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Mission San Francisco de la Espada, located in southeast San Antonio, stands
partially in ruins, partially reconstructed and partially restored. Initially,
the mission complex was made up of temporary buildings. By 1745 though the
building of permanent stone structures had begun. One building in progress at
this time was the small chapel, part of which has survived and is still used
today. The south and north walls had collapsed when Father Francis Bouch arrived
as parish priest in 1858. It is due to his efforts that the church is rebuilt
and standing today. Ruins of a later church (1762) are located on the south of
the compound adjacent to the convent. It was demolished in 1777 because of
faulty construction.
The mission complex follows a similar arrangement to that of other missions,
particularly San Juan Capistrano. That is, rooms and buildings arranged in a
rough quadrangle around a central courtyard. Entrances to the rooms are made
through those walls facing the courtyard leaving the exterior protected. The
main entrance to the mission compound was through a gate on the south.
The Espada church is a small, rectangular building whose main facade faces
east. Transepts on the south and north elevations give the building the
traditional crossshape. A two-tiered espadana the width of the east facade is
pierced by two bells on the lower tier and a third at the top. Finials at either
side of the tiers and a wrought iron cross at the top complete the decorations
of the wall belfry. The arrangement of this espadana is virtually identical to
that of San Juan.
Attached at right angles to the rear south wall is a covered arcade with
rooms in back of it creating the west wall. The convent is built onto this
arrangement at right angles at the south end of the arcade. The convent is a
rectangular building with the greatest length on an east/west axis. This complex
of three contiguous buildings, convento, arcade with rooms and church, has a
flat roof surrounded by a parapet and drained by canales.
The fortified bastion in the southeast corner, of rubble construction, is
part of the early construction at the site. It is unique in that no other
missions here have surviving remains of any fortified section of the wall. ~
Texas Historical Commission Atlas
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Mission San Francisco de la Espada is one of four missions now operated by the
National Parks Service in the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.
The mission has an active Franciscan friary/convento located adjacent to the
church. The church is an active church in the San Antonio Archdiocese and
conducts weekly services. |