85. San Xavier del Bac
Arguably the most beautiful Spanish mission
For 230 years, the gleaming white church has appeared to float above the desert like a mirage, its lime plaster glowing against the horizon. San Xavier del Bac, just south of Tucson, looks—as it was designed to—otherworldly.
Of all the Spanish mission churches in the United States, San Xavier del Bac is arguably the most beautiful. It’s also unbalanced and strange. A structure designed by Franciscans, an order that demands poverty, celebrates the faith with ornate, theatrical splendor. A Catholic church in the American Southwest feels faintly Moroccan.
Built by the O’odham tribe, which uses it to this day, the church’s stark, whitewashed walls contrast sharply with the elaborate interior, every inch of which appears to be encrusted with hand-carved and gilded statuary and motifs. It is a spectacular example of the Mexican Baroque style.
The Franciscans ran out of money for the project—the east tower was never completed—and by the mid-1800s, the mission had largely been abandoned by the church. In 1858, four years after the United States acquired what is now Southern Arizona, an Anglo visitor wrote, “The birds are its only occupants and they sing praises from morning until night. They build their nests on the heads of the saints and warble their notes of joy while perched on their fingers.” But the O’odham never left; the church has been their parish throughout. Today one of their own, a conservator trained in Rome, tends the church his ancestors built alongside his Spanish wife.
Links:
Great article by Mark Lipczynski about the conservation of the church: Preservation Magazine, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Summer 2021
San Xavier del Bac Mission – National Fund for Sacred Places
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This post is part of The American 250, a series featuring 250 words on 250 objects made by Americans, located in America, in honor of the country’s 250th anniversary. Through December 31, 2026.
I’m looking for ideas for this series — have something you’d like me to consider for inclusion? Please feel free to leave a comment!
Thank you....and I agree with you and thank you for the references! I spent an entire day there photographing and looking and writing, a hot day, but I thirsted for an understanding of this grand undertaking and was hydrated by pure awe and amazement.