San Elizario began as a Spanish presidio relocated to this site along the Rio Grande and Camino Real in 1789-1790, garrisoning soldiers whose job was to protect travelers on the royal road and to guard the nearby Ysleta and Socorro missions. The presidio's chapel served the everyday religious needs of that military community: soldiers, their families, and civilian settlers who gathered around the fort attended Mass, baptisms, and other sacraments there, making the chapel the social and spiritual center of a working garrison town rather than a mission for converting Indigenous people. Troop strength declined sharply after Mexican independence in 1821, and the original chapel was destroyed by Rio Grande flooding in 1829; a replacement was built afterward but proved inadequate, so the chapel seen today was constructed in 1877, later gaining its bell tower. American troops occupied the presidio intermittently from the Mexican-American War onward, including California volunteers, and were stationed there continuously from 1850. A 1935 fire damaged the building, which was subsequently rebuilt, preserving its Spanish Colonial plastered-adobe appearance largely unchanged since 1877. Today the chapel continues its original everyday function: it operates as a full working Catholic parish church with regular weekend Masses, serving the modern community of San Elizario much as it served the presidio's soldiers and families two centuries ago, while also anchoring the town's historic plaza and Mission Trail heritage tourism.