San Xavier Misson or San Xavier del Bac in Tucson, AZ
San Xavier del Bac is a historic Spanish mission about 10 miles 16 km south of downtown Tucson Arizona on the Tohono O odham San Xavier Indian Reservation also known as the white dove of the desert or place where the water appears because the Santa Cruz River which runs underground surfaces nearby The Mission is situated in the center of a centuries old Papago Indian settlement located along the banks of the Santa Cruz River The site was originally selected in about 1700 by Jesuit missionary Eusebio Francisco Kino who often visited and preached in the area The original mission church located about two miles away was vulnerable to Apache attacks who finally destroyed it in about 1770 Charles III of Spain banned all Jesuits from Spanish lands in the Americas in 1767 because of his distrust of the Jesuits From this time on San Xavier mission was led by the more pliable and reliable Franciscans The present building was constructed under the direction of Franciscan Fathers Juan Bautista Velderrain and Juan Bautista Llorenz mainly with native labor working from 1783 1797 with a loan of 7 000 pesos and serves the Catholics of the San Xavier District of Tohono O odham Nation Alone of the two Sonoran Desert missions built in Arizona San Xavier is still actively served by Franciscans and still serves the Native community by which it was built The San Xavier church and its Indian converts were originally protected from marauding Apache by the presido of Tucson established in 1775 The other Sonoran Desert mission in Arizona is now part of the Tumacacori National Historic Park and is inactive jeff smith fotosmith USA
Size: 6000px × 6000px
Location: tucson az usa United States
Photo credit: © JEFF SMITH / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: arizona, bac, del, eusebio, father, fotosmith, francisco, jeff, kino, misson, san, smith, tucson, xavier
