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San Xavier Del Bac Mission
Rating Details »
1950 W San Xavier Rd.
Tucson, AZ 85746
(520) 294-2624
Tucson, AZ 85746
(520) 294-2624
9 reviews for San Xavier Del Bac Mission
This place is gorgeous. I'm not particularly religious but I still appreciate this "Dove of the Desert." I've never done the tour here, but I have enjoyed exploring this church a few times on my own.
Please be aware that this is still an active church and people come here to pray and they do hold mass. Also, know you're in the middle of the desert. There are somewhat wild dogs roaming the parking lot and it can be quite hot.
If you have the time while in Southern Arizona be sure to stop by this place and appreciate the history and the beauty of this place.
Mission San Xavier del Bac is perfect for recounting the early, brutal days of Spain's conquest of the "new world". Using the Church, along with the military & epidemics, as a means of oppression and indoctrination, they destroyed native culture.
The building itself is goregous, built by native slave labor. It features wonderful frescoes, art and statues. You can see how the ignorance of belief is still passed on, as 'worshippers' bow humbly before the altar, lift the head of a counter-weight Saint statue to gain some 'favor', & crawl on their knees.
Be sure to buy Indian Fry bread from the natives outside.
No Photos please.
It's taken me many years to finally admit it, but...I'm not a religious person. This is something that's truly disheartening to my nuclear family, having grown up Catholic and going to private schools.
Do I still think that Catholicism is, you know, The Original, as far as Christian sects go? Helllllllsss yeah. But that debate has no place in this review.
But it does go to show that even though I no longer recite Novenas or kneel in pews (aside from Christmas and Easter, I suppose), I've still got a connection to it. And one of the strongest connections I still feel to Catholicism is the universal imagery. Statues of saints, paintings of Jesus. Ritual. Incense. Candles. I've always felt drawn to the image of La Virgen de Guadalupe.
And the San Xavier del Bac Mission reignites that connection, and it gave me, well, a religious experience. The ollllld adobe architecture (http://www.yelp.com/bi...) blends in with the scenery, yet painted white it's an image of holiness. The actual chapel is stunning...dark, quaint, and alight with the fire of hundreds of prayer candles: http://www.yelp.com/bi....
What's more, there's an entire museum to walk through, which contains myriad hand-woven baskets, secret stairwells, and other artifacts.
This place is literally breathtaking, and is a lovely area to walk, reflect, meditate, walk up a big hill, and reconnect with your spiritual self.
This is the only remaining mission church in Arizona--still in daily use as a church and now running as a museum as well. It is an extraordinary experience to come here and sit and look--even if you have no imagination for the people who came before and built this the fact of it is still deeply astonishing. No blueprints. No timber for miles. No trained nobody. And they still built it and it stayed up for hundreds of years. What a glory. How lucky Arizona is to have this little dove.
The Mission San Xavier is so beautiful, sitting in the Arizona desert practically all by it's self. Though I am not Catholic, and failed to understand a lot of the statues and what they represented, I was amazed at all the hard work these people had put into the Church over time. The Mission was built in the mid 1700's. There is a muesum,gift shop and videos one can catch while there. The church is currently being renovated due to damage it has received over the years. Growing up in Southern California, I am surrounded by Missions. San Xavier has made me want to explore more of these. The Church is still used today for services.
A true gem of colonial architecture, San Xavier Del Bac is not to be missed when visiting Tucson.
You'll probably want to go sometime in the non-summer (November-May). I seem to recall it being not air conditioned, and you won't want to be rushed as you view the white dove of the desert!
It's hard to rate a church, but this one gets five stars for its beauty and for the priest who gave the Easter mass. I've never heard a southwest Mexican accent before. The congregation was mostly Mexican, and some of the hymns that were sung were in Spanish.
For this New Yorker who hardly ever sees uninterrupted sky, this place was a real treat. The church, painted white, up against the blue sky was just breathtaking. I went inside the chapel for a bit and said a quick prayer, and up the hill to the left of the church, there were two crosses, which I think might have been carried up there on someones shoulders. I think this is the case, as we saw a man doing this on the way to the mission.
Imagine a Spanish colonial mission church painted in white contrasting with the bright blue sky and sugauro cacti growing around...This still active mission to the Tohono O'odham tribe still carries its duty to serve the people...A christmas service here is like no other and one will not forget!
amazing, the closest thing to a mexican catedral i have seen in the U.S. it is just unfortunate that there is no zocalo in front. In fact it is in the middle of nowhere on an indian reservation.