Nogales

To the north of the nave is the sanctuary, that part of the church immediately surrounding the main altar. Below the dome, the altar was more carved, gilded and painted than anything else in the church. Many color remnants of different designs are visible, like friezes of stenciled flower patterns, scroll-like ornaments, symbolic paintings, and patterns of cornice silhouettes. Blue, black, red, green, yellow and orange are the predominant colors. At the Gospel side (left) of the altar, a small sign marks the burial place of Fathers Balthazar Carrillo and Narciso Gutiérrez, the best known Franciscan missionaries who lived and labored at the mission. Both priests died before the new church was consecrated but their remains were transferred "from the old church" and reburied here, in 1822, by Fray Liberós. As mentioned before, Fray Gutiérrez was the builder of the church and served almost twenty-seven years. An arched doorway leads through the east of the sanctuary to the sacristy which was the robing room for the priests and storing place for the ritual equipment. Long after the Indians deserted the mission, travelers through the Santa Cruz Valley camped in this room.

Just back of the church lies the cemetery in an enclosed area. Perhaps the best fitting monument for the many unmarked graves is the unfinished mortuary chapel where the deceased reposed until the requiem service. Age and elements have somewhat rounded its angles and smoothed its contours. Many Christian Indians, killed by the Apaches, were buried around the chapel. After the church was forsaken, cattlemen used the cemetery as a round-up corral. Most of the grave markers were destroyed by milling cattle and treasure hunters looking for mythical hidden wealth. There is no real evidence of mining in this region during the Spanish mission period, and even less about the priests engaging in this field. It would take a thick volume to recount the mining tales about Tumacacori and the surrounding hills. Many people believed, and still believe, that the missionary priests used mission Indian labor for working in the mines. Great quantities of gold, silver and copper ore were removed