Patronato San Xavier

Individual and Family ServicesArizona, United States11-50 Employees

Nonprofit Patronato San Xavier was founded by Southern Arizona community leaders in 1978. Patronato funds and directs ethical conservation, conducts scientific research, and conveys the significance of Mission San Xavier del Bac, a National Historic Landmark in the community of Wa:k, part of the Tohono O’odham Nation. Patronato is a non-sectarian non-denominational 501(c)(3) and does not receive sustaining support from any government or religious organization.

During the more than 200-year history of the current Mission church, materials that are not suitable for conservation work (such as cement) were sometimes used in repairs. Since 1989, Patronato San Xavier has reversed this trend, returning to the use of traditional materials in the Mission’s preservation. Conservation and preservation of the exterior of Mission San Xavier not only preserves the building as a work of architecture and sculpture, but also protects and preserves the original 18th Century mural paintings and statuary of the interior. The Mission’s interior artwork is both literally and figuratively sacred: each speck of the original paint or plaster is irreplaceable, and great effort is expended in conserving every square centimeter.

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