Tuscon and San Xavier Mission Arizona

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This past Saturday Mickie and I took a day trip from Phoenix to Tucson to visit St. Augustine Cathedral and the San Xavier Mission. It was an easy drive and a beautiful day for a road trip. Mickie’s sister joined us for this excursion and we hit the road right after lunch for the hour and a half or so drive to Tucson. We found St. Augustine easily enough off of Church St. in downtown Tucson. The church itself has a beautiful exterior with the traditional bell towers and ornate façade. There was a wedding scheduled for that afternoon, but we were early enough to sneak in for a peak before the ceremony got started. We enjoyed the entrance hall with its beautiful walls covered with drawings of the people that have done so much good in this world, including an image of Mother Teresa bandaging an indigent man’s leg. Inside the chapel was quite large with room for lots of worshipers. There were stained glass windows along the sides and a rose window above the entrance. The dais had a beautiful image of Christ tending the flock above it and everything seemed very fresh and new inside. Beautiful church and I was glad we stopped in. Lots of great photos attached to this blog post.

From there we took in a late lunch at Zinburgers (amazing!) I had the El Diablo which featured everything spicy on the menu. Mickie and Madison split a jalapeno popper burger that was just amazing with the hot jalapenos and cream cheese compliment. Sweet potato fires and a Raspberry margarita rounded out the meal. Staff was friendly and the food was excellent.

Satisfied from lunch we took the short drive down I-19 to the San Xavier Mission site. Neither of us had ever been before and we were in for a real treat. The mission is located on the Indian reservation and there is not much else out there. Just a small diner and some gift shops. As we approached the white walls of the mission stood out against the brown dusty landscape. We parked out in the lot in front of the mission and noticed right away that one side was much brighter and cleaner than the other. Turns out they are in the process of doing some restoration work and it really is turning out great. San Xavier is for the most part in-tact, but does need some restoration. Inside the chapel you can see the age and the wear on the paintings and statues. Most of the decorations and artwork are wooden carvings and they had an amazing depth to them. It was the most 3-D chapel I have seen so far. There is a separate chapel for lighting candles, and a pair of lion statues on the hillside to the east of the mission.

Also inside the main church is a wooden figure of St. Francis which visitors will pray to, touch and lift the head. It is believed that the easier the head is to lift the stronger the faith of the person lifting it.

All in all this trip was everything we wanted it to be. Interesting and educational, spiritual connective and a chance to take some photos for our growing album of places of worship.

We were back in Phoenix by 5:30, bellies and souls still full and feeling satisfied.

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