GUIDE TO CATHOLIC RECORDS ABOUT NATIVE AMERICANS IN THE U.S.
Volume 3: Western United States
New Mexico: NM-59
St. Bonaventure Mission and School
44 Navarre Boulevard West
P.O. Box 610
Thoreau, NM 87323
Phone: 505-862-7847
Email: See website (Contact)
St. Bonaventure School Office
8 Lenore Avenue
P.O. Box 909
Thoreau, NM 87323
Phone: 505-862-7465
History: St. Bonaventure Mission and School, Thoreau, Navajo Nation, New Mexico, has been a predominantly Native American (Navajo) parish and school in the Diocese of Gallup (Archives: Gallup, New Mexico).
|
1897-1938 |
Franciscans (St. John the Baptist Province) (Archives: Cincinnati, Ohio; archives bulk: St. Michaels, Arizona, and Tucson, Arizona) established and administered St. Valerian Mission (Navajo), Smith Lake |
|
1938-1939 |
Santa Fe archdiocesan priests administered St. Valerian’s |
|
1939-1960s |
Gallup diocesan priests administered St. Valerian’s |
|
1960s |
St. Valerian Mission relocated to Thoreau and renamed St. Bonaventure Mission |
|
1970-1974 |
Franciscans at St. Paul’s, Crownpoint, attended to St. Bonaventure |
|
1974-present |
Gallup diocesan priests have administered St. Bonaventure Mission |
|
1982-present |
Rev. Douglas A. McNeill established St. Bonaventure School/ Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha Academy (Navajo), which has developed into a pre-kindergarten-eighth grade school staffed by lay teachers |
|
1986-2001 (closed) |
St. Bonaventure School established and administered a high school |
|
1992 |
St. Bonaventure School was incorporated |
|
1990s-present |
St. Bonaventure Mission has provided a community thrift store/food pantry, housing assistance, and home water delivery |
|
2019-present |
Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate (Archives London, England) teach religious education at the school |
Gallup diocesan priests at St. Bonaventure attended to the following Navajo Indian missions in New Mexico:
|
1974-1990s (closed) |
Smith Lake Mission, Smith Lake, McKinley County |
|
1977-1994 (transferred to St. Paul’s, Crownpoint) |
Risen Savior Mission, Bluewater, Cibola County |
Holdings of Catholic records about Native Americans:
Inclusive dates: ca. 1890s-present
Volume: Over 3 cubic feet
Description: The records at St. Bonaventure School were not arranged according to a classification scheme when reviewed by a Marquette University archivist, 2006. Consequently, the records are divided by location and there under by record type.
Administration Center:
/1 Administrative Records
Inclusive dates: ca. 1982-ongoing
Volume: Undetermined
Description: Correspondence, annual reports, and publications for St. Bonaventure School. The quarterly newsletter, “Mission Messenger” is archived online, 2017-present.
/2 Sacramental Records
Inclusive dates: 1890s-present
Volume: Over 1 cubic foot
Description: Sacramental records (e.g. baptisms, marriages, burials) for Native American parishioners of St. Bonaventure/ St. Valerian Mission. For more records pertaining to St. Bonaventure Mission and School, see the guide entries for the Diocese of Gallup. Archives, Gallup, New Mexico, and St. Paul Church, Crownpoint, New Mexico.
School Office:
/3 Student Records
Inclusive dates: 1985-ongoing
Volume: Over 1 cubic foot
Description: Student cumulative files, grades 7-8, 1985-present, approximately .5 cubic foot; and transcripts, grades 9-12, 1985-2001, .75 cubic foot.
Unless otherwise noted, the repository on this page holds (or held) the records described here and they are not held at the Marquette University Archives.
new2006/rev2020
