St. Thomas Aquinas

The scenery of the countless rows of pews fills up the lengthy church. As you head toward the bottom, the area of the church expands and the marble on the floor dazzles your eyes. If one were choosing a church, the structure of the church would be the most important because it leaves the very first impression of the parish; first impressions either make or break the deal to most people whether they recognize it or not. This is one of the reasons why St. Thomas Aquinas church has one of the best attendances in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe.

St. Thomas Aquinas was the first Catholic Church in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. As the population grew, the church expanded to one of the biggest Catholic Churches in New Mexico. The church is located on Sara Road by NM528 which is a busy road in Rio Rancho giving the church a lot of publicity. The outside of the church is made out of cinnamon red bricks and has a big white statue of the Mother Mary with her arms spread out. The outside of the church misleads the mind to how big the church is on the inside. When you walk in from the front of the church it’s as big as any other church but when you look all the way to the back, the back portion of the church looks like it was constructed later with two columns of pews. It is almost like having two churches in one and for every mass having the church full is quite an accomplishment. Part of it has to do with being the main Catholic Church in Rio Rancho, and the other part is the booming population Rio Rancho has grown in the last ten to fifteen years.One Sunday, my family and I could not attend church in the morning, so my dad looked up church times in the evening and what stood out above the rest was “Life Teen Mass” six p.m at St. Thomas Aquinas. We decided to go and for the first time in New Mexico, a Catholic church (not on Christmas, Ash Wednesday, or Easter) was packed. On those holidays that’s when most Catholic churches are actually full, other than that the churches are never full. The choir is actually a choir with people correctly positioned in bass, alto, and soprano. After the mass, the lively community was very welcoming as we chatted outside with the parishioners. We first talked to a slender woman who is also quite new to the community.

She came from Alaska and her job brought her to Rio Rancho and she told my family “You guys have to go to the morning mass; the mass feels like you are in the Vatican it’s beautiful!” We exchanged numbers with her and there was a long line where we waited to talk to the priest.

As we reached the priest we talked for a little bit, and before we left he said, “I notice you guys have accents, where are you originally from?” My parents answered, “Uganda.”

His eyes grew big and said, “We have a priest from Uganda that is staying for two months you could come talk to him if you would like?”

We said, “Yes” and followed the priest to his house and we meet Fr. Paul, the Ugandan Priest.

My parents spoke in there tribal language and he spoke back meaning that they lived in the same area. The priest coincidently preaches at the same church my parents went to while growing up.

I then asked him how he liked the parish and he responded, “The parish helps me cope with back home because the church runs like my parish in Uganda.”

As my family and Fr. Paul made dinner plans to converse more, I wondered how three outsiders (including my family) found similar comfort in one place. I decided to go back to St. Thomas Aquinas next week and ask a parishioner that has been attending the church for a long period of time. When I went back to St. Thomas Aquinas, I arrived about forty five minutes earlier then the average church time; the earlier the better because this is where to find the true parishioners. An elder lady walked into a pew and I asked her if I can hear her insight of St. Thomas Aquinas church and she said sure. Her name is Betty Garcia and she has been attending the church for about thirteen years or so.

I asked her two different questions and the first question was, “When you started attending St. Thomas Aquinas what were your initial reactions of the church?” She answered, “My husband and I were tired of driving into Albuquerque for church, so we drove around Rio Rancho and saw St. Thomas Aquinas. We liked the overall atmosphere of the parishioners, choir, and the priests.”

I then asked her, “What are your reactions of the church now? Have they changed?” Betty said, “The church has grown in so many ways, the population is getting bigger and bigger and so did the church. There were so many people that they had to make it bigger. They’re making this place more beautiful all the time.

St. Thomas Aquinas is one of the biggest, in size and in attendance, in the archdiocese of Santa Fe. The structure inside of the building makes a diverse group of people feel a special way that everyone feels comfortable with. The lively community also makes the outsiders feel appreciated and satisfied. The fact that people with different backgrounds can feel the same way and have a similar first impression of the church shows how amazing the structure really is. The first impression unknowingly makes me feel like that this church is more official than other churches when it’s really not, because most Catholic Churches are the same. The only thing that is different is the structure of the church, which imprints the idea of how the sight of an object sways one’s thought in judgment.