Mission San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo

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Texas Independent Bar Association
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Copyright © 2013 Texas Independent Bar Association and the following Commentators
Alan Curry
Helena Faulkner
Lee Haidusek
John G. Jasuta
Louis Lopez, Jr.
Charles Mallin
Gail Kikawa McConnell
Angela J. Moore
Doug O’Brien
Greg Sherwood
David A. Schulman
Kevin P. Yeary
Editor-in-Chief: John G. Jasuta
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Volume 22, Number 3 ~ Monday, January 20, 2014 (No. 995)
Texas Photo Pictorial
Mission San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo
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Photos by Trina DeConcini
From Las Misinoes
Old Spanish Missions of the Archdiocese of San Antonio
A joint partnership with the National Park Service of the United States Department of the Interior
The Old Spanish Missions of San
Antonio are a chain of five colonial era
compounds located in a southern line
from the center of downtown San
Antonio to the southern edge of the city.
They were established in the 18th
Century as an outreach of the Spanish
Government and the Catholic Church.
The Franciscan Fathers founded each
mission to evangelize the regional
natives, teach them skills to help them
adopt to Spanish ways, and minister to
their needs. Additionally, the effort was
to make them active citizens of the
Spanish province of Tejas. Military
forces were often located in the vicinity
of each mission to offer protection.
Click on Any of the Photographs in this Pictorial to View the Full Sized Image.
TIBA’s Texas Law Reporter - Vol. 22, No. 3 - January 20, 2014 - Page 1
Four of the five original
missions still function as active
Catholic parish Churches. They
serve both a stable population of
parish members as well as many
visitors who attend worship
services. These are Concepcion,
San Jose, San Juan and Espada.
They are operated by the Roman
Catholic Archdiocese of San
Antonio as the Old Spanish
Missions, Inc., an umbrella
non-profit organization to provide
for their care. The Archbishop of
San Antonio appoints the
Director of the Old Spanish
Missions, who is responsible for
the maintenance and restoration
of the mission churches.
TIBA’s Texas Law Reporter - Vol. 22, No. 3 - January 20, 2014 - Page 2
San Antonio de Valero, known as the Alamo, is
owned by the State of Texas and operated by the
Daughters of the Republic of Texas. It does not
function as an active parish church and is not part of
the Old Spanish Missions, Inc.
Today the National Park
Service operates the San Antonio
Missions National Historical Park in
collaboration with the Archdiocese.
The Park Service is responsible for all
the secular elements of the four
compounds, including buildings,
landscape and visitor centers. The
Archdiocese continues to care solely
for the church buildings.
TIBA’s Texas Law Reporter - Vol. 22, No. 3 - January 20, 2014 - Page 3
Mission San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo
1720, Antonio Margil de Jesús, a
Franciscan friar, founded what became the best
known of the Texas Missions, San José y San
Miguel de Aguayo. Viewed as a model of Mission
organization, Mission San José was a major social
center. The unique architecture of its church and
the richness of its fields and pastures led visitors
to comment on its beauty. The size of the complex
bears witness to San José's reputation as the
"Queen of the Missions."
Mission San José was moved twice from its original site
until it was finally built at its present location, set back
from the temperamental river to a place on a small rise.
At this time, it entered into a period of great achievement.
Mission San José became the showplace of the Southwest.
The present church of Mission San José was begun in
1758 with the cornerstone laid by Governor Don Hugo
Oconor and Gaspar José Solis, a Franciscan inspector. It
was not completed until 1782 but became "the most
beautiful church along the entire frontier of New Spain.”
TIBA’s Texas Law Reporter - Vol. 22, No. 3 - January 20, 2014 - Page 4