El Paso County and Preservation Texas have partnered with KTSM 9 News and Anchor Natassia Paloma to produce ten monthly segments on the rich architectural heritage of El Paso. The program is titled “Borderland Treasures: Exploring El Paso’s Architecture” and will air the last Thursday of each month during the 6:00pm newscast.

The first episode aired on February 25 and focused on Sacred Heart Church in the Segundo Barrio, which is about to undergo a complete restoration. The segment may be viewed on YouTube or Facebook

Rev. Carlos M. Pinto, S.J., an Italian immigrant from the Naples Province, arrived in El Paso in 1892 after he and a group of prominent Jesuits fled the 1860 Revolution and headed for the American West to serve as missionaries. They would lay the foundation for what is today the Catholic Diocese of El Paso. Fr. Pinto was made superior and eventually came to be known as the “apostle and masterbuilder of El Paso.”

Under the leadership of Fr. Pinto, the Jesuits built 14 churches, including Sacred Heart, and seven schools between 1892 and 1917. Sacred Heart and Immaculate Conception are the oldest Catholic churches in the City of El Paso.