Mission San José (Texas)

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Mission San José y San Miguel de Aguayo
"Queen of the Missions"
Mission San José San Antonio.JPG
The church of Mission San José y San Miguel de Aguayo
Basic information
Location San Antonio, Texas, United States
Geographic coordinates Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Affiliation Roman Catholic
Architectural description
Architectural style Spanish Colonial
Groundbreaking Founded 1720; Work began in 1768
Completed 1782
Type Cultural
Criteria ii
Designated 2015 (39th session)
Reference no. 1466
State Party  United States
Region Europe and North America

Mission San José y San Miguel de Aguayo is a historic Catholic mission in San Antonio, Texas, USA. The mission was named in part for the Marquis de San Miguel de Aguayo, José de Azlor y Virto de Vera. Many buildings on the campus of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, borrow architectural elements from those found at Mission San José.[1]

Arched exterior of San José Mission Church

The mission was founded on February 23, 1720, because Mission San Antonio de Valero had become overcrowded shortly after its founding with refugees from the closed East Texas missions. Father Antonio Margil received permission from the governor of Coahuila and Texas, the Marquis de San Miguel de Aguayo, to build a new mission 5 miles (8 km) south of San Antonio de Valero.[2] Like San Antonio de Valero, Mission San José served the Coahuiltecan Indians. The first buildings, made of brush, straw, and mud, were quickly replaced by large stone structures, including guest rooms, offices, a dining room, and a pantry. A heavy outer wall was built around the main part of the mission, and rooms for 350 Indians were built into the walls.[3]

A new church, which is still standing, was constructed in 1768 from local limestone.[4] The mission lands were given to its Indians in 1794, and mission activities officially ended in 1824. After that, the buildings were home to soldiers, the homeless, and bandits. Starting in 1933, the Civil Works Administration and then the Works Progress Administration provided the labor to rebuild and restore the grounds of the mission. Some of the funding for the restoration came from money allotted by the United States for the Texas Centennial Exposition held in Dallas in 1936. The mission walls and Indian quarters were re-built, and the granary was restored.

The church facade features from the top: a cross, representing Jesus Christ, St. Joseph (San Jose) holding the infant Jesus, St. Dominic and St. Francis, Our Lady of Guadalupe (the Virgin Mary), and St. Joachim and St. Anne holding the infant Mary.

Mission San José is now part of the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park. In 2015, along with The Alamo and Mission Concepcion, it became one of five missions in San Antonio designated a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization.[5]

Gallery

  • Church Dome and Belfry visible from courtyard

  • Partially reconstructed frescoes are visible at the base of the bell tower

  • Elaborately carved facade of the church which is almost fully original

  • The Rose Window

  • Rear portal to the church located at the ruins of the convento

  • Retablo at the altar

  • Church interior before the retablo was added

  • ruins of the original convento located adjacent to the church

  • Quarters for the Native Americans who joined the mission and outdoor hornos (ovens) surround the courtyard to the mission.

  • Mission San Jose, San Antonio, Texas (1901-1907)

  • Parish entrance and outer wall

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Maxwell (1998), p. 29.
  4. ↑ Maxwell (1998), p. 30.
  5. ↑ Ben Olivo, "It's time to raise the bar on the mission experience", San Antonio Express-News, October 18, 2015, p. 1, A24

External links

.

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