SAN XAVIER MISSION DEL BAC

BY: Brother Lawrence Hogan, O.F.M.

MISSION SAN XAVIER DEL BAC

A Glance Backward and a hope for the future The story of the current restoration PROGRAM for the extension of the facilities at the "white dove of the desert" in tucson, arizona

CHAPTER I-"A GLANCE BACKWARD"

Mission San Xaxier del Bac is situated on an elevation in the Santa Cruz Valley, nine miles south of the civic center of the City of Tucson. There it has stood for the past 275 years, long before the Spanish Colonial Government established the first Tucson Presidio. The Mission is a scant two miles from the present perimeter of modern metropolitan Tucson, and, just as the Tucson of 1970 clings jealously to its soubriquet "The Old Pueblo," so does it grasp tenaciously at the ties which bind it to San Xavier, its one authentic, physical link with its historic Spanish colonial heritage.

The name of the celebrated Jesuit missionary and explorer, Father Eusebio Francisco Kino, is indissolubly linked with that of San Xavier. It is generally accepted by historians that Kino first came to the Indian settlement of Bac in 1692, and in 1700 laid the foundations of its first church, probably somewhere in the area of the present church. From Kino it gets its name in honor of his chosen patron, Saint Francis Xavier, the illustrious Jesuit "Apostle of the Indies."

While the Mission in the minds of Arizonans takes its age and venerable aura from the times of Kino, its image in those minds and throughout the nation today is that of the beautiful "White Dove of the Desert," the present church, begun by the Franciscans in 1783, and completed by them in 1797. Framed in the warm browns of the surrounding hills and the violet shadows of more distant mountains, it rises brilliantly white from the desert floor of dusty green and sage. The imposing dome and the lofty towers, the rounded parapets and graceful spires etched against the vivid blue, complete a skyline fraught with the haunting enchantment of unreality. As modern Tucson has evolved into a year-round southwest resort city with new industrial overtones, as its cultural importance has grown with the ever-expanding facilities of the University of Arizona in its midst; it is this fascinating element of unreality surrounding San Xavier which has captivated the new Tucsonans spawned from eastern metropolis and middle western towns. Transplanted from areas where they felt far removed from any personal tradition and involvement in history, these newer arrivals have fiercely adopted what the pioneer resident inherited, and, when friends arrive from Detroit or Dubuque, when business men come from Washington or Wilmington, it is to San Xavier that they are rushed on the first sight-seeing round, to see this beautiful church, “in continuous use to this day by the very Indians for whom it was established,” which is “such a lovely example of our colonial period.” Every year, for the past twenty years, the Tucson Festival Society has reminded Tucsonans and visitors from near and far at its San Xavier Fiesta, which open Tucson Festival Week on the Friday after Easter, that the Franciscans under Father Francisco Garcés arrived at Bac on June 30, 1768, and that they were the builders of the White Dove of the Desert. Last year's attendance at this dramatic evening pageant held on the desert at the doors of the Mission was 18,000, according to the Arizona State Highway Patrol, which handled the traffic.

In 1965, under the leadership of Justin Herman, State Highway Director, the State, County and City Highway Departments joined forces and erected identical directional markers at all strategic access road points to the Mission. In 1968, the Pima County Highway Department, headed by County Engineer Dominic Di Cicco, paved the former dirt road which starts at the front door of the Mission and proceeds south and east through the Papago Indian Reservation to its junction with Tucson's South Sixth Avenue. This road connects with a new interchange built with federal and state funds which brings travelers off the new Arizona State 19 freeway from the Grand Canyon to the Mexican border. This freeway became operational as far south as Pima Mine Road (south of the Mission) on May 31, 1969, thus providing direct freeway access for visitors to the very portals of the church. Present visitor attendance at San Xavier exceeds 300,000 persons annually. It is probably that the above improvements in transportation will influence an increase in visitor traffic to somewhere in the neighborhood of one-half million in the near future.

San Xavier Mission has been acclaimed by many authorities as perhaps the finest example of mission architecture in the United States. It is a graceful blending of Moorish, Byzantine and late Mexican Renaissance or Baroque architectures. The very fact that we know so relatively little about the actual labor of its construction, about the identity of the architect or the artisans, or why one tower was apparently never completed are all elements which tend to enhance its glamour in the public mind. All contribute to the seeming compulsion what affects all and sundry to photograph and write about San Xavier. National and regional publicity increases year by year. The 1966 CBS Christmas Color Telecast, with the Tucson Boys' Chorus singing from the Sanctuary and grounds of San Xavier, brought the Mission for one-half hour into the homes of some 19 million viewers on Christmas Eve. The British Broadcasting Company (BBC) repeated the telecast from London onChristmas Eve of 1967. The Tucson Chamber of Commerce acclaims San Xavier as Tucson's most important visitor attraction. And every important personality who comes to Tucson pays his respects at the Mission. Joining the recent parade of celebrities have been the Vice President of the United States and Mrs. Humphrey; the Chief Justice and Mrs. Warren; the President of the African Republic of Niger, his Minister of Foreign Affairs and their wives; Mexican film idol Mario Moreno, known to the world as Cantinflas; and other personalities galore from the world of the theatre, motion pictures and television.

But, while Mission San Xavier is situated at Tucson and while the people of Arizona treasure it along with the Grand Canyon of the Colorado as their most priceless possession, the Franciscans, who for over 200 years have guarded it and maintained it, never forget that it belongs not to them not even really to the Catholic Church but to the people of the United States of America. It occupies an area of fourteen acres in the midst of the sprawling Papago Indian Reservation set apart by letters patent from the Secretary of the Interior. Custodian of the patent is the Catholic Indian Bureau in Washington, D.C. The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Tucson, in whose Episcopal jurisdiction San Xavier stands, and the Franciscans of the Province of St. Barbara, are the agents of the Catholic Indian Bureau in this juridical structure, but final title rests with the people of America.

This brief glimpse of historical perspective brings us to our next chapter which sets forth the plan evolved by the Franciscans at Bac to make the beauty and the facilities of Mission San Xavier del Bac more completely available to its owners, the people of the United States of America, and to their guests, the thousands from other parts of the world who each year in increasing numbers cross its threshold.

CHAPTER TWO "THE PLAN"

The writer was assigned to Mission San Xavier del Bac in 1964 and arrived there in the wake of a disastrous tornado first in Arizona's history which struck the Mission on the morning of August 29th of that year. This traumatic event killed an Indian mother and her small child; injured and hospitalized many other Indians; rendered still more homeless as it flattened their small adobe dwellings; and totally destroyed the convent residence of the Franciscan Sisters who taught and still teach at our Papago Elementary School. These terrible events catapulted me into a wholly unexpected sphere of public relations activity which involved all the communications media, public officials, welfare agencies and the general public to obtain food, clothing, medical supplies and funds to care for the immediate needs of our Papago Indian people and to build a new home for our valiant Franciscan Sisters. But these events terrible as they were gave me an immediate practical indoctrination in the regard in which San Xavier Mission was held by Tucsonans and by Arizonans in general. Particularly were the members of the communications media magnificent in their cooperation. And the public responded valiantly. Immediate needs were met, and over thirty-four thousand dollars raised through voluntary contributions to help erect the new convent.

Thus began, for me, a relationship with the city of Tucson and its citizens which has grown ever closer and more friendly with the passing years, as they constantly demonstrate their intense interest in San Xavier Mission and their desire to become involved and to assist in all matters affecting its welfare.

In 1966 Father Kieran McCarty, O.F.M., joined the staff of the Mission as resident historian after serving for seven years as Vice President of the Academy of American Franciscan History in Washington. That same year, Father McCarty cooperated actively and physically with the University of Arizona and with a team from the Mexican Institute of Anthropology and History (Mexico City) in the research and exploration which led to the finding of the remains of Father Eusebio Francisco Kino, founder of San Xavier, at Magdalena, Sonora, Mexico. He later accepted a staff position with the University of Arizona in one of its most progressive departments, the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, where his function was to coordinate historical research a humanities function with modern scientific approaches to this field.

Since Father McCarty and I shared a background of considerable Latin-American experience and historical indoctrination, and since each of us grew daily more involved with the affairs of San Xavier and grew to love it more and more as we knew it better, it was natural that we should indulge in beautiful but seemingly hopeless dreams for its development and its future. Hopeless, because all involved rather considerable sums of money which we Franciscans did not have.

At about this time an event took place which, at long last, brought an element of reality to what had heretofore seemed mere wishful thinking. The Mission was given a very substan tial monetary grant by members of the Joseph N. Pew family of Philadelphia. This grant was made in memory of the late Mrs. Mary Pew Benson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Exposure to the elements, human neglect, and an earthquake in the late 1880's all had left a proud but scarred face.

N. Pew, Jr., who had a winter home in Tucson and who had a great love for Mission San Xavier. Mrs. Benson died in Tucson after having suffered serious illness during the latter years of her life. During this period she derived consolation and peace of mind from many visits to San Xavier and through her personal contacts with several of us Franciscans here, notably Father Theodore Williges, O.F.M. Her family, although active members of the Presbyterian Church, wished to do something for the Mission which they felt the late Mrs. Benson would have wanted to do herself had circumstances permitted. In discussing the form which a memorial to the late Mrs. Benson might take, Father McCarty and I and the late Mrs. Benson's daughter, Mrs. William R. Wister, Jr. of Ardmore, Pennsylvania, developed the concept of a memorial garden. This met with enthusiastic acceptance from the various members of the Pew family involved. They agreed that funds which they had already given and might give in the future could be used for an overall restoration program at the Mission provided that such plans included the memorial garden. From this point the planning progressed rapidly. As we developed a three-point plan, we were motivated by two basic considerations; (1) Historical and cultural, and (2) Humanitarian. We felt that much of the beauty of San Xavier Mission and many of its historic sections were lost to the public since they were being used by the resident Franciscan community for living purposes, work and office areas, storage, etc. These historic sections should be vacated by the Friars and dedicated to housing artifacts of historic and artistic value already in the possession of San Xavier and/or private collections of great beauty and historic value which had been tentatively promised to the Mission, either as outright gifts or on permanent loan. Among these historic sections, the entire front, or south, wing of the Mission, which antedates the present church, the present house chapel, and the original sacristy, still in daily use, are outstanding. The enclosed garden or patio should also be opened to the public, as it was barred from the view of visitors. The present east wing not part of the original structure used for living and service facilities could be renovated to house static exhibits and the gift shop which would have to be moved from its present location in the south wing. If these things were done, the historical and cultural importance of the Mission and its availability to the public would be greatly enhanced. On the humanitarian side, we could not lose sight of the fact that our basic dedication as Franciscans at San Xavier was to the Papago Indians. Facilities would have to be provided for Indian community activities both youth and adult in any program which might be developed. Also, the living quarters in which we Franciscans had lived since time immemorial at San Xavier could best be described as primitive. We felt that no one would object to something more adequate and functional. Our plan, then, involved three points: (1) Construct one new building to blend into the general complex somewhere to the rear of the present church, but separated from it, which would serve as a modern residence inside and would enable us to vacate historic sections of the Mission. (2) Landscape and beautify the interior courtyard as the Mary Pew Benson Memorial Garden. (3) Convert the south wing into a fine arts museum; the east wing into a gift shop and static exhibit facility and provide in that wing for Indian community facilities. This program was presented to the Very Rev. Terence Cronin, O.F.M., then the Franciscan Provincial, and met with his approval. He designated Father McCarty Director and myself Assistant Director of the program for San Xavier's restoration and for the extension of its facilities. Later, after cost estimates had been made and preliminary building plans drawn, Father McCarty and I had a most agreeable conference with the Most Reverend Francis J. Green, Bishop of Tucson, in which our plans were discussed at length as well as the operational and fund-raising facets we proposed to employ. Bishop Green gave the entire program his blessing and freely offered his advice and counseling whenever they might be needed. Subsequently, Father McCarty was appointed Superior of Mission San Xavier del Bac.

CHAPTER III “THE ACCOMPLISHMENT”

The contribution from the Pew family had been generous and had made our three-point program of restoration and extension seem within the realms of possibility. It was not nearly sufficient, however, to bring such a program to total completion. It was apparent from the start that means must be found to obtain greatly increased funds if we were to realize our goals. In 1967 the Tucson Chamber of Commerce sponsored a luncheon to bring into public focus the many facets of Tucson's cultural life. It was labeled “A Salute to the Arts.” Mr. William Hawes Smith, Vice President of the Valley National Bank and, at that time, President of the Tucson Symphony Society, chaired the luncheon and Mr. James E. Patrick, then President of Valley Bank and today Vice-Chairman of that institution, came from Phoenix to address the group of several hundred culturally oriented persons who attended. I was asked to give the invocation which began the affair.

Mr. Patrick in his speech that day made the point very forcefully that business, large and small, has an obligation to the cultural life of the communities in which it operates. He stated, further, that new business thinking of entering a community is as much concerned with the cultural climate of that community as it is with the more mundane considerations of labor availability, water supply, etc. He cited San Xavier Mission as the outstanding cultural asset of Tucson. At about the same time in New York the President of Eastern Air Lines announced a gift of $500,000 to the Metropolitan Opera Association over a five-year period. He expressed the same sense of obligation to the community which Mr. Patrick had talked about in Tucson. These two happenstances influenced the writer to prepare a campaign of fund-raising activity which involved contact with large companies, national in the scope of their activities, which

San Xavier del Bac was conceived in faith, built with hope, and will continue to exist through charity. It is frequently called "The White Dove of the Desert", a title given it about 1920, probably by a Franciscan padre. It represents the hub of mission activity for the 71,000 acre San Xavier Papago Indian Reservation. The land was purchased from Mexico in 1854 and contains about 11,000 Papagos. The missionaries and nuns, starting from San Xavier del Bac, have spread the message of Christianity throughout the reservation and have built some sixty missions and chapels. They are presently educating some 600 Papago children in their schools, and have brought both religion and the ideas of the twentieth century to the remote villages. from "The Living Mission"

operated in the Tucson area and derived a substantial share of their earnings from that area. Through Bill Smith and Jim Patrick I obtained entree to the offices of top echelon officials in New York, Los Angeles and other centers. In a trip east I saw these officials and presented our cause to them, not as coming from a church institution or a tourist attraction but rather as emanating from a great historical and artistic treasure house, unique in all the United States of America. The results of that trip were eminently successful. Two other men joined our cause at that time and have been of constant assistance to the fund-raising efforts of the Mission ever since. They were Senator Barry Goldwater and Mr. Charles Broman, Manager of the Tucson Airport Authority. Senator Goldwater has contributed liberally of his own funds and has been very instrumental in obtaining financial assistance from other individuals and organizations. "Chuck" Broman has been of great assistance with the national airlines and aircraft companies. On this trip I also had the pleasure of visiting our great benefactors, the Pew family, at the home of Mrs. Joseph N. Pew, Jr. in Ardmore. The family approved the plans for the Mary Pew Benson Memorial Garden and discussed ways and means for further financial assistance in the future, which they have since given. As a result of this program, San Xavier's benefactors in industry who might be likened to advance gift donors in a fund raising campaign include the following: Phelps Dodge Corporation, American Smelting & Refining Company, Pima Mining Company, Duval Corporation, American Air Lines, Trans World Airlines, Continental Airlines, Hughes Aircraft Company and Banner Mining Company. The Howard Hughes organization in Las Vegas has indicated an interest on the part of Air West as soon as the formalities of obtaining control of that company have been concluded with the appropriate government agencies.

There have been some other substantial monetary gifts from private individuals who prefer not to have their names publicized. Where minimal publicity was permitted by donors we have availed ourselves of this privilege since we learned at the time of the tornado in 1964 that, because of the fact that San Xavier is an active church, no government aid could be expected due to existing laws and administrative regulations this in spite of the legalistic base upon which San Xavier is founded. Our Papago Indians, who are among the most economically deprived groups in the nation, can do little to support their church. They do their little best, but the operating and maintainance revenues of the Mission have always come and probably always will come from the generosity of its visitors.

We feel that the accomplishments achieved through a judicious use of funds received from all sources to date have been impressive. In starting the restoration activity, we decided that our primary obligations were two-fold; first to the church itself as the House of God and the focal point of all other activity; and, second, to our first and greatest benefactors, the members of the Pew family. Accordingly, we first completed the following:

(3) Installation of adequate and tastefully concealed indirect electric lighting in the church for the first time in its history. (4) Designed, constructed and dedicated the Mary Pew Benson Memorial Garden in the interior court yard of the Mission. Landscape design was done by Mr. Warren Jones, Landscape Architect of the Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, University of Arizona. We are greatly indebted, in addition to Warren Jones for his excellent and carefully studied work, to Mr. Steve Fazio, Head of the Horticulture Department and to Dr. Richard Harvill, President of the University of Arizona, who authorized Warren Jones' work as a public service of the University.

Work remains to be done on the garden. Certain plants can be planted only during certain seasons and will be added as time progresses. A considerable amount of artistic tiling work still has to be completed around the borders of the garden where they touch the church and the south and east wings. The center-piece in the fountain around which the garden is laid out was designed and executed, in cut stone by Giorgio Belloli of Guanajuato, Mexico, on Mr. Jones' instructions. Belloli also did the wrought iron lamps which are authentic reproductions of 18th-century Spanish Colonial lamps used in religious institutions in Mexico during that period.

The bowl of the fountain is shaped after the small windows in the large dome of the church and was poured from concrete by our own maintainance superintendent, Mr. James Metz. All of the above work and much of that which follows, except for the landscape design and planting, was conceived and executed by Mr. Metz using all local, and for the most part, Papago Indian labor.

These primary obligations satisfied, we then completed the following: (5) Installation of air conditioning and heating systems in the south and east wings. It was recognized as self-evident that, if these wings were to be used for museum and gift shop purposes at a later date, they must be air conditioned for the hot Arizona summers and heated for the winter. This seems an appropriate point at which to mention that there had never been any heating or cooling systems in the church or residence quarters at San Xavier.

(6) Construction of a library in the extreme north end of the east wing to house the Father Bonaventure Oblasser Library of Piman Research. The shelving is completed, lighting installed, furniture in place and the books are on the shelves.

(7) Construction of a Papago Indian Community facility in the room adjoining the library at the north end of the east wing. The room has been finished. It serves as a meeting place for parish gatherings of the Papagos and is the practice room for our Papago Youth Orchestral "Combo" known as "The Bac Generation."

(8) Demolition of old garages and outbuildings to the north of the church in preparation for the construction of the new Friary or residence in that area. This work was done by the Papago Indians at no cost to the Mission. They were allowed to salvage the building materials for their own use.

(9) The total exterior illumination of the Mission at night. On Christmas Eve, 1969, The White Dove of the Desert stood brightly illuminated by the power output of thirty 500-watt, quartz floodlights "to herald the birthday of the Lord."

The ceremonial lighting in the Christmas Eve darkness was the culmination of an idea which began in September 1969 when the writer and 15 Arizonans visited the birthplace of Padre Eusebio Francisco Kino, mission founder, in northern Italy. We were all impressed by the night illumination of historic buildings throughout Europe. Upon our return, the possibility of lighting San Xavier permanently was brought to the attention of the Tucson Gas and Electric Co. The retail cost factor for materials alone appeared to rule out any such thoughts. However, the TG&E's Board of Directors voted to donate all materials plus the services of super-visory and consulting personnel. While participating in any type of religious function is generally considered taboo by most large firms, TG&E took the approach that the mission is uni versally recognized as an architectural and historic southwest landmark and, from their point of view, it would provide an excellent facility for demonstrating modern lighting techniques for enhancing the appearance of any beautiful building.

The night-time effect is so breathtakingly beautiful as to be almost unbelievable. National airlines have photographed the Mission illuminated and are running feature stories in their passenger magazines. It received front page picture and story coverage in The Arizona Daily Star on Christmas Day. And the Papagos on the reservation are happier about the illumina-tion than about any event at their Mission in years. Tucson Gas and Electric's costs in this matter have run into thousands of dollars, thus making that firm an important addition to the list of benefactors of Mission San Xavier del Bac.

CHAPTER IV - THE NEED - “A HOPE FOR THE FUTURE”

The construction of the new Friary somewhere north of the church is the next indispensable step which must be taken before any further progress on the total program can be made. The great importance of the construction of the new Friary is that it will permit the resident Franciscan Community to move completely out of the historic sections of the Mission and the other sections mentioned in the foregoing and will pave the way for their conversion into public facilities as described above and for the opening of the entire Mission complex to the public in the future. This will be the most costly phase of the program but, due to the generosity of the Mission benefactors, funds on hand at this writing are adequate for its construction. Many persons have been interested in this phase of the project. They include the Architect for the Diocese of Tucson; the Franciscan Indian Mission Board; the Franciscan Old Mission Cominittee and many interested citizens of Tucson, including historians, architects, university officials, Chamber of Commerce officials, past and prospective benefactors and others. The building, as it may finally emerge, will be, hopefully, a comfortable and functional residence in its interior. On its exterior it is visualized as a white structure, simple in design so as not to conflict with or detract from the architecture of the church, and completely separated from the church by an adequate distance. It is hoped that the new building will house garages, utility rooms, etc., so as to obviate the necessity for any further construction for these uses.

This important phase of the program is now in the hands of the Franciscan governing body or "Provincial Definitorium" for the Province of St. Barbara at Oakland, California, headed by Provincial Alan McCoy, O.F.M. The decision will be made at this level regarding what will be built; when it will be built; and how it will be built.

Once the new Friary is underway, it will remain to entirely restructure the east wing of the Mission from a living facility with kitchen, dining, bed, recreation, bath and laundry rooms into a gift shop and exhibit area with the necessary public rest rooms, storage areas and display areas. This will probably be the first order of business, since the gift shop must be moved from the historic south wing before that wing, in turn, can be redesigned as a Spanish Colonial art museum. The gift shop is an important service to visitors and an important source of maintenance income to the Mission. Its present operation can not be suspended until its new quarters are ready.

This done, work can start on the south wing then on the present house Chapel which will no longer be needed, as the new residence will contain a house chapel. The present chapel and a room which adjoins it, now used for a gift shop stockroom, are both parts of the church itself. They face the garden on the east side of the church and will, hopefully, be restored to their former appearance and made available to the public for visiting.

Detailed plans for these remaining projects will have to be drawn and cost estimates made. Certainly the cost will amount to rather substantial amounts of money. The Mission's Restora-tion Fund, upon completion of the new Friary, will probably be completely exhausted. Work completed to date and projected in the foregoing, including the new Friary, represents an expenditure of about $200,000.00. This, in spite of the most careful economies. Future large bequests are, at best, problematical.

From the beginning of the program we have benefited greatly from the advice and assistance of William Hawes Smith, one of the most capable and most respected men in the Tucson area. We have all realized from the start that, to complete the last phases of our program for San Xavier some sort of public fund appeal will be required. Bill Smith assured San Xavier long ago of his readiness to form the necessary organization to carry out such a drive. Just what form this activity will take, it is impossible to predict at the present time, but that it will be a necessity is a foregone conclusion. Expressed in its softest terms it might be said that the public will be given an oppor-tunity to assist its beautiful San Xavier who is now reading herself to receive them and to serve them more fully, more appealingly, and more reverently than ever before in her long history.

The Mission and the writer personally are most grateful to ARIZONA HIGHWAYS for this beautiful and painstaking presentation of The White Dove of the Desert, its past, its present and its hoped for future. Would it be a presumption on my part to suggest to its readers that small gifts from many sources could accomplish quickly what drives and campaigns would need much time and labor to achieve? Checks for the completion of the restoration program can be made to SAN XAVIER RESTORATION, and mailed to Route 11, Box 645, Tucson, Arizona 85706.