Mission Concepcion

Mission Concepción was established in 1716 as a base for converting the Native Americans to Catholicism and it formed part of the Spanish colonization system. Mission Concepción is the oldest unrestored stone church in America.

The Mission consists of a Sanctuary, Nave, Convento (convent), and granary. 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.

The artwork on the interior ceilings and walls of the Convento has been restored. Frescoes can also be found in the sanctuary and nave.

The western entrance to the church is aligned to the sunset in such a way that a double solar illumination occurs every year around August 15. This date is the feast day of the Assumption of Mary.

The annual double solar illumination is a once-a-year event that has sunlight shining through the window above the front door to the center of the cross-shaped church. At precisely the same moment, sunlight coming through a dome window shines onto the face of the Virgin Mary painting above the main altar.

In 1835, Mexican troops and Texian insurgents led by James Bowie and James Fannin fought the Battle of Concepción here. It was the first significant engagement of the Texas Revolution.

The Mission Concepcion was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970 and is part of San Antonio Missions National Historical Park. 

San Antonio Missions National Historical Park

The San Antonio Missions National Historical Park preserves four of the five Spanish frontier missions in San Antonio, Texas. 

• Mission Concepción
• Mission San José
• Mission San Juan Capistrano
• Mission Espada

The fifth Mission in San Antonio, The Alamo, is not part of the Park. 

These missions formed part of a colonization system that stretched across the Spanish Southwest in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.

Highlights of Mission Concepcion

• The Mission’s grotto and gardens
• The Spanish Colonial Architecture
• Concepcion’s Frescos
• The old library in the Convento
• Interior of the Mission Concepcion’s church
• The portal and facade of the church
• The Solar alignment and solar illumination on specific dates