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Remember
the Alamo? Well, put that idea aside
for a moment because if visiting that veteran icon of the downtown San
Antonio area is on your itinerary, there are several other historical and
captivating missions to enjoy than just that singular totem of tourism.
Beginning
two and a half miles south of downtown San
Antonio there are four eighteenth century missions along what the National
Parks Service refers to as the “Mission Trail”. This route will lead you on an
afternoon’s journey through some of this country’s few, yet greatest, antiquities.
Recently, my wife and I toured these demi-cathedrals and were amazed at the relative
seclusion and magnitude of the relics. |
Mission
Concepcion
Photo by Byron Browne |
Like
most of the missions south of San Antonio,
the mission Nuestra Señora de la Concepción, usually, simply Concepción,
was relocated to south Texas from
east Texas in 1731 to escape the threat
of the encroaching French soldiers from Louisiana. The mission’s sacristy is a
wonderful design of beauty and purpose, its twin bell towers (perhaps symbolizing
the incorporation of two distinctly different cultures occupying the same site)
framing a single, central entranceway to the church’s nave. Due to its proximity
to the city’s center, the mostly-extant condition of the building and the fact
that this mission is still exhibiting some of the original fresco decoration,
this presidio draws many visitors. Once inside you will notice that the
frescos are sketched over in pencil by a new hand; a necessary step before the
actual restoration begins next year. These frescos illustrate an interesting duality
of both Catholic and Indian doctrine- a rare example of the Franciscan friar’s
attempts to indoctrinate the indigenous population into the faith without the
prototypical heavy-handedness.
When visiting for the first time you might
consider that the amount of space the mission’s sites occupy is unusually large
and spread. That is until you realize that, when in operation, the mission’s purpose
was to house the Spanish friars and soldiers as well as some of the local population
of Coahuiltecans Indians. The acreage afforded the area necessary for worship,
housing, gardens, workshops, granaries and even cemeteries. The land, although
initially open, is bordered with the remnants of stone walls, protection from
the hostilities of the Apache and Comanche Indians. The Alamo
also exhibited a similar construction. However, unlike these other missions, much
of the expanse that was the Alamo’s
has been overrun by the aggression of parking lots, hotels, restaurants and office
buildings. |
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Mission
San José
Photo by Byron Browne |
| A
little farther south on ‘Mission Road’ is the mission of San José y San Miguel
de Aguayo. Due to its stunning architecture and relative opulence, San José
was termed the “Queen of the Missions” even 270 years ago. Because the site has
maintained its structural integrity and appears today much the same as it did
then, the moniker remains appropriate. For the same reasons the number of tourists
at this site is greater than the others. We found that we had to wait longer for
photograph opportunities at San José. We also experienced that many of the visitors
were involved in the same expedition as ourselves; we kept seeing the same faces
as we passed from one mission to the next. In fact, at three of the four missions,
I had to wait for the same woman to pass my camera’s frame before I could get
a shot of the churches facades. |
Mission
San Juan
Photo by Byron Browne |
| The third presidio
on the ‘Trail’ is the Mission San Juan Capistrano. Originally commissioned
in 1716, again in the woods of east Texas,
this mission was reestablished to its current position in 1731. Sparse and somewhat
remote, this presidio more resembles an architectural site than its relatives.
The church’s tower stands atop a thin, mostly reconstructed wall and is crowned
by a trinity of bells, which give this mission a markedly different appearance
than Concepción or San José. There is a fragility here that suggests a degree
of spartanism. However, the reality was that the land within and surrounding this
mission was so fertile, due in no small part to the fifteen miles of aqueduct
meandering throughout the countryside, that the mission frequently had surplus
food with which to supply the neighboring churches and communities. Sadly, on
the day that we visited, the church’s nave was closed. A sign on the wooden door
read that the sacristy was closed “because of thefts and vandalism,” the inevitable
and sorrowful indicator of modernity. |
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Mission
Espada
Photo by Byron Browne |
The
fourth and final mission along the route, San Francisco de la Espada, also
had its beginnings in east Texas.
Unlike its sister communities, Espada dates to the seventeenth century; the initial
founding in 1690 makes it the oldest of the missions. The facade is remarkably
well preserved and, like San Juan, also displays a triangle of bells above the
original doorway. The courtyard here was radiating with fresh flowers in full
bloom even in mid-November. One area of walkway was closed to the public and soft
ecclesiastical music could be heard humming from an outdoor speaker system. We
asked whether there might still have been an active convent on the premises and
the docent answered that no, the convento, or, priest’s quarters, had closed almost
a century earlier. Concerning the maintenance of the flowers, bird feeders and
a couple of healthy-looking cats we were told that one of the Franciscan brothers
“hangs out here on a regular basis.” All told, the mission is tranquil, beautiful
and still exhales a whisper of intent to convert.
As a group, these four
missions along the “Mission Trail” are extraordinary. Overlooked by some and unknown
to many, an afternoon spent in their discovery is well worth the effort. So, don’t
forget the Alamo, just remember these other astounding monuments of our culture
and history.
Copyright Byron
Browne
Notes
From Over Here April 1, 2009 Column
Byron Browne can be reached at
Byron.Browne@gmail.com
See Also: San Antonio Missions
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