Mission San Xavier del Bac

The mission was founded by the Jesuit Eusebio Kino in 1692 and the church standing now was built by Franciscans between 1783 and 1797, in fired brick rendered white, with a domed crossing and one tower finished and the other left without its top - explanations for that range from tax avoidance to a fall during construction, and nobody knows. It sits on the Tohono O'odham Nation and remains an active parish church, not a museum: mass is said, the congregation is local, and visitors are expected to behave accordingly. The interior is dense with painted and carved decoration; a long conservation programme has cleaned much of it, using methods worked out with international conservators.

What you actually see

• A white church of 1783-1797 - Franciscan, on Kino's 1692 foundation.
• One unfinished tower - the reason is genuinely unknown.
• Painted and carved interior - much of it recently conserved.
• A working parish church - on the Tohono O'odham Nation.

When to go

October to April; summer is very hot. Two hours.

Honest expectations

It is an active church - services close it and photography rules apply. Conservation scaffolding appears periodically. Summer heat is severe. Respect for the community whose land it sits on is expected, not optional.

Nearby

Tucson is north; Saguaro National Park is west of the city.