Mission San Xavier del Bac () is a historic Spanish Catholic mission about south of downtown Tucson, Arizona, on the Tohono O'odham Nation San Xavier Indian Reservation. The mission was founded in 1692 by Eusebio Kino and on horseback, some among ceremonial cavalcades or cabalgatas.

The site is also known as "Wa:k" in the O'odham language (' ("Water Place") referring to its surface water and springs, which no longer flow. The water in the Santa Cruz River came up to the surface a few miles south of Martinez Hill and then submerged again near Los Reales Wash. The Santa Cruz River used to run year-round in this section and was once critical to the community's survival, but now runs only part of the year.

History

left|thumb|San Xavier Mission, 1902

thumb|Mission San Xavier Chapel, Main Altar

thumb|upright|Statuary, Mission San Xavier Chapel

thumb|Mission garden

Mission San Xavier del Bac was established in 1692 by Eusebio Francisco Kino, who founded a chain of Spanish missions in the Sonoran Desert. A Jesuit of Italian descent, Kino often visited and preached in the area, then the Pimería Alta colonial territory of the Viceroyalty of New Spain.</blockquote>

The "little hill" is believed to be that southeast of San Xavier del Bac. The location was vulnerable to Apache raids, and construction was interrupted until 1756, when it resumed under Alonso Ignacio Benito Espinosa. By 1763 the building was sufficiently complete that the missionaries could hold services inside it, although a poorly prepared foundation led to architectural issues. borrowed from a Sonoran rancher, they hired architect Ignacio Gaona, who employed a large workforce of O'odham to create today's church.

With the Gadsden Purchase in 1853, the site of San Xavier became a part of the United States and the new Territory of Arizona. The church was re-opened in 1859 when the Santa Fe Diocese added the mission to its jurisdiction. It ordered repairs paid for with diocesan money, and assigned a priest to serve the community. In 1868 the Diocese of Tucson was established. It provided for regular services to be held again at the church.

In 1872, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet opened a school at the mission for the Tohono O'odham children. In 1895, a grant of $1,000 was given to repair the building. More classrooms were added in 1900. The Franciscans returned to the mission in 1913. In 1947, they built a new school next to the church for the local children.

Missionaries

Like most missions in New Spain, San Xavier was staffed by Jesuits until their 1767 expulsion from Mexico; afterwards, they were replaced by Franciscans.

  • 1754–1766: Alonso Ignacio Benito Espinosa
  • 1766–1767: José Neve
  • 1790–1797: Juan Bautista Llorenz
  • 1797–1820: Pedro Antonio de Arriquibar
  • 1824–1827: Rafael Diaz

In 2024, a project to preserve the mission's tan plaster exterior received a $749,000 grant from the Historic Preservation Fund of the National Park Service.

Architecture

thumb|Mission San Xavier del Bac in 2024

thumb|The North Court at Mission San Xavier del Bac, Tucson, Arizona

San Xavier has an elegant white stucco, Moorish-inspired exterior, with an ornately decorated entrance. Visitors entering the massive, carved mesquite-wood doors are often struck both by the coolness of the interior and the dazzling colors of the paintings, carvings, frescoes, and statues. The architecture is entirely European, with no Piman influence on its Baroque style.

thumb|Interior view of Mission San Xavier del Bac in 2024

The floor plan of the church resembles the classic Latin cross, with a main aisle separated from the sanctuary by the transept, which has chapels at either end. The dome above the transept is high, supported by arches and squinches. At least three different artists painted the artwork inside the church. It is considered by many to be the finest example of Spanish mission architecture in the United States. It has a mausoleum which is open for visiting.

The mission makes a cameo appearance in Willa Cather's 1927 novel Death Comes for the Archbishop when it is described by Vaillant as "the most beautiful church on the continent, though it had been neglected for more than two hundred years."

Mission San Xavier del Bac was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. The San Xavier Festival is held the evening of the Friday after Easter and features a torch-light parade of Tohono O'odham and Yaqui tribal members.

The exterior of the Mission was used in the 1979 TV mini-series Salem's Lot, as an establishing shot taken for a fictitious church in Guatemala.

See also

  • Spanish missions in Arizona
  • Spanish Missions in the Sonoran Desert
  • Architecture of the California missions
  • List of Jesuit sites
  • List of the oldest churches in the United States
  • List of the oldest buildings in Arizona
  • 18th-century Western domes

References

  • Nentvig, J. 1980. Rudo Ensayo: A Description of Sonora and Arizona in 1764. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ.
  • Official Mission San Xavier del Bac website
  • The Mission Garden, located adjacent to San Xavier mission, in one of the longest known areas of continuous cultivation in the United States.
  • Mission of San Xavier del Bac article at the Catholic Encyclopedia
  • Online book on Mission San Xavier del Bac
  • American Southwest, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary