La Natividad de María
La Natividad de María
BEFORE
DURING
AFTER
"The Mission of the Nativity of Bachíniva traces its origins to the Tarahumara rebellion of 1652, led by Teporaca, during which countless missions were burned and their inhabitants massacred. It was then that Friar Jerónimo de Birues returned to the area in 1660 to found this mission.
As in the following years the region continued to be ravaged by constant Apache attacks, the missionaries chose to abandon the site and take refuge in Cusihuiriáchic. To control the situation, the captain of the Conchos presidio, Juan Fernández de Retana, arrived, subdued the leaders, and had them beheaded in Sainápuchi, placing their heads on stakes by the roadside.
The mission was repopulated in 1702, although Apache attacks did not cease, which is why most of the remaining families migrated to the towns of Papigóchic, leaving the site practically abandoned by 1775. The mission had reached such a precarious state that, in 1778, its minister, Friar José García Rico, described the situation as full of poverty and danger.
This region was under the jurisdiction of the Alcaldía Mayor of Cusihuiriáchic until 1826, when it became part of Ciudad Guerrero as a municipal section, and in 1837 it was granted the status of a municipality.
Franciscan Mission
17th
Chihuahua
Bachiniva
Immovable property, movable property
Adobe
Double-pitched roof
Three naves
The Misiones Coloniales de Chihuahua team, in coordination with the three levels of government, carried out a first stage of intervention for the Temple of the Nativity of Mary, which included reinforcing the walls by incorporating a roof deck and wooden beams to replace the old roofing system consisting of metal sheets.
For the second stage of intervention, the community carried out various activities to raise funds, which were used to implement an electrical project. During this stage, cement plaster was also removed from the exterior, and a channel was built to drain rainwater that accumulated on the rear façade and the northern side of the temple.
The team from the Association and the community remain concerned about the condition of the temple, and there is an ongoing intention to carry out a comprehensive restoration project.
INVERSION $300,000.00 MXN
The community’s concern that the restoration work of the temple be carried out comprehensively led to the need for more reliable information about the temple, as well as an understanding of its different construction phases and details, in order to carry out the project more effectively in terms of interpretation, budgeting, and planning. For this reason, Misiones Coloniales de Chihuahua A.C. implemented, within its social service program, an architectural survey with the support of graduating students from the Instituto Superior de Arquitectura y Diseño.
On-site contact:
Parish Priest of Bachíniva
659 687 0034
