The Church / La iglesia

In 1777-78, Fr. Juan Agustín de Morfi praised the church as a large and beautiful structure of three vaults with a very pretty cupola, worthy in size and taste of serving as the parish church of a great town. The church stood at the center of the mission community, where missionaries and Indians followed a strict routine of fasting, feasting, work, and daily prayer regulated by the sounding bells. Its ornate carvings and famous Rose Window earned San José the title "Queen of the Missions." After the dome and roof collapsed in the 1870s, the church underwent frequent repairs, and major reconstruction in the 1920s and 1930s was begun by the San Antonio Conservation Society and completed through the combined efforts of the Society, the archdiocese, the federal government, and local agencies.

San Antonio, Texas · United States