The Mullarky Blog 🎙💻📷🎶

Mission San Juan Capistrano was founded in 1731 by the Spanish Catholics of the Franciscan order to convert Native Americans to Christianity. Although this mission was not as successful as other neighboring San Antonio missions, by 1756 there were over 200 neophytes living in Adobe huts at the mission. The original capilla (chapel) w as built from brush and mud. The building you see today was rebuilt in part by a public works project in 1934 and a reconstruction project completed in 1960s. The church is now a part of the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.  Mission San Juan Capistrano was not as successful as other Spanish missions in part because lands allotted to the mission were not sufficient for crops or grazing. The mission was also vulnerable to attacks from nearby competing Native American tribes (mostly Apache and some of those feared horse riding Comanche) and was essentially abandoned from 1820 to 1840. There are still ruins from the other buildings and an unf...

Established in 1720, Mission San José y San Miguel de Aguayo is the largest mission in San Antonio. The church, built in 1768, is still standing and acts as an active parish staffed by the Order of Friars minor. The iglesia is made of Texas limestone and brightly colored stucco. The mission lands and accompanying building structures were given to Native Americans in 1794 and mission activities officially ended in 1824. After the mission was relinquished, the area remained a home and public space for soldiers, homeless, and people in need. Like many historic sites in Texas, the site was restored and rebuilt in the 1930s by federally funded groups like the Civil Works Administration and the Works Progress Administration. In 2015 the site became a UNESCO World Heritage site. The limestone carvings and door in the front of San Jose are definitely worth taking a moment or two to appreciate. There is a lot to digest in the intricate details of the façade, which remains in tact to this day f...

Mission Concepción was founded in 1711 in East Texas to convert and assimilate the Hasinai to Spanish traditions before the friars moved the mission to San Antonio in 1731. In 1835 Mexican troops were met by Texian insurgents at Concepción, in what is considered to be the first serious engagement of the Texas Revolution. Mission Concepción is the oldest unrestored stone church in America and is one part of the five UNESCO World Heritage sites at the San Antonio missions. For 266 years people have gathered on August 15th at Mission Concepción to witness a confluence of architecture, science, and art. On this day at around 6:30pm the natural sunlight illuminates the face of Mother Mary and the altar floor of the church. This event is called a double solar illumination, and although I missed it by a few days this year, I was able to get some pretty divine natural light shining on the pews while I was there. If I lived in San Antonio I would definitely be attending mass. Love the history a...