The Penitente Moradas of Abiquiú are the sacred meeting houses for Los Hermanos Penitentes, a lay Catholic brotherhood that formed in the early 1800’s.
The Penitente Moradas provided spiritual and community aid after Mexican independence left villages without priests. The society’s “secrecy” was a later defensive strategy against persecution from new American authorities. Abiquiú has hosted multiple moradas, and today, sites like the historic Alto Morada and the unique Moqui (Women’s) Morada continue to function as active, community-run centers for prayer and cultural preservation.
The plaza of Santa Rosa de Lima was founded by Spanish settlers around 1734, and the adobe church was constructed on the plaza around 1744. The settlement was short-lived; in 1747, devastating raids by Ute and Comanche forces, which resulted in the capture of 23 women and children, caused the “complete abandonment” of the site.
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