Mission accomplished: San Antonio Missions inscribed as World Heritage Site

By Carol Baass Sowa

Today’s Catholic

SAN ANTONIO • San Antonio’s five Spanish colonial missions, including their ranch and a substantial portion of their acequia system, were officially honored with World Heritage inscription on July 5 at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) summer meeting in Bonn, Germany.

“With no amendments and with the committee in complete unity,” the presiding chair of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee moved for adoption of the decision before the assembly, and missions Nuestra Señora de la Purísma Concepción de Acuña, San José y San Miguel de Aguayo, San Juan Capistrano and San Francisco de la Espada (all active parishes), along with Mission San Antonio de Valero (the Alamo), joined the Great Wall of China, Stonehenge and the Statue of Liberty as places recognized for their “outstanding universal value.”

From the floor, U.S. Ambassador to UNESCO Crystal Nix-Hines expressed thanks to all involved, noting, “When I visited the San Antonio missions, I was struck by their intricate craftsmanship, combining Spanish and Native American architecture. But what really stood out was how these communities not only merged styles, but integrated diverse cultures, languages and traditions as well. As one indigenous woman, Maria de Luz, said in a recent documentary, ‘I find myself drawn to the missions by something I can’t quite explain. These were my people — the Pajalache, the Aranama, the Tamique. They put these stones in place. Their hands dug these aqueducts, built these walls. These were my people, the people of the missions.’ Thank you for allowing us to share this rich history with the world.”

Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff and Mayor Ivy Taylor were then allotted a few minutes to address the assembly. Thanking UNESCO for the honor, Wolff noted Bexar County had provided funding to restore the ecosystem of the San Antonio River and farm fields at Mission San Juan, as well creating portals from the river to the missions. “We take great pride in the missions and the surrounding area,” he said “and we are committed to their continued protection.”

Expressing thanks on behalf of the city of San Antonio, Mayor Taylor, said, “We are very honored to become a part of the UNESCO family of World Heritage sites. As we join this noble circle, we recognize the dedication and hard work of the many organizations and individuals who worked tirelessly on this nomination. We reaffirm our commitment as a community to protect the missions’ outstanding universal value. During this inscription, we welcome the world to San Antonio to experience the richness of the Spanish colonial missions as well as our vibrant city.”

It was an exciting moment for those who had traveled to Bonn on behalf of the nomination as well as for those back in San Antonio, watching it streamed live. Among those present at the 39th Annual Session of the World Heritage Convention was Susan Snow, archeologist at San Antonio Missions National Historical Park and coordinator of the San Antonio Missions World Heritage Advisory Committee. Involved in the missions’ nomination since 2006, Snow admits being overwhelmed with emotion at the words pronouncing the missions a World Heritage site. “I was crying,” she says, “so fortunately there were plenty of other people there from San Antonio who could do the whooping and cheering. It took me a couple of minutes to compose myself.”

Lead writer of the nomination, Paul Ringenbach, who had spearheaded work on the nomination for the past nine years, was home in San Antonio, but had set his alarm clock for 2 a.m. to view the live broadcast, though he had only gotten to bed around midnight. Up with the alarm, he drank coffee for hours, ate an early breakfast and sat glued to his screen as other nominations were considered for inscription.

Finally, it was the San Antonio Missions’ turn and the 21 delegates on the World Heritage Committee, with copies of the nomination before them, were briefed and viewed a slide presentation before offered the opportunity for comments or questions.
About 15 of them wanted to speak, he recalls, and they were all positive. “After two or three spoke, it was pretty obvious that the thing was going to go through,” he says.

It was an emotional experience for Ringenbach to hear the delegates praising the nomination document which he and others had labored on for nearly a
decade, often being told in the early years that it was a hopeless endeavor. He was quick to share the praise. “Definitely this was not a one-person job; this is a ‘cast of thousands,’” he says of the 344-page nomination portfolio, which was accompanied by maps, photos, slides, plans and audio-visual materials.

It all began in 2006, he notes, when Virginia Nicholas, then president of the San Antonio Conservation Society, and Susan Chandoha, executive director of Los Compadres de San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, asked if he would volunteer to write the nomination. “Lots of people helped on the nomination, helped at different places along the way,” he adds, “and it’s just another example of all the people in San Antonio getting together to do something good together.”

Father David Garcia, director of the Old Spanish Missions, was also in San Antonio on July 5, but so attuned to the missions he awoke of his own accord at 6 a.m. “I immediately got online and saw that we had been inscribed,” he says, “so I was very excited.” An hour later the deacon at Mission Concepción called to tell him a reporter had already shown up at the church and by the time Father Garcia arrived, there was another.

He spent the morning giving interviews, then was greeted at the noon Mass by a number of people who were as excited as he was about the inscription, including former Mayor Henry Cisneros and his wife, former Councilwoman Mary Alice Cisneros; Councilman Ron Nirenberg; and State Representative Trey Martinez Fischer. “It’s been a long journey for a lot of people,” Father Garcia notes, “but I think there’s credit to be shared all around.”

“I feel, first of all, a sense of gratitude to God,” he says of the achieved World Heritage designation, “because we have to always keep in mind that these missions were founded for a sacred purpose and that sacred purpose continues in the way we lead our lives and the values that we live our lives by. But also, it is a sacred treasure that we have received from our ancestors and from God, and as such, it’s a gift.” You respond to a gift, first, with gratitude, he adds, and then live out that gratitude in the way you treat the gift, which includes sharing it with those who come after us.

In true San Antonio fashion, the city immediately began celebrating their gift of the missions and the honor they had received. “We had originally said, because of all the publicity that was going to come out on the 5th, that we wouldn’t do anything the next few days,” said Snow, “because it would just be a repeat, but then once we got it, everybody wanted to do something.”

On July 7, Mayor Ivy Taylor and Judge Nelson Wolff led hundreds of happy San Antonians in a celebration at Alamo Plaza, where commemorative T-shirts by artist Cruz Ortiz were handed out. Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller, MSpS, presided over a joyful prayer service on July 8 in the Pope Paul II Conference Room of the archdiocesan Pastoral Center, with Franciscans friars who serve at Mission San José and Mission Espada as special guests. The San Antonio Missions National Historical Park held an “InstaMeet” at Mission San José on July 11, featuring the Spurs Coyote and a park “selfies” contest, while Father David Garcia offered a Mass of thanks on July 12 at Mission Concepción, honoring the San Antonio delegation and commemorating the World Heritage designation. The official celebration will take place the weekend of Oct. 16-18 and involve formal presentation of the plaque (or plaques) designating the San Antonio Missions as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with activities planned at all of the missions.

While in Germany, Snow visited several World Heritage sites — Augustusburg Palace in Brühl, the Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex in Essen and the Cologne Cathedral, assessing the diverse ways they demonstrated their World Heritage designation. She was also pleased to learn of the possibility of hosting a World Heritage Youth Summit and of the World Heritage Volunteer Program, in which volunteers from other countries can come in to work on projects for World Heritage Sites. “Lots of great ideas,” she says, “for how we can continue to engage internationally.”

For all who worked for international recognition of the San Antonio Missions and their title of World Heritage Site, it is “mission accomplished” and a time to celebrate. “It’s been a long journey for a lot of people, but I think there’s credit to be shared all around,” says Father Garcia as his own mission of preserving them continues.

And for the missions? Well, they are continuing to do what their dedicated Franciscan founders intended them to do centuries ago. They are drawing people to houses of God.