by Alex Gugel , all rights reserved
San Antonio MissionsMission Concepción |
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San Antonio Missions
National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
San Antonio Missions
National Historical Park
Mission Nuestra Señora de la
Purisima Concepción
de Acuña
English
Concepción Cellphone Tour
210.852.2407
#30, #31, & #32.
Enduring time and elements for 250 years, Mission Concepción stands as one of the
country’s oldest original stone churches. But mortar and stone are not all that remain
of the vibrant mission community. Though the mission served as a religious center,
missionaries provided much more than spiritual guidance. They instructed inhabitants to
function as a European community. By combining the teachings of Catholic Spain with
native cultures, mission life gave rise to the unique culture of modern-day South Texas.
Look closer and enter a portal to our past and a connection to our present.
Blending Cultures,
Building Community
Imagine life as a hunter-gatherer.
Days are spent in a relentless search for food,
and nights are filled with the endless sky
above. Survival depends on the mercy of the
wilderness and one’s ability to reap its bounty
and to endure its scarcity.
This was the world of the Native Americans
of South Texas before the arrival of the
Europeans. The Coahuiltecans (kwa-weel-tekans), rich in tradition, were people of survival,
in harsh harmony with their environment.
The arrival of Europeans brought devastating
diseases and irreversible change, threatening
American Indian lifeways. Mission living
offered a chance for survival, which these
people seized.
Carrying the traditions of Catholic Spain,
Franciscan missionaries taught the
Coahuiltecans how to manipulate the land
in order to live in a permanant settlement.
Mission Indians learned to farm and ranch,
and to quarry and build with stone. By
combining these new skills with their hunting
and gathering past, they provided their mission
community with a stable food supply. They
created stone living quarters that sheltered their
descendants for generations. And, they built
their new spiritual center — the church.
As hunter-gatherers, they had existed in small,
scattered bands. When Coahuiltecans joined
the mission, the Friar used the tenets of the
Catholic faith to teach them a new way of life.
Mission leaders introduced stationary, yearround community living.
Franciscan friars aspired to teach community
Religion – Teaching a
New Sense of Community harmony through the Catholic sacraments of
baptism, communion, reconciliation, confirmation, and marriage.
For example, at baptism parents selected
padrinos, or godparents, for their child. If the
parents died, responsibility for the child’s welfare fell on the padrinos, whether blood relations
or not. This connected the larger community
through a shared responsibility for its members.
Trusting in the united group and learning spec-
Mission Concepción
Today
Upon entering the mission, Coahuiltecans were
expected to give up their own religion, culture,
and traditions – even their names. They were
expected to become Spanish. Despite this,
elements of their native lifeways blended with
Spanish and Catholic cultures. Today this blend
comprises the rich cultural heritage of San
Antonio.
gradual disappearance of the colorful frescos,
little of its appearance has changed . . .
and none of its importance to the communty.
Frescoed facade rendered by Ernst Shuchard, Daughters of
the Republic of Texas Library
It has been 250 years since the mission Indians
laid the last stone for their church. Except for the
alized skills, the mission inhabitants protected,
sheltered, fed, and clothed each other. By combining these efforts, they achieved a sense of
security they had lost. But they also paid a price.
Brightly painted almost 250 years ago in
elaborate frescos, the weathered facade
still contains traces of its colorful past.
Religious services are still held at Mission Concepción. Seasonal decora-tions
may be seen in the church’s interior.
Conservation in 2010 exposed original
frescoes in the sanctuary and nave.
mid-1700 frescos
Baptistr
Main doors locked
(use rear entrance into
church)
Nave
Convento
1. Corridor
2. Storeroom
3. Porteria
4. Library
5. Kitchen
6. Refectory
7. Sleeping Cell
Sanctuary
Chapel
Sacristry
2
1
3
*
Church
Entrance
Granary
NORTH
4
5
6
7 (ruins)
Serving as headquarters for several
Texas missions, Mission Concepción
housed the Father President’s office.
(Closed)
Unknown
Building
Walkway to
Church
Entrance
k
f
Information
Center
To protect these structures, please do not sit,
lean, or stand on the historic walls and well,
and the quarry stones.
The extensive art inside the buildings
contains a blending of Christian,
Spanish, and Native art elements.
Experts restored original frescos on the
convento walls and ceiling in 1988. The
convento served as living and office
space for the missionary.
EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICA
The steps to the Father
President’s office hint at
the Moorish influence in
Spanish architecture.
Feb2014:18,000