Mission History
Ysleta Mission Was Established in 1682 and Is Still Active Today
The Corpus Christi de la Isleta Mission in Ysleta, now part of El Paso, was founded in 1682 and is tied to the Tigua people who have lived there continuously since.
The Pueblo Indian Revolt of 1680 drove Spanish colonists and Tigua Indians south from New Mexico. By 1682, they established Corpus Christi de la Isleta Mission near present-day El Paso. The Tigua people — brought from their pueblo at Isleta, New Mexico — have occupied this area ever since. This makes it one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in what is now the United States.
The current church building dates to 1851. The silver-domed bell tower was added in 1897. The community of Ysleta was annexed into El Paso in 1955. The Tigua tribe had federal recognition restored in 1987 through the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama and Coushatta Indian Tribes of Texas Restoration Act. The mission remains an active religious site, not just a historic landmark.
Source to confirm: Handbook of Texas — Corpus Christi de la Isleta Mission