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Mission San Juan is a Catholic mission church in San Antonio, Texas. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of four missions that make up the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.
Origins
Mission San Juan was originally established by Franciscan friars in eastern Texas as Mission San José de los Nazonis in 1716. The mission was ultimately unsuccessful, and whatever could be transported was moved to the present location in 1731.
The mission was re-established as Mission San Juan Capistrano and had several problems in its first years. Epidemics of smallpox, measles, and other diseases ravaged the Native American community, Apache and Comanche raids terrorized the mission, and political problems arose.
Life at the Mission
By 1762, 203 Native Americans lived at Mission San Juan. It was a self-sustaining community where residents learned the Spanish language and a variety of valuable trades. Production of iron tools and textiles as well as preparing hides were among the trades practiced. There were also orchards and gardens outside the walls for cultivating maize, beans, sweet potatoes, squash, and sugar cane.
Mission San Juan was secularized on July 14, 1794, converting to a church-based community. It was attended by the priest from Mission Espada until around 1813, followed by the priest from Mission San José until 1824. After that, the mission was mostly neglected until 1840, when services resumed under diocesan priests.
A neighborhood made up of the descendants of mission inhabitants sprung up around Mission San Juan and grew steadily starting around 1855. The church was administered by the Claretians as well as the Redemptorists until 1967, when the Franciscans returned. It continues to function as an active Catholic parish church.
Church
The first church at Mission San Juan was a chapel made of brush and mud. It was replaced by a stone church, completed around 1756, that no longer exists.
The current church, which was built in 1786, was meant to be temporary. It was built over part of the foundations of a granary and went through a major renovation in 2012.
Convent
Just south of the church are the remains of the convent. Franciscan missionaries lived in cells behind the arcade and cooked and ate in rooms on another side.
Priest’s Quarters
To the north of the church is the priest’s quarters. It was built in 1968 using stone recycled from earlier mission walls. It’s still active and is not open to the public.
Ruins of the Third Church
Construction of a third larger church began on the east side of the mission compound in 1772. The project was abandoned in 1786 due to a lack of labor. The new church probably would have included a vaulted ceiling over the nave and a dome over the sacristy.
