Mission San Xavier
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South of Tucson on I-19 at Exit 92 San Xavier Road.
Mission San Xavier del Bac : ‘The White Dove of the Desert’ ~ Ansel Adams
A Short History
As a national historical landmark and the only remaining intact mission in Arizona, Mission San Xavier del Bac is considered the finest example of Mexican Baroque architecture in the United States.
The Mission remains a working parish for the Tohono O’odham people,many of whom live nearby.
First founded in 1692, the Mission is part of a series of missions established by Jesuit missionary Father Eusebio Francisco Kino, who traveled throughout the northern part of Mexico and the Southwestern parts of the United States, bringing Catholicism to the indigenous peoples of the area.
Earlier, simple churches were constructed near the site, but the current structure was begun in 1783 by a Franciscan, Father Velderrain, using 7,000 pesos borrowed from Antonio Herreros, a rancher from Sonora. Designed by Ignacio Gaona, a Spanish architect, the villagers from Bac helped from start to finish. They gathered sand lime, clay, rock and wood; built kilns and excavated trenches. Thirty-three inch foundations were built and brick was laid up for both the inside and outside faces of the wall; rock rubble and a lime-sand grout was poured between. Artists from central New Spain (now Mexico) worked to complete the interior.
Work on the Mission continued for 14 years before the money ran out, causing the artists and master artisans to be discharged. The east tower was left with bare brick and no dome or lantern while, in the choir loft and baptistry, paintings were left unfinished. But Bac’s parishioners were still at work – dismantling their old Jesuit church from the 1750s and rebuilding it as the mud adobe wing to the east of the East Tower. This structure enclosed the north side of the plaza in front of the church, providing for better defense against raids and attacks.
The flags of four nations have hung over the Mission: It fell under the jurisdiction of Spain until Mexico won independence in 1821. The Gadsden Purchase brought San Xavier into the United States in 1854. Today, following the creation of the Tohon O’odham reservations, the flag of the Tohono O’odham Nation now flies over the Mission.
The Parish and its School
San Xavier remains a working church. The Franciscan pastor and the parochial vicar provide spiritual leadership to the parish. Services occur throughout the week.
Next to the Mission and dating back to 1873 is the mission school. Run by the Franciscan Sisters of Charity, the school operates grades K-8 and continues a tradition of educating students from the surrounding area.
(Text quoted from a four page pamphlet produced by the Patronato San Xavier – italics for added emphasis, are mine)
