At the time El Paso was a major center of the mining industry in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, with many of the miners being Irish.

[4] The ground was broken on April 8, 1914, and the church and the cornerstone were blessed in a ceremony by Fr Edward Barry on November 12, 1916.

The stained-glass windows were made by Emil Frei Art Glass Company of St. Louis, Missouri, and depict scenes from the life of Jesus and the Church.

Involvement in politics, freedom of worship and redress of grievances were severely curtailed and even denied to bishops, priests, deacons and Catholic laity.

[citation needed] He was buried in the Cathedral of Chihuahua, and canonised by Pope John Paul II on May 21, 2000, as one of the companions of St Christopher Magallanes.