Mission San Xavier del Bac

San Xavier del Bac (Papago Va:k) is a historic Spanish mission about 10 miles (16 km) south of downtown Tucson, Arizona on the Tohono O'odham Reservation, also known as the "white dove of the desert".

Related Topics:
Papago - Spanish - Mission - Tucson, Arizona - Tohono O'odham - Reservation

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Founded in 1700, the present building dates from 1785. It is open to the public except on Sundays when it is used as a church. The San Xavier Festival is held the evening of the Friday after Easter and features a torch-light parade of Tohono O'odham and Yaqui tribal members.

Related Topics:
1700 - 1785 - San Xavier Festival - Easter - Tohono O'odham - Yaqui

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The interior is richly decorated with ornaments showing a mixture of New Spain and Native American artistic motifs.

Related Topics:
New Spain - Native American

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Among the many legends surrounding the building is a popular myth suggesting that early taxation laws exempted buildings under construction, so the builders chose to leave one dome unfinished. In fact, the reason the building is "incomplete" is not known.

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