The San Antonio Missions Tour

The San Antonio Missions Tour

by Marci Glover

Antonio de San Buenaventura (1630-1722) was a Spanish priest who led the first Roman Catholic Mass held in what was later to become the State of Texas. He was a key figure in the early development of the City of San Antonio and for founding the five missions of the Franciscan order, four of which make up the <A href="http://www.toursofthealamo.com/">San Antonio Missions Tour</A>. Fray Antonio also founded the Presidio San Antonio de Bexar as well as the Acequia Madre de Valero.

The largest of the missions, regarded as the "Queen of the Missions, " is San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo, now known more informally as Mission San Jose. Work began on its construction in 1720 and the mission was completed in 1782. In 1874, both the dome and the roof collapsed. The year 1928 saw the collapse of the church tower. The church itself is constructed of brightly colored stucco and Texas limestone.

Architectural features for which the mission is noted include the "Rose Window, " flying buttresses, quatrefoil patterns, polychromatic plaster and numerous intriguing carvings. The 25 risers in the loft for the choir were all hand-carved from a single log. They were joined without the use of either pegs or nails.

Contrary to what might be expected, the famous Rose Window does not follow the same pattern as most other windows that bear the same generic description. In general, the conventional medieval rose window was an intricately-fashioned circle divided into wedges by a series of spoke-like devices known as mullions and tracery. An alternative nickname for this type of feature is "wheel window."

Although completely different from the traditional rose windows of Europe, this particular specimen was no less grandiose. It has its own folklore, although nobody can say for sure how it acquired its name. The structure is close to the ground at only 4.5 feet and stands a full seven feet tall.

The other three churches situated inside the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park are Mission Concepcion, dedicated in 1755; Mission San Juan de Capistrano, completed in 1756 and not to be confused with the mission of the same name in southern California (to which the swallows flock each year) and Mission Espada (Mission San Francisco de la Espada). The fifth, and most famous, of the five Spanish frontier missions is the Alamo.

The Alamo is best known for being the site of one of the defining battles in Texas History, the War of Independence, also known as the Texas Revolution. Fought between the government of the sovereign nation of Mexico and the Texan colonists, the conflict was resolved with the founding of the Republic of Texas. In the midst of a later conflict, the Mexican-American War, Texas was formally entered into the United States in 1845 as the 28th state.

No longer a Roman Catholic church, the mission at The Alamo is now a museum in downtown San Antonio as part of the Alamo Plaza District. A viewing of each of the other Franciscan missions, located in the National Historical park, can be completed in roughly two to four hours per site. In total, the park is home to more than 180 species of bird. Admission to the park is free, as are the guided tours.



You can visit <a href="http://www.toursofthealamo.com/">www.toursofthealamo.com/</a> for more helpful information about The History Of The San Antonio Missions Tour.

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