BERNALILLO, N.M. —

Santuario de San Lorenzo, a historic church in Bernalillo, New Mexico, is a finalist in a national contest that could help fund its much-needed renovations.

Gary Abousleman shared, "So many times I get people telling me, 'My parents got married in this church. My grandparents were baptized in this church.' So it's just an important part of the community that we can't let go."

The church has seen better days, with visible cracks and water damage due to a deteriorating roof. Church caretakers say repairs could cost more than $1 million.

"You're going to find things like there are cracks in the walls," Church Caretaker Ralph Chavez said. "We see sometimes that there's bleeding through the walls."

Other caretakers like Santiago Montoya have been maintaining the ground

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