The White Dove of the Desert

Standing tall just 9 miles outside of the Tucson city limits is the San Xavier del Bac mission. It has always been a favorite place of mine to visit, mostly because I am obsessed with fry bread and there is always an abundant amount of people out there selling it, but also because it is such a beautiful and peaceful place to visit. I started going there as a young child, when my mom and I would come to Tucson to visit my godmother. I was always entranced by the beautiful artwork and almost eerie feeling that the church gave me when I visited it. I am also a history buff, so anything that can take me back in time is something I am generally interested in.

The site was chosen by Father Eusebio Francisco Kino, a Jesuit missionary (a sect of the Catholic church) who happened upon the site in 1692. He built the foundation of the first church two miles from the site of today's mission. San Xavier was built over a period of 14 years, between 1783 and 1797, and was named after Kino's patron saint St. Francis Xavier, according to the mission's Web site.

This establishment is important to many people throughout the Southwest. It is one of the earliest Catholic missionaries to be built in Arizona and is still a fully operational church. It is run by the Franciscan sect of the Catholic church. The mission also houses a fully operational K-8 Catholic school. It is a very intregal part of the Catholic community.

However, Catholics are not the only people are have deep ties with the mission. The Tohono O'odham people also have deep roots with San Xavier. They have lived on the land where the mission was built since the time of Father Kino and probably long before. According to the Web site, it is also believed that they played an intregal role in the construction of the mission.

What makes the mission different from most Catholic churches is that it integrates both Catholic and O'odham idealology in to it's daily operations. The two cultures, which are sometimes known for their dark pasts with each other, live peacefully together at one of the most beautiful sights in the United States.

For more information about the Mission, visit their site: San Xavier

Interested in what it looks like? View this video from youtube.com