Route 66 and Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel: A Centennial Story

Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel, Flagstaff's first Mexican-American church, celebrates its centennial amid rich history.

October 28, 2026

This piece is part of KNAU’s Unmapped Route 66, spotlighting the historical significance of Route 66 and its surrounding communities a century later.

As Flagstaff celebrated the centennial of Route 66, another historical landmark in the city also marked 100 years. Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel, the first Mexican-American church in Flagstaff, has been a beacon of community amidst its complex origins.

Lupe Woodson, Lydia Anaya, and Val Craft, members of the church’s “Guadalupanas” fundraising society, sit in the basement of the chapel, thumbing through old photo albums. They carefully prepare displays of these sepia-toned photos for the church’s centennial festivities.

Richard Alun Davis

KNAU

Lydia Anaya sorts through photographs in the basement of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Flagstaff, Ariz., in March 2026.

Jesse Dominguez, a former choirboy, reminisces about his duties in the 1950s, which included crossing Route 66, now Mike’s Pike, to prepare the church for mass. Reflecting on the chapel’s proximity to the then-new highway, he shared, “Can you imagine a brand-new highway and a brand-new church built within a block from each other?”

However, the chapel wasn’t established by chance. Johnny Anaya recounted how racial exclusion at Flagstaff’s first Catholic church, Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, spurred the Mexican-American community to build Guadalupe. “When the Mexicans started attending mass there, those white people told them, ‘You don’t belong here,’” he said.

Lydia Anaya and Johnny Anaya look at photographs in the basement of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Flagstaff, Ariz., on March 2026.

Frank Garcia echoed these sentiments, recalling his parents’ experiences of exclusion in a 2006 archival oral history project. “I remember my parents talking about how you couldn’t go into Nativity Church when they were kids,” Garcia said.

In 1925, the Mexican-American community came together to fund their own church. They collected materials from construction refuse and transported volcanic basalt using horses and wagons.

Jesse Dominguez stands by a pine tree outside Our Lady of Guadalupe in Flagstaff, Ariz., on March 2026. His family planted it as a sapling in the early 90s.

Jesse Dominguez notes, “Every one of those rocks was touched by human hands and then laid to make this building.” In 1986, the chapel was added to the National Register of Historic Places, acknowledging its unique construction.

‘Under the same roof’

Though regular masses ceased in 2003 when Flagstaff’s Catholic churches merged, the chapel continues to serve as a community center. Father Daniel Connealy of San Francisco de Asís Parish acknowledges the past divisions, stating, “While the divisions of the past deeply sadden us, we are grateful that our Catholic community is a parish where English and Spanish speakers worship God under the same roof.”

‘Aquí estamos’

In the chapel’s basement, the community spirit remains vibrant. Johnny Anaya states, “Aquí estamos — we’re still here,” reflecting on the enduring legacy of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The church will celebrate its 100th anniversary with events including a Feast Day Procession on December 5 and a Spanish-language mass on December 12.