San Antonio Missions – A Window into Texas’ Spanish Past

The limestone buildings shimmer in the blazing Texas sun. A Franciscan friar emerges from the parish office behind the church. I briefly wonder whether he’s melting under his brown habit. I know I am, and I’m wearing shorts.

Weather considerations aside, the sight conjures images of a once-bustling religious community. Brown-robed monks give religious instruction in Spanish and teach practical skills. Coahuiltecan Indians weave on the looms or hammer away in the smithy—an ordinary day at one of the San Antonio Missions in the 18th century.

Who were the Coahuiltecans?

Before the Spanish conquistadors claimed this corner of the world as a Crown possession, it served as home to several Native American tribes like the Caddo, Karankawa, and Coahuiltecans.

In his book Lone Star, a History of Texas and the Texans, T. R. Fehrenbach describes the area where the Coahuiltecans lived in South Texas as “cactus and brush country, arid, rolling stretches of semidesert, dry savannah at its best”. There were so few game animals that hunting was not an option. Therefore, as hunter-gatherers, the Coahuiltecans learned to utilize whatever was at hand to survive, like maguey for making mezcal. They were nomadic and mainly peaceful —unless attacked.

Spanish Texas

In 1540, a Spanish army consisting of more than three hundred soldiers, allied Mexican Indians, and priests rolled into the American Southwest. Thus, the expansion of the Spanish Empire in the Americas progressed.

This imperial expansion meant the incorporation of Native Americans, their conversion to the Catholic faith, and their adoption of European culture. To this end, the Crown entrusted the Church with creating and managing communities to reduce the Indians and defend the northern frontier of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. Accordingly, the Franciscans established several missions in Texas.

Dwellings at San Jose Photo: Ana Astri-O’Reilly

The Missions

Aside from expansion and defense purposes, the missions functioned like autonomous towns. The missionaries supervised the communal property and social relations, instructed the American Natives in the Catholic faith, and taught them skills like weaving or farming.

The expectation was that the Indians would adopt the Spanish religion and political and economic systems and become independent. That would render the mission status unnecessary and be incorporated into colonial society. This process, called secularization, began in the 1790s. The missions achieved full secular status in 1824 after Mexico gained independence from Spain.

The San Antonio Missions were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list in 2015. They are also protected by federal and state laws and city ordinances and are National Historic Landmarks and Sites. The State of Texas owns and operates Mission San Antonio de Valero, popularly known as The Alamo. The US National Park Service manages the other four, located in the San Antonio Missions National Historic Park.

The churches within the National Park are also working parish churches. We were lucky enough to see a wedding in progress in one of those beautiful churches. A moving experience that connected the past with the present.

San Antonio Alamo Photo: Ana Astri-O’Reilly

The Mission Trail

We drove between missions, but the trail that joins them can be done by bike or on foot, with The Alamo being the starting point. It is clearly signposted and easy to follow.

San Antonio de Valero, aka The Alamo

San Antonio de Valero went down in history as the site of the most celebrated battle of the Texas Revolution, where the likes of Davy Crockett and James Bowie laid down their lives for their country.

The mission was originally founded in 1718 but was relocated here after a hurricane destroyed it. The current church building dates to the 1750s and is known as the Alamo Shrine.

After secularization in 1803, a Spanish cavalry unit, the Alamo Company, converted it into barracks and established the first hospital in Texas. The former mission continued to be used as barracks by various armies: Spanish, Mexican, Texan, and the US Army.

The Alamo is now a museum,  where visitors can see historic artifact collections, the barracks, and the church, among other interesting pieces of history.

San Jose Photo: Ana Astri-O’Reilly

San José, the Queen of Missions

The largest mission, Mission San José, was founded in 1720 on a different site. An epidemic that decimated the Indian population forced the Franciscans to move the mission to higher grounds to its current location in 1740.

At its height, the mission comprised the beautiful church we can see today, a granary, woodworking facilities, a blacksmith, a hydraulic mill, and a friary. The Indians lived in an open village until 1768, when defensive stone walls were erected, probably because of Apache attacks. The walls were also used as part of the living quarters for the Indigenous people.

The Works Progress Administration restored the walls, the granary, and parts of the church in the 1930s. San José provides a glimpse into what life would have been like at that time.

Mission Concepción, the Oldest Unrestored Stone Church in the US

On the present location since 1731, Concepción is the best-preserved mission. The church’s exterior frescoes have faded, but some remain inside. The convento, or friars’ residence, also displays some colorful designs on the walls and ceiling.

The convento contains four rooms: the storeroom, the library, the refectory, and the portería, or porter’s lodge. The other remaining original structure is the quarry. The quarried limestone was used for buildings and for making mortar and plaster. Also an Apache target, the missionaries built a stone wall to protect the compound.

Mission Concepcion Photo: Ana Astri-O’Reilly

San Juan Capistrano Mission

Originally founded in East Texas as San José, it was relocated and renamed in 1731. By the late 18th century, a decline in the Native population meant that building and renovation works stopped. The mission experienced alternating periods of neglect and restoration well into the 20th century.

Some structures remain, like the church and the portería. Visitors can stand outside the gate and picture the pack trains that hauled cargo along the Camino Real from Mexico to Louisiana.

Mission San Francisco de la Espada

Espada dates from 1690, although it has been in this location since 1731, and the church is from 1756. The mission boasts the country’s oldest continually operating irrigation system, or acequia.

The buildings fell into disrepair over the years and underwent restoration work. Different religious communities settled there, although it is now back under the aegis of the Franciscan Order.

A visit to the San Antonio Missions is an eye-opening experience that helps us understand the fascinating history and culture of the great state of Texas.

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