Mission San Jose Convento
by Joan Carroll
Title
Mission San Jose Convento
Artist
Joan Carroll
Medium
Photograph - Digital Art
Description
This is the convento at Mission San Jose, also known as Mission San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo. Although mostly seen as ruins today, this is where missionaries and their assistants would have lived. The large convento housed at least two missionaries, and any travelers or guests. Living space was on the second floor, while the first was made up of a storeroom, kitchen, and refectory. Founded in 1720, the mission was named for Saint Joseph and the Marques de San Miguel de Aguayo, the governor of the Province of Coahuila and Texas at the time. It was built on the banks of the San Antonio river several miles to the south of the earlier mission, San Antonio de Valero (the Alamo). Its founder was the famed Father Antonio Margil de Jesus, a very prominent Franciscan missionary in early Texas. San Jose was the largest of the missions in the area. At its height, the community contained about 350 Indian neophytes, sustained by extensive fields and herds of livestock. San Jose was viewed as the model among the Texas missions and gained a reputation as a major social and cultural center. It became known as the "Queen of the Missions." Mission activities officially ended in 1824. After that, the buildings were home to soldiers, the homeless, and bandits. Thus the mission fell into disrepair. Much of what is visible today was reconstructed by the Works Progress Administration of the 1930s. The church, which had lost its dome, bell tower, and a wall, was rededicated in 1937. The granary and the convento were still standing, but required stabilization, and some reconstruction work. Today it is an active parish church. All of the Spanish Mission around San Antonio TX are part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
FEATURED PHOTO, Black and White Photography group, 8/30/15
Uploaded
August 30th, 2015
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