Over the past 19 months, faithful parishioners from the five Catholic Churches in northern Taos County have worked together to fundraise and volunteer to build a new rectory for our local parish priest, Father Ifele. “Parishioners are responsible for housing their parish priests, so we got to work, building and raising money for the rectory,” fundraising committee lead Louise Gallegos says.
The work has been done mostly by volunteers, under the leadership of contractor Mark Sideris. Sideris was also the lead on rebuilding St. Anthony’s Church.
“The old rectory was a small building which sat near the church property, however, over the years it had developed mold and mildew. It had structural issues, so we decided to demolish it and rebuild a new structure,” Sideris says.
Father Ifele serves the parishes in northern Taos County, including Saint Edwin’s Catholic Mission Church in Red River, Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe Church in Cerro, Sagrado Corazon Church in Costilla, Santo Nino Mission Church in Amalia, and St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Questa—therefore providing housing for him is a joint community effort and need.
The fundraising efforts have ranged from raffle sales to benefit dances. “We have about $20,000 left to go to fully cover the rectory project,” Gallegos says.
The new rectory is a three-bed, three-bath home with a chapel. Each room has a built-in desk to allow for a space to study and pray. “Questa will host traveling priests and dignitaries at times, so the extra rooms serve the purpose of giving hospitality to our traveling guests,” says Sideris.
He went on to say much of the work has been donated by skilled workers who gave of their time and talent to do the electrical, plumbing, installation of the garage door, and stuccoing the building. “Our people from here, they’re givers, and they rise to the occasion, doing whatever is needed to get us closer to the finish line,” he continues.
The rectory is on track to be completed in early December, however, permits have been extended through December 19, should there be any hiccups along the way.
If you are interested in donating, send a check to St. Anthony’s Parish. Be sure to note in the memo line that it’s for the Rectory Project. The address is PO Box 200, Questa, NM 87556.
