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OLDEST CHURCH BUILDINGS IN AMERICA

August 8, 2022 By Howard Kramer 4 Comments

Few things garner as much attention for an historic site then the title of ‘oldest’, and the oldest churches are certainly no exception.  Determining what is, in fact, the oldest church in America is a matter of some debate, as there are many ways to consider the question.  Do churches on U.S. territories count?  Did they actually have to be constructed in the United States?  What if they are only partially standing?  Do they have to currently be in use?  Whichever way you choose to look at it, the following churches cover virtually every possibility.

Cathedral of San Juan Bautista & San Jose Church

San Juan, Puerto Rico (Catholic)

Web: www.catedralsanjuan.com

(photo from Wikipedia)

Cathedral of San Juan Bautista (wikipedia.com)

The Cathedral of San Juan Bautista and the San Jose Church, both located in San Juan, Puerto Rico, are, technically speaking, the two oldest churches currently standing on American soil.  Thanks to the fact that the island of Puerto Rico was discovered by Christopher Columbus on his second voyage in 1493, it was one of the first places in the New World where Christianity was introduced.  The city was founded by Juan Ponce de Leon in 1508, and construction on both churches began in the ensuing decades.

The first church in San Juan was built in 1521, but this primitive structure was destroyed in a hurricane.  A new church, the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista, was built on the same spot and completed in 1540.  The San Jose Church was constructed nearby in the 1530s.  The former became the second cathedral in the New World, while the latter is the oldest standing Spanish Colonial structure in the Americas.  Ponce de Leon was originally buried in the San Jose Church, but was reinterred in the cathedral in the 19th century.  Together these two are unquestionably America’s oldest churches still in use.

San Miguel Mission

Santa Fe, New Mexico (Catholic)

Web: www.sdc.org/~smiguel

(photo from Wikipedia)

San Miguel Mission (wikipedia.com)

The San Miguel Mission, a tiny adobe church located deep in the heart of the America west, is the oldest church standing in the contiguous 48 states.  This location, thousands of miles from the Eastern Seaboard, is an extremely odd place for such a distinctive honor.  However, there is a surprisingly good story for such an unlikely building.  In the early 17th century, more than a decade before the Puritans arrived in Massachusetts, an expedition of Spanish explorers worked their way up the Rio Grande and Pecos Rivers from the Gulf of Mexico, travelling as far as what is now northern New Mexico.

At the end of their journey, they established a small colony and mission at what is now the city of Santa Fe.  This effectively marked the northernmost point of the Spanish colonial empire in the North American interior.  In the 1610s, the San Miguel Chapel was constructed at the local mission.  Though damaged and repaired numerous times in its long history, most of the original structure is miraculously intact.  Because of this, the San Miguel Mission just barely edges out the early churches of the English colonies for the title of America’s oldest church.

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About Howard Kramer

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is a culmination of years of his work and passion.

Comments

  1. Brian says

    May 2, 2018 at 11:55 am

    Basilica Cathedral of Santa María la Menor in the Dominican Republic.

    Reply
    • Howard Kramer says

      January 13, 2019 at 7:57 pm

      Agreed, but this article is on buildings in the United States. I will be more explicit next time!

  2. Tod McNeal says

    April 30, 2016 at 4:56 pm

    Small but possibly the oldest still standing Church in the New World…

    “Like any self-respecting Spanish conquistador, Cortés immediately set about building a church as soon as he got to La Antigua (God being second only to Gold). The Ermita del Rosario church, built in 1523, still stands and is the oldest church in the mainland New World. La Antigua also has the Edificio del Cabildo. Built in the early 1500s it’s the first town hall in the mainland New World.”
    http://trans-americas.com/blog/2010/06/cortez-veracruz/

    Reply

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Welcome to The Complete Pilgrim(TM)! This site, created by Howard Kramer, is a combination travel blog and online guide to the world's greatest sites of religious interest (with some historic and recreational places thrown in for good measure). All written content has been originally researched and produced and is provided free for public research and enjoyment. Thank you for visiting!

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Have a comment, a great photo or a religious site you'd like to nominate for the weekly spotlight? We would love to hear from you. Email us at hkramer@thecompletepilgrim.com.

About the Author

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is the culmination of years of his work and passion.

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