Mission Concepcion – Virtual Tour

Mission Concepción was established in 1716 as a base for converting the Native Americans to Catholicism and it formed part of the Spanish colonization system. Mission Concepción is the oldest unrestored stone church in America.

The Mission consists of a Sanctuary, Nave, Convento (convent), and granary. Brightly painted frescos decorated both the exterior and interior of the building. Traces of the frescoes still exist on the weathered facade of the building.

The artwork on the interior ceilings and walls of the Convento has been restored. Frescoes can also be found in the sanctuary and nave.

The western entrance to the church is aligned to the sunset in such a way that a double solar illumination occurs every year around August 15. This date is the feast day of the Assumption of Mary.

The annual double solar illumination is a once-a-year event that has sunlight shining through the window above the front door to the center of the cross-shaped church. At precisely the same moment, sunlight coming through a dome window shines onto the face of the Virgin Mary painting above the main altar.

In 1835, Mexican troops and Texian insurgents led by James Bowie and James Fannin fought the Battle of Concepción here. It was the first significant engagement of the Texas Revolution.

The Mission Concepcion was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970 and is part of San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.

San Antonio Missions National Historical Park

The San Antonio Missions National Historical Park preserves four of the five Spanish frontier missions in San Antonio, Texas.

Mission Concepción
Mission San José
Mission San Juan Capistrano
Mission Espada

The fifth Mission in San Antonio, The Alamo, is not part of the Park.

These missions formed part of a colonization system that stretched across the Spanish Southwest in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.

Highlights of Mission Concepcion

The Mission’s grotto and gardens
The Spanish Colonial Architecture
Concepcion’s Frescos
The old library in the Convento
Interior of the Mission Concepcion’s church
The portal and facade of the church
The Solar alignment and solar illumination on specific dates

Mission Concepcion

Museum: Mission Concepcion
Officially: Mission Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción de Acuña
City: San Antonio
State: Texas
Country: United States
Established: 1716 as Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción de los Hainais
Category: National Historic Site – United States
Type: Specialist Museum
Location: 807 Mission Rd, San Antonio, TX, United States

Mission Concepcion – Map

Mission Concepcion – 360 Virtual Views

Virtual Tour of the Museums in Texas

Mission Concepcion

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“Life is not about how fast you run, or how high you climb, but
how well you bounce.”
– Texas Proverbs

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Photo Credit: Xm1982 / CC BY-SA (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0); MARELBU / CC BY (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0); Irid Escent / CC BY-SA (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0); Liveon001 ©Travis Witt / CC BY-SA (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)