85. San Xavier del Bac
- Rainey Knudson
- May 6
- 2 min read
For 230 years, the gleaming white church has appeared to float above the desert like a mirage, its lime plaster glowing against the horizon. San Xavier del Bac, just south of Tucson, looks—as it was designed to—otherworldly.
Of all the Spanish mission churches in the United States, San Xavier del Bac is arguably the most beautiful. It’s also unbalanced and strange. A structure designed by Franciscans, an order that demands poverty, celebrates the faith with ornate, theatrical splendor. A Catholic church in the American Southwest feels faintly Moroccan.
Built by the O’odham tribe, which uses it to this day, the church’s stark, whitewashed walls contrast sharply with the elaborate interior, every inch of which appears to be encrusted with hand-carved and gilded statuary and motifs. It is a spectacular example of the Mexican Baroque style.
The Franciscans ran out of money for the project—the east tower was never completed—and by the mid-1800s, the mission had largely been abandoned by the church. In 1858, four years after the United States acquired what is now Southern Arizona, an Anglo visitor wrote, “The birds are its only occupants and they sing praises from morning until night. They build their nests on the heads of the saints and warble their notes of joy while perched on their fingers.” But the O’odham never left; the church has been their parish throughout. Today one of their own, a conservator trained in Rome, tends the church his ancestors built alongside his Spanish wife.
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This post is part of The American 250, a series featuring 250 objects made by Americans, located in America, in honor of the country's 250th anniversary. 250 words on 250 works, from January 1 to December 31, 2026.
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