Discover San Antonio’s Beginning — One Mission at a Time
By Marilyn Loeser
When you think about visiting San Antonio, I’ll bet the
first attractions on your list are the Alamo and the River Walk. Right?
Me too.
But
when I visited the city and decided to board the Alamo Trolley — a hop-on,
hop-off tour bus — little did I realize I would find a treasure I hadn’t even
planned to visit.
As
my traveling companions, Sharon Wenzel and her son Cory, and I considered the
many stops on the tour, we decided to visit Mission San José.
The mission is an active parish and part of San Antonio
Missions National Historical Park.
Mission San José history
Beginning
in the 16th century, missionaries — accompanied by a few soldiers — began moving
north from Mexico to establish missions in an attempt to Christianize the native
population and make them Spanish citizens. By 1718 missions extended to the San
Antonio River, helping develop the future city of San Antonio.
San
José, founded in 1720, was named for Saint Joseph and built on the banks of the
San Antonio River several miles south of the earlier mission — the Alamo.
Missions also were established to serve as vocational and
educational centers, and economic enterprises involved in agricultural and
ranching endeavors, and regional trade.
The walled community was home to Native Americans and
friars. Viewed as the model among the Texas missions, San José gained a
reputation as a major social and cultural center and became known as the Queen
of the Missions.
Exploring the mission
After
entering the stone enclosure, we walked into what was once the home of a Native
American family — beautiful in its simplicity — built into the protective walls.
With the threat of Apaches and Comanches, two soldiers were
garrisoned at the mission and residents learned to defend themselves. Already
proficient with bow and arrow, residents also learned the use of guns and
cannon.
Centuries
passed and eventually the mission fell into disrepair and partial ruin. The San
Antonio Conservation Society, the Federal Government and other conservationists
began restoring the mission in the 1920s and 1930s.
The
church — which had lost its dome, bell tower and a wall — was rededicated in
1937. In 1941, Mission San José was declared a State Historic Site, and later
that same year, a National Historic Site.
Although some of the mission is the result of the
restoration, much of what you’ll find is original to the site.
Visiting the Sacristy and Church
While admiring the beauty of the sacristy, make sure you
seek-out La Ventana de Rosa, the Rose Window. The window was sculpted circa 1775
and has been the object of both legend and admiration. The window also has been
described during the Feast of Pentecost as the site where the host was shown to
gathered mission celebrants.
The cedar panel of the sacristy door is original to San
José and may be one of very few wooden items that survive from the colonial
period. The door is located on the east wall of the sacristy.
The
church is breathtakingly beautiful and a spiritual space. Even if you’re not
Catholic, light a candle in memory of a loved one and take the time to drink in
the beauty of this place and its place in America’s diverse history.
If you go:
The four mission churches within San Antonio Missions
National Historical Park are active Catholic parishes, and hold
regular services.
The San Antonia River missions — San José, Concepcion, San
Juan and Espada — formed the greatest concentration of Catholic missions in
North America.
The missions are open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed
Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Admission is Free.
The visitor center is located next to Mission San José and
contains a theater showing a 20-minute depiction of early life at the mission, a
museum and book shop.
TM
When you think about visiting San Antonio, I’ll bet the
first attractions on your list are the Alamo and the River Walk. Right?
But
when I visited the city and decided to board the Alamo Trolley — a hop-on,
hop-off tour bus — little did I realize I would find a treasure I hadn’t even
planned to visit.
As
my traveling companions, Sharon Wenzel and her son Cory, and I considered the
many stops on the tour, we decided to visit Mission San José.
Beginning
in the 16th century, missionaries — accompanied by a few soldiers — began moving
north from Mexico to establish missions in an attempt to Christianize the native
population and make them Spanish citizens. By 1718 missions extended to the San
Antonio River, helping develop the future city of San Antonio.
San
José, founded in 1720, was named for Saint Joseph and built on the banks of the
San Antonio River several miles south of the earlier mission — the Alamo.
Missions also were established to serve as vocational and
educational centers, and economic enterprises involved in agricultural and
ranching endeavors, and regional trade.
After
entering the stone enclosure, we walked into what was once the home of a Native
American family — beautiful in its simplicity — built into the protective walls.
Centuries
passed and eventually the mission fell into disrepair and partial ruin. The San
Antonio Conservation Society, the Federal Government and other conservationists
began restoring the mission in the 1920s and 1930s.
The
church — which had lost its dome, bell tower and a wall — was rededicated in
1937. In 1941, Mission San José was declared a State Historic Site, and later
that same year, a National Historic Site.
While admiring the beauty of the sacristy, make sure you
seek-out La Ventana de Rosa, the Rose Window. The window was sculpted circa 1775
and has been the object of both legend and admiration. The window also has been
described during the Feast of Pentecost as the site where the host was shown to
gathered mission celebrants.
The
church is breathtakingly beautiful and a spiritual space. Even if you’re not
Catholic, light a candle in memory of a loved one and take the time to drink in
the beauty of this place and its place in America’s diverse history.