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There was not enough money to finish the right tower! |
We decided to take in
the San Xavier del Bac, a mission found
in the southern part of Arizona near Tucson. It is an oldie and a goodie,
founded in 1692 by Father Eusebio Kino, making it one of the older settlements
in America, The original founders and builders of the Jesuit variety.
The current structure at
the mission and its' church was begun in the late 1700's and finished in 1789,
the same year the United States got its' act together with the Constitution.
Anyway, the church is in a word, "Magnificent", and should not
be missed by those who are interested in the history of the American West.

If you keep in mind the
first Jesuit and then Franciscan Priests trekked 900 miles into the wilderness,
more than 300 years ago to establish this mission, built and decorated it with
absolutely spectacular artistry, to include paintings, murals, ceiling art and
more than 50 hand made statues that had to be brought in one by one that same
900 miles, you can see the power of Religious devotion. It is truly a
remarkable thing. The devotion of the human spirit to something larger
than one's own ego is what made much of the good things of civilization whether
it be the Pyramids, Greek Temples, the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, Catholic and
Protestant churches, or the many Indian holy shrines. All of these places
endure and remind us we are not the be all, end all of the Universe.
Back in the mid-nineties
the Church hired a number of art restoration specialists from as far away as
Spain, Italy and even Turkey to restore all of the paintings and frescoes found
in the Cathedral, as well as those decorating the more than fifty statues.
They spent 3 months every year for six years restoring the church and
its' art to its' original state. The job they did was superlative, I
might add.
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