San Xavier Mission

Gala funds Mission San Xavier

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[Source: Loni Nannini Special To The Arizona Daily Star ]– One evening a year, the Silver & Turquoise Board of Hostesses brings back the good old days with a gala that benefits one of the Southwest’s most significant historic treasures: Mission San Xavier del Bac.

“There are no speakers, raffles or silent auctions,” said Chris Wangensteen-Eklund, chairwoman of the 61st Annual Silver & Turquoise Ball April 30. “It is just an evening to relax on the beautiful grounds of the Arizona Inn, enjoy drinks and an amazing dinner and dance to two live bands, then end the night in the fabulous Audubon Bar for a cabaret show.

“There is no pressure of bidding or buying raffle tickets or ‘Did I win?’ – it’s just this fabulous party to give back to what we call the ‘White Dove of the Desert’ or the ‘Sistine Chapel of North America’: Our beloved Mission San Xavier.” Wangensteen-Eklund said she is gratified to be coordinating one of the most historic black-tie events in the state and possibly the Southwest, second only to the Board of Visitors Charity Ball in Phoenix [to read the ful article click here].

Historic San Xavier mission lacks funds to complete repairs; tough economic times clip White Dove’s wings

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The upper reaches of the east bell tower of Mission San Xavier del Bac shows its age next to the restored west tower. (Photo: Kelly Presnell, Arizona Daily Star)

[Source: Doug Kreutz,  Arizona Daily Star 3-28-2010] — A prominent feature of Mission San Xavier del Bac, which has graced the desert southwest of Tucson for two centuries, faces unchecked decay now that critical funding has been cut.  Work to repair and restore the mission’s deteriorated east bell tower was supposed to be under way this spring, but not a dab of new mortar has been applied.

A previously approved $150,000 grant from the Arizona Heritage Fund to kick-start the project was abruptly canceled last year.  Persistent efforts to get the funding restored have failed, so the bell tower will languish for the foreseeable future — making eventual restoration ever more costly, said Vern Lamplot, executive director of the Patronato San Xavier.  The group oversees fundraising and restoration for the mission, which attracts 200,000 visitors annually.

Restoration of the tower was to be the last major step in more than two decades of work that has included repair of walls, renovation of the west tower and meticulous cleaning of religious art inside the mission.  [Note: To read the full story, click here.]

Scaffolding off San Xavier Mission south of Tucson – for now

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[Source:Fernanda Echavarri, Tucson Citizen]  – – Restoration of San Xavier Mission’s west tower is finished – just in time for Christmas Eve Mass.  After five years of work, the tower has been restored with the integrity of the church protected, said Vern Lamplot, executive director of Patronado San Xavier.

The restoration team removed the earlier coating of cement plaster inch by inch on the west tower’s exterior, repairing the historic brick beneath and refinishing the exterior surface with a traditional lime plaster, Lamplot said.

The west tower’s flawless finish contrasts with the original plaster on the east tower, built more than 200 years ago. The west tower restoration cost $5.5 million, Lamplot said, and the east tower will take at least three years and about $1.5 million to repair.  The mission has been undergoing a multimillion-dollar restoration project funded by Patronado San Xavier, a local nonprofit group, that began with the interior preservation in 1989. [Note: to read the full article click here.]