Spanish Missions & the Feast of St. Francis

In San Antonio, Texas you will find the largest concentration of Spanish colonial architecture in the United States.  There are five missions, four of which are still active parishes.  The one of interest today is Mission Espada, which has a unique event that occurs every 4th of October, the Feast of St. Francis.  On this day the rising sun casts a beam of light through the back of the church over the door that shines directly on the statue of Saint Francis.  It occurs on that day only--a feature using astronomy that was common in many churches during the Spanish Colonial era.  By the way, the other missions are :  San Jose, San Juan Capistrano, San Antonio de Valero and Concepcion.  The one that is not an active parish is San Antonio de Valero, more commonly known as the Alamo.  If you plan to visit this city sometime we heartily recommend a visit to one of the Missions.  And, of course, San Fernando Cathedral, the oldest active Cathedral in the United States, dating from 1731.

We plan to offer a pilgrimage to San Antonio that will include not only the missions but more more of the cultural and historical sites of this city. We will be offering it in the spring and fall of 2011.