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San Antonio is home to 5 beautiful frontier missions. The most recognized of these mission is the Alamo. But a short distance from where the Alamo stands is the Missions National Historic Park where the other 4 of these missions have been brought and reconstructed to give visitors a glimpse of the past.

Of all of these missions, my favorite one was Mission San Jose with it’s intricately detailed doors and beautiful stone archways. This was the largest of the missions and it is known as the ‘Queen of the Missions’.

While a mission is not actually a church, they were used for religious purposes but more as a place of gathering the community. They were a place where missionaries could share Christianity with the Native Americans. Many missions also served as forts or hospitals or trading centers.

In 2020, Mission San Jose will celebrate it’s 300th anniversary. While there are conflicting feelings about missions and the actions of the people who lived there, seeing the missions offers a small look into history during this colonial time.

Thanks for joining me today for a small glimpse of the ‘Queen of the Missions’ herself- Mission San Jose.