[2] The church was built upon the stone floor of a prehistoric Jornada Mogollon-culture ruin, estimated to date from 200 to 1400.

[3] It was designed in Late Gothic Revival style by Philadelphia architect William C.

[2] The altar of the church features Apache Christ, an 8-foot painting, executed by Franciscan friar Robert Lentz in 1989, that depicts Christ as a Mescalero holy man greeting the sun atop Sierra Blanca; inscriptions around the painting are in both Apache and Greek.

[2] In 2024, the Diocese of Las Cruces removed the icon, a smaller work showing Native dancers, and ceramic chalices and baskets donated by the local Pueblo community for use in serving the Eucharist.

[2] Media related to St. Joseph's Catholic Church (Mescalero, New Mexico) at Wikimedia Commons