Mission
San José y San Miguel de Aguayo (San Jose)
Founded in 1720, the mission was named for Saint Joseph
and the Marqués 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 Jesús, a very prominent Franciscan missionary
in early Texas.
Mission San Jose is an active parish. Visitors are welcome
to attend mass on Sundays. For more information about church
services visit Planning Your Visit.
Queen of the Missions
San José, as it became known, was the largest of
the missions in the area. At its height, the community contained
about 300 Indian neophytes sustained by extensive fields
and herds of livestock. Viewed as the model among the Texas
missions, San José gained a reputation as a major
social and cultural center. It became known as the "Queen
of the Missions." Its imposing complex of stone walls,
bastions, granary, and magnificent church was completed
in 1782.
So rich an enterprise was a natural target for Apache and
Comanche depredations. With technical help from the two
presidial soldiers garrisoned there, San José residents
learned to defend themselves. Already proficient with bow
and arrow, Indians also learned the use of guns and cannon.
A
Lasting Symbol
Although they could not prevent raids on their livestock,
the mission itself was almost impregnable. In his journal,
Fray Juan Agustín Morfí attested to its defensive
character: "It is, in truth, the first mission in America
. . . in point of beauty, plan, and strength . . . there
is not a presidio along the entire frontier line that can
compare with it." Mission San José has become
a lasting symbol throughout the centuries for the mission
frontier in Texas.
Having fallen into disrepair and partial ruin over the
years, the San Antonio Conservation Society and the Federal
Government among others, undertook to restore portions of
the mission community in the 1920s and 1930s. The church,
which had lost its dome, bell tower, and a wall, was rededicated
in 1937. In 1941, Mission San José was declared a
State Historic Site, and later that same year, a National
Historic Site.
Carved Doors
Carved doors at Mission San José’s church entrance..
The present doors were carved in 1937 by Peter Mansbendel
to replace those removed in the 1880s. Using historic stereoscopic
images, Mansbendel reproduced the original door design in
2.5 inch thich Black Wanut. . Small doors fitted within
the larger ones are used to enter the church. Mansbendel
carved these doors in 6 weeks.
Sculpture of Saint
Anne and Infant Mary
The image of Saint Anne, holding the infant Mary (mother
of Jesus), appears on the facade of Mission San José
church (photo: 1995). The niche in which it stands is flanked
by anacanthous leaves and pomegranates. This statue was
restored ca. 1948-1950 by Ernest Lenarduzzi. The restoration
was based on early photographs of the original figure.
The Rose Window
La Ventana de Rosa, the Rose Window, south window of Mission
San José’s sacristy (photo: 1980). The window,
sculpted ca. 1775, has been the object of both legend and
admiration. The window has also been described during the
Feast of Pentecost as the site where the host was shown
to gathered mission celebrants.
Church at Mission San José
Southwest elevation of the church and convento at Mission
San José (early 20th century). The image was made
prior to the collapse of the bell tower in 1928. The sacristy
dome does not appear in the image, having collapsed in 1873.
The fence that is seen was erected by the Landmark Society
ca. 1904, one year after the collapse of the spiral choir
stairwell leading up the tower. By the early 20th century,
visitors were regularly traveling from San Antonio to see
the missions.
This image of the southwest elevation of the church and
convento at Mission San José, taken in 1995, gives
the viewer a glimpse of the remnants of the largest structure
in the park remaining from the mission period. The arches
are all that remain of the convento, which housed the missionaries.
During the reconstruction of the mission in the 1920s and
1930s, the convento was not rebuilt. In the 1850's Benedictines
from Latrobe, Pennsylvania purchased the mission complex
from the Diocese of San Antonio - they planned to develop
it as a school for boys. The American Civil War intervened
and the property reverted to the diocese. The partial construction
in the convento precept in 19th century gothic style led
those planning Spanish colonial reconstruction to refrain
from doing so in light of the destruction of the provenance
of the original structure.
Door Panel
Detail of cedar panel of the sacristy door of the
church at Mission San José . This door is the original
door and may be one of very few items of wood that survived
at the mission from the colonial period. It was removed
in 1947 and returned in 1953 after being refinished. The
door is located on the east wall of the sacristy, and may
have been protected from the elements by an adjoining room.
Sculpture of San Joaquin
Located on the facade of the church at Mission
San José . The statue is to the north of the entrance.
It was restored by Ernest Lenarduzzi ca. 1948-1950. The
statue's left arm fell off in 1984. San Joaquin was the
husband of Saint Anne, the mother of the Virgin Mary, whose
figure can be found on the opposite side of the entrance.
Little is known about his life.
