sermon in which he encouraged reception of the sacraments. Then those who wanted to go to confession remained afterward. The following day before the time set for mass, others who wished to do so were invited to confess. At the predetermined hour, he celebrated mass and gave another sermon. If there was a call for anointing of the sick or baptisms, this was done after the mass. Everyone was then sent home and the father travelled on elsewhere.

This system proved successful. By gathering the people at night, he could encourage them to receive the sacraments, and thus he got more of them to mass the following day. This way they also heard two sermons, which made the visit less unproductive and kept it from being just a single mass attended by a few individuals. The father used this system almost every time, and once the people became accustomed to it, results improved. After visiting one plaza, he could continue visiting neighboring ones in much the same way without having to return home. He thereby saved time and energy, even though, on the other hand, staying away from home for six or seven days on visits like this proved to be arduous."

(Father Gasparri likely wrote his report in the third person to not assume the sin of pride.) Gasparri expressed the pioneering efforts of the Jesuits to his superior in hopes of getting a Eurocentric mind to understand the challenges that the American Southwest posed to the Neapolitan Jesuit lifestyle.

Naturally, like the French, the Jesuit Fathers sought to bring the long-isolated and idiosyncratic parishes to be more akin to the universal Church. The missionary efforts included introducing them to devotional practices, and theological values found elsewhere in 19th century Catholicism. These proved to be practical efforts sowing the seeds of a universally understood faith. The push for these practices also stemmed from the desire to maintain the people in the Catholic faith. At the same time as the arrival of the Jesuits, Protestant missionaries were also setting up shop to draw people to their religious efforts.

To help solidify the presence of the Jesuits in the Southwest, a stipulation was placed before Bishop Lamy. The stipulation posed by the Superior General himself was for the church properties to be deeded to the Jesuit Fathers to have and maintain themselves in a financial way. Unfortunately, the deed to the church in Bernalillo did not belong to the bishop but to a locally prominent family. Although the family was willing to hand over the deed to the bishop, there were legal issues that stood in that way. The unfortunate circumstance caused Bishop Lamy to consider moving the Jesuit Fathers somewhere else. The logical move was to the parish church in Albuquerque.

Bishop Lamy would talk with Padre Don Agustin Truchard, the San Felipe de Neri church pastor in Albuquerque, about the possibility of him ceding Albuquerque or agreeing to resign as pastor. Agreeing to leave the parish, Padre Truchard did so with certain conditions. As Gasparri wrote, "They were: that we assume his debts, in return for which he would leave us some of his property; that he remained in Albuquerque until after Easter; and that only after he was gone were we to travel there ourselves." The condition of assuming the debts of Truchard would prove to be the most burdensome. Gasparri noted;

"The debt amounted to 3,600 pesos, part of which was due in silver. The property he left us, the house and lots, had not cost him more than 2,000 pesos in the paper. We paid him that, leaving 1,600 pesos still outstanding 1,100 in paper and another 500 in silver. Because he was leaving Albuquerque, he had no intention of paying this sum, much less its interest. Believing that this debt had been incurred in part for the Loretto Sisters' convent in Albuquerque, the bishop promised that he and the mother superior in Santa Fe would pay us 1,000 pesos when they could. Although this was considered a favor to us, we were nonetheless left having to pay another 850 plus heavy interest just so that Father Truchard would leave Albuquerque."

The first Jesuit assigned as the superior of the new missionary efforts, Father Vigilante, agreed to the conditions without consultation of his superiors. On the 1st of September 1869, Father Vigilante took charge of San Felipe de Neri. Shortly after that September, he was reassigned back to the American East Coast. (There is speculation that these two events are related. Although, there is no evidence to prove it.) Father Gasparri would be appointed the new superior of the Jesuit missionaries. Before Gassparri would assume the role of superior of the Jesuits and the pastor of San Felipe, he would give a mission that would help bring healing to a broken community.

Fathers Gasparri and Bianchi would give a mission to the village of Mora in December of 1868, in which Bishop Lamy would approach them and ask them to travel to Taos immediately after. Unfortunately, that winter was an extremely harsh one causing Father Bianchi to fall ill and die. Bianchi's death slowed the progress of the scheduled missions, causing concern among the Taos people that their long-awaited mission would not come to fruition. However, although difficult, Father Bianchi's death did not stop Father Gasparri's mission to bring reconciliation to the village of Taos.
                                                                                     Taos was in desperate need of spiritual healing at the time. With the arrival of the French clergy came pushback from the native clergy. Padre Antonio Martinez would lead the rebellion against Bishop Lamy and his French clergy. Padre Martinez did not gain the favor of the new bishop. With his constant disobedience and disregard for the bishop's authority, Lamy felt like he had no choice but to excommunicate Padre Martinez and his fellow rebellious priests. Due to the popularity and notability of Padre Martinez, a schismatic group arose in Taos. Shortly after Martinez's death (1867), the mission by Father Gasparri would be held.


Gasparri's mission in Taos happened from the 14th of January to the 7th of February, 1869. The mission started with a Tritium (three-day) of prayer and devotion for children. The first day of the adult mission began on the 17th of January with a general communion and a procession. The actual mission consisted of preaching twice a day, private consultation, confessions, and other efforts. During the last weeks of the mission, he visited and gave two-day missions in Ranchos de Taos, Arroyo Hondo, and Arroyo Seco. Gasparri's efforts would lead to over 60 schismatic marriages to be convalidated and several other sacraments recorded in the parish sacramental registry. Gasparri reported, "The schism was broken up, the schismatics were almost all reconciled, their schismatic chapel was closed, and Father Lucero [Padre Martinez's successor and fellow compatriot], who had been running it, promised to retire." Gaspari and Lamy would call the mission for reconciliation a success.

As pastor of San Felipe and through his experience in Taos, Gasparri realized the mix of races and cultures made New Mexico a unique place leading him to appreciate the region's diversity. With this in mind, Father Gasparri would find himself helping to establish schools with Sister Blandina and instrumental in establishing the Spanish language Catholic newspaper  Revista Catolica.   Unfortunately, the foundation of the first public school in Albuquerque would lead to further divisions among the Protestants and Catholics of the territory, which caused the school's doors to close shortly after. On the other hand, the establishment of the parochial school in 1881 proved to be a success just as Saint Vincent's Academy for Girls would be.


Due to the cities expansion to the east, Gasparri played a crucial role in establishing Immaculate conception Parish for  New   Albuquerque.   A distinction was made by the Anglo-Americans that came to Albuquerque. In 1880, the railroad arrived in the region, expanding the Anglo presence in Albuquerque. This presented the Jesuits with an opportunity for an expansion of their activities close at hand. It became evident that  New Town Albuquerque  would need a church as the population now overcame the population of Old Town. Father Gasparri met with some of the New Town's leaders and chose a site for what would become Immaculate Conception Church. The New Town's people generously helped to build the church, and it did not take long for them to make a school as well. Saint Mary's School was staffed and directed by the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati and many dedicated lay men and women. In 1893 the new school building was completed and began to educate young Catholic boys. Unfortunately, Gasparri would not be alive to see his dream of Saint Mary's flower.

Along with the erection of the new schools in the territory, Father Gasparri commissioned the construction of the current altar screen in San Felipe. He would also be the procurator of the plaster statues that adorn the church.

Consequently, Gasparri's summary of Jesuit beginnings in New Mexico is significant from several perspectives. It describes the introduction of a new religious culture whose wide and perdurant influence any interpretation of Southwestern religious history must take into account. It also underscores the fact that the area's unique regional Catholicism was composed of a great variety of elements-Hispanic, French, Anglo, and Italian. Through all of this, Gasparri proved himself to be a disciple of peace and reconciliation, an innovator and educator, and a sign of God's love and mercy.