October 24, 2010 – Mission San Xavier del Bac

Our sightseeing travels today took us south of Tucson to the San Xavier Mission.   In the valley area of the desert, this beautiful white structure can be seen for miles.  

The Church:

The Mission School:

 

The Mission:

This is the oldest intact European structure in Arizona.  The mission was founded in 1692 and the construction of the current church began in 1783.   Here is more information on the history of the mission and details of its construction.

http://www.sanxaviermission.org/Index.html

http://emol.org/tucson/sanxavier/

When we arrived, Mass was almost finished.  I stepped inside to hear the last part and listen to the singing – Beautiful.   And the inside was, well, take a look:

 

 

 

If seen from the air, this church is laid out like a cross, with the main aisle and two wings.  I stopped in one of the wings to light candles and say a few prayers, then just walked around taking pictures in awe.  To think this was all done in the late 18th century.   Many of the statues came from Mexico and  were transported here by donkey.  WOW!

In 1992, a team of experts from around the world, started restoring the inside of the church – walls, paintings, statues, etc..   The restoration of the outside continues today.

From the church, we walked to the courtyard:

One of the side chapels:

 

The inside of the chapel:

From there we walked up to the grotto on the hill:

What a beautiful place:

We stopped for lunch at a little stand near the mission and tried Menudo – a type of Mexican Soup.   Interesting taste!

Back at the motor home, we still have no water.  They had a problem with their well and shut down on Friday and are continuing to work on it.   We are okay so far – had a full tank of water on board but have decided to go on the conserve mode just in case.

There is also a concert going on at the fairgrounds – VERY LOUD!!!  But supposed to end by 10 – YEA!!!   (Too bad it is Alternative Music and not Rock and Roll – :-))

And a side note – I took it easy yesterday and Andy went to the Titan Missile Museum.  A group of Amateur Radio Operators met there and used that huge antennae for a Special Events Day.  Andy enjoyed himself…  :-)))

Stay tuned.