Mission San Xavier Del Bac

The Pink FlaminGoes GTG is officially over and everyone but Birdie, Sharon, and I are gone. We decided to extend our stay a few more days since we could stay at Passport America rates. Birdie had exciting things to do like cleaning her rig and doing laundry so Sharon and I decided to check out Mission San Xavier Del Bac (White Dove of the Desert).

The mission is open to the public whenever church services are not being conducted. Everyone is welcome to attend services.

San Xavier Mission was founded as a Catholic mission by Father Eusebio Kino in 1692. Construction of the current church began in 1783 and was completed in 1797.  Restoration is currently in progress.

The oldest intact European structure in Arizona, the church's interior is filled with marvelous original statuary and murals. You feel like you have stepped back in time to the 18th century.

The gardens outside are interesting as well.

There were so many candles lit in this little side chapel that it was really hot inside.

The only disappointing part of our visit was that the museum portion of the church was closed due to a bee infestation. They were waiting for someone to come and smoke them out. There is a very nice little gift shop next door with very reasonable prices for nice items.

This looked like some kind of shrine next to the church but there was a sign saying it didn't belong to the church.

We went across the parking to lot to a small mall of shops. They had jewelry and other items made by the local Indians. The Mission and surrounding area are one of the four parts of the Tohono O'odham reservation. There was a small restaurant where Sharon and I split an Indian taco....my first.