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Santa Fe’s Forgotten Cemeteries

Cristo Rey’s cemetery closed after World War II.

In 1868 the Guadalupe and Rosario cemeteries were established but only Rosario is still open. At that time they were the only Catholic cemeteries for the city of Santa Fe. At the turn of the 20th century the Spanish families living in the northeastern corridor of Santa Fe began the Cristo Rey cemetery. It was located on land that was a part of the Rodriguez land grant. The first burials were for still born infants. Victims of the 1918 Worldwide Influenza epidemic were also buried there. The small cemetery contained about a hundred graves when Cristo Rey Church was built in 1939. The surnames of families buried there include: Apodaca, Armijo, Gonzales, Padilla and Rodriguez. 

The old Guadalupe cemetery is behind Dunkin Donuts off of St. Francis Drive.

Right after the end of World War II the Archdiocese of Santa Fe decided to consolidate its Catholic burial grounds. At that time both the Guadalupe and Cristo Rey cemeteries were closed. The Guadalupe cemetery has become engulfed by commercial properties. While the Cristo Rey cemetery is surrounded by a luxury housing development. All Catholic burials were directed to Rosario cemetery, which is still in use today, making it the city’s oldest-continuous cemetery.

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