TUCSON, Ariz. — Mission San Xavier del Bac, the historic church that is one of southern Arizona's most prized gems, has survived quite a bit.
In the late 1700s, it was raided by Apache Indians, and in 1887, an earthquake wreaked havoc on the church, located on the Tohono O'odham Nation just south of Tucson.
Now, it's simply time that has damaged parts of Arizona's oldest European structure, where Catholic Mass is still held.
The church's east tower is undergoing a restoration project that goes into full swing this summer and is expected to last five years. The projected cost is $3 million.
"The east tower is looking a little rough right now because it's missing some corners on top, but we removed them because we were afraid they were going to fall," architect Bob Vint said.
In fact, the east tower is the last remaining portion of the 232-year-old church that needs to be repaired extensively. The mission was first established by Jesuits in 1692, but the current structure was commissioned by Franciscan missionaries in 1783. Construction was completed 14 years later.
While the rest of the structure is smooth and white, having undergone years of restoration, the east tower is peeling and has a brown look to it that distinguishes it from its neighbor to the west, a second tower that was restored in 2009 after a five-year, $2.5 million project.
Work on the east tower was supposed to begin years ago, when the west tower was repaired, and the cost was expected to be half of what it is now. But during the recession, the project lost much of its funding, and restoration efforts were delayed. Patronato San Xavier, the nonprofit that funds repairs, has so far raised over $800,000, spokeswoman Deborah Daun said in a news release.
Mission San Xavier del Bac has been referred to as "the Sistine Chapel of the United States" for its murals and paintings that decorate most of the interior of the church.
The building is revered as one of the best examples of Spanish Colonial architecture, and it has withstood centuries of misfortune, including about 50 years in the 1800s when the building was abandoned. To this day, wooden cabinets in the west tower have markings from people who walked into the building when it was vacant. A woman named Belle inscribed her signature with the date of June 6, 1894.