Well, best laid plans and all that. We were sure that our neighbor said that Camao Ranch was open every day, but apparently not on Sunday at this time of year. So we had a lovely 45 minute drive south of Tucson only to find that the ranch was closed. Not to have a total waste of a day, however, we stopped at the San Xavier Mission. It is the only remaining intact mission in Arizona and is an example of Mexican Baroque architecture. The mission was first founded in 1693 by a Jesuit missionary, Father Kino, who traveled throughout the northern part of Mexico and the southeastern parts of the U. S. bringing Catholicism to the indigenous peoples of the area. The mission is still a working parish for the Tohono O'oodham people who live nearby. There were simpler structures built on the site earlier, but the current building was begun in 1783. With the labor of the local villagers, the work on the mission continued for 14 years until the 7000 pesos borrowed from a rancher from Sonora ran out. The master artisans from Mexico could not afford to work without being paid, so the east tower was left with bare brick and no dome. In 1978 a group was formed to raise funds to restore and preserve the church. They raised $10 million and brought in restorers from Italy to work on the statuary and stabilize paint pigments. Even though baroque is not my favorite architectural style, they did a wonderful job in their 6 years of work.
There is a wooden statue of San Francisco Xavier reclining in the west wing of the church (pic in the case under the saint in red). People come to touch it and lift the head as supposedly only someone good of heart is able to lift it. The cloth over the body is filled with Milagros (miracles) which we have seen in churches in Europe. They are small "charms" representing body parts that need healing. For example, if you have a lame leg, there is one shaped like a leg. The saint is supposed to heal the leg.
Out in a courtyard, I took some cacti shots and then we chatted with some lovely folks from Minnesota. They leave home towards the end of January and don't go home until April. I can't say I blame them - the weather when they left was -25!
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