The chapel of Sts. Peter and Paul had its
beginning in 1976 with a group of Catholics who were dissatisfied with the
revolutionary changes they saw happening in their local
churches in Albuquerque. Until 1979, the group attended
Mass said by a number of itinerant traditional priests at the University of New Mexico
campus chapel. In September of that year, the group
incorporated itself as Queen of the Rosary Catholic Mission,
Inc. (OLRCM) and subsequently in October, purchased a small
building to function as its chapel at 333 58th Street NW.
Though this chapel could
seat 100 persons, had accommodations for a priest, as well as
rooms for holding classes and social functions, it became
clear rather soon that something larger would be needed to
fulfill the needs of the steady growth of the parish, and so once
the mortgage had been paid off in December 1987, a building
fund was established.
Meanwhile, on July 5, 198,1 the OLRCM board of
directors voted to transfer ownership of the chapel to the
SSPX, and in 1992, Fr. Ronald Bibeau, a long-time friend of
the SSPX began to say Mass at the chapel continuing to the
present.
In 1999, an elderly couple generously
provided the funds needed to acquire a 5 acre city lot not far
from the former Queen of the Rosary Mission, as well as down
payment towards the church's construction. In gratitude
to the benefactors, the pastor, Fr. Bibeau, decided to rename the
new church after the husband's baptismal church, Sts. Peter
and Paul. The new
Romanesque-style church was begun in late 2004 and completed
in May 2006. However, due to difficulties with city ordinances,
Mass was not said in the new church until the Feast of the
Immaculate Conception, December 8, 2006. Since then, the
parish has moved to its new location.