Mission Concepción
| Mission Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción de Acuña | |
|---|---|
The church of Mission Concepcion
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 Shown within Texas
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| Basic information | |
| Location |
San Antonio, Texas USA
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| Geographic coordinates | 29°23′25″N 98°29′30″W / 29.390318°N 98.491799°WCoordinates: 29°23′25″N 98°29′30″W / 29.390318°N 98.491799°W |
| Affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Country | United States of America |
| Architectural description | |
| Architectural style | Spanish Colonial |
| Completed | 1731 |
| U.S. National Historic Landmark | |
| Added to NRHP | April 15, 1970 |
| NRHP Reference no. | 70000740 |
| Designated as NHL | NHL |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | ii |
| Designated | 2015 (39th session) |
| Reference no. | 1466 |
| State Party |
United States
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| Region | Europe and North America |
Franciscan friars established Mission Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción de Acuña (also Mission Concepcion) in 1716 as Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción de los Hainais in East Texas. The mission was originally meant to be a base for converting the Hasinai to Catholicism and teaching them what they needed to know to become Spanish citizens. The friars moved the mission in 1731 to San Antonio. After its relocation most of the people in the mission were Pajalats who spoke a Coahuiltecan language. Catholic Mass is still held every Sunday.
On October 28, 1835, Mexican troops under Colonel Domingo Ugartechea and Texian insurgents led by James Bowie and James Fannin fought the Battle of Concepción here. Historian J.R. Edmondson describes the 30-minute engagement as "the first major engagement of the Texas Revolution."
Mission Concepcion consists of a sanctuary, nave, convento, and granary. When originally built, brightly painted frescos decorated both the exterior and interior of the building. Traces of the frescoes still exist on the weathered facade of the building. Experts restored some of the artwork on the interior ceilings and walls of the convento in 1988. The Archdiocese of San Antonio completed another restoration of the mission's interior in 2010 which exposed more frescoes in the sanctuary and nave.
Located at 807 Mission Road, Concepción is the best preserved of the Texas missions. It was designated a National Historic Landmark on April 15, 1970 and is part of San Antonio Missions National Historical Park. In 2015, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization designated Concepción and four other San Antonio missions, including The Alamo, as a World Heritage Site, the first in Texas and one of twenty-three such establishments in the United States.
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