Earlier this year, I packed my mini-van full of kids — mostly mine — and set out on the 90-minute drive from Phoenix to Tucson.

More specifically, we headed for San Xavier del Bac Mission, located on the Tohono O'odham Indian Reservation.

We've visited this beautiful shrine several times before, yet were excited for new spiritual experiences. As we were pulling into the dirt parking lot, my 8-year-old, Rebecca, said, “What happened to the second tower?”

“It's still there,” I said. “It's behind the scaffolding.” In fact, the mission has been undergoing repair and restoration for the past 10 years. When all the work is done, the results will have been worth the wait. The desert weather is harsh year in and year out; the shrine would not stand long without human intervention.

On this visit we learned that a lime-based, 18th-century plaster recipe is being applied to the façade. Juice extracted from the prickly pear cactus acts as the binder. The plaster bakes to a bright white in the Arizona sun.

“The White Dove of the Desert,” as the mission is affectionately called, took 14 years to build. It went up in spurts between 1783 and 1797, under the direction of Franciscan Fathers Juan Bautista Velderrain and Jaun Bautista Llorenz. The architects, laborers and artisans known only to God may have been the Tohono O'odham (Desert) people.

Many acclaim the structure as the finest example of mission architecture in the United States. Its Moorish, Byzantine and late Mexican Renaissance styles blend gracefully together. The main church forms the Latin cross when viewed from above and the top border forms the rope belt worn by Franciscans.

Since we were unable to visit the church immediately — a private Mass was being said — we followed the signs to the shrine museum. Nicole, my 6-year-old, rushed to the bronze statue of Father Kino wearing a wide-brimmed hat. “Who's that riding a horse?” she wanted to know.

“That's the priest who started this church,” I began. Father Eusebio Francisco Kino, Jesuit missionary and explorer, first visited Bac (which means “the place where the water appears”) in 1692. Bac reminded the villagers of the Santa Cruz River, which reveals itself only after running underground for some distance.

In 1700, Father Kino built the first church two miles north of the current mission. He named it after his chosen patron, St. Francis Xavier — feast day Dec. 3 — and began ministering to the desert people.

Today, close to 2,000 people living within the Indian reservation district are members of the mission parish.

San Xavier has the challenge of ministering to the parishioners and welcoming the many tourists. “We continue to try to focus on this as a parish for the people of the village and a shrine for everyone else,” Father Stephen Barnufsky, the pastor, told the Register.

Walking through arched doorways into brick-floored rooms, our little group learned more. Paul, my altar-server son, and his friend noticed an old wooden wheel resting on a stand with a crank attached to the center. Four dull, gray bells were fastened to the outside of the wheel.

“Look, Mom,” he said. “That's what the altar servers turned to ring the bells at the consecration.”

In another display case, the children stared at a monstrance woven from straw by the natives. Michael, my 3-year-old, said, “That's the star like on the altar at our church.”

We wandered into another room to watch a 25-minute video about the history of the shrine. The children enjoyed watching the artisans meticulously change the worn and broken statues into fresh works of art. They were ready to see them for real.

Quietly the children walked through the solid wood doors, located the burning sanctuary lamp behind the altar and genuflected. They knew Jesus was present there and so did all the tourists and pilgrims. Only soft whispers and Gregorian chant from the speaker above could be heard.

“Even non-Catholics come and receive peace in the mission,” said Father Barnufsky.

The children pointed to the commanding lion statues guarding the sanctuary's access points. They give tribute to the house of Castile, the reigning family in Spain during the 1780s and 1790s.

During daily and four weekend Masses, the 200-person congregation views a radiant statue of St. Francis Xavier above the tabernacle. He wears a dazzling white alb over a bright red robe, dons a red miter and holds a crucifix. Above him a beautiful image of Our Lady looks upon her sons and daughters. Mary watches as God's children marvel at the artwork covering every wall, dome and corner of the sacred place.

Missionary Mary

Inside the church, we found several murals and statues of the Blessed Mother. In one, she holds the baby Jesus in her arms. Another shows her as Queen of Heaven and Earth, extending her arms to all. And there she is, Our Lady of Guadalupe, interceding for the Americas.

My eyes wandered up, down, left and right as I contemplated something new each second. It's that rich. People who lived as Christ taught, changing their ways to live up to God's level of perfection, are depicted at every turn.

Outside the church we climbed the dirt hill to the grotto, a replica of St. Bernadette Soubirous kneeling before Our Lady of Lourdes. The hill does not belong to the mission, but many still walk up to view the mission from higher ground.

For the past 35 years, a school conducted by the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Carondelet has served the Tohono O'odham children. Generations past took great pride in the church — even from 1828 to 1858, when no priest was present.

There's a diary entry, scrawled by a visitor from Ohio in 1858, explaining that the door to San Xavier was always open, allowing it to be taken over by birds. Despite the disrepair, the Indians respected the place too much to vandalize it. They took church furnishings into their homes as a way of preserving what they could.

As we walked back outside, two Tohono O'odham men used shakers to keep rhythm while they chanted in their native language in the outside atrium. They were there as part of a Mission Congress that was taking place that week.

The San Xavier del Bac Mission, I explained to my “tour group,” brings many cultures together to unite in the glory of God's Church. But the most important thing here, I stressed, is Jesus really present in the Eucharist.

Lynanne Lasota writes from Queen Creek, Arizona.

Planning Your Visit

The mission is open every day of the year from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mass is offered daily at 6:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., except Monday. Saturday Vigil Mass is at 5:30 p.m. and the scheduling of three Sunday Masses varies by season. For more, call the mission at (520) 294-2624 or visit sanxaviermission.org on the Internet.

Getting There

San Xavier del Bac is about nine miles south of Tucson off Interstate 19. From the Tucson airport, take Interstate 10 east to Interstate 19 south to the San Xavier Road exit. The large white mission is visible on the right before the exit. Follow the signs to the mission. Please note: Visitors must remain on the marked roads out of respect for the Tohono O'odham Indian Reservation land.