Five missions in San Antonio win world heritage status

  • 2015-10-21
On Saturday, October 17, 2015, a group of dignitaries gathered to celebrate the naming of five local missions as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Among the group were Sally Jewell, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior; Ivy Taylor, the mayor of San Antonio; and Jose Antonio Larios, Mexican Consul General.

The official plaque designating the site was unveiled by Secretary Jewell. It had been draped in a sarape by Mardi Arce, who is the superintendent of the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park. Jewell was enthusiastic about the occasion, saying that the site already has the “best brand” in the country, which is the National Park Service. She added that making it a World Heritage Site will make it the “best brand in the world”.

The site comprises five frontier missions that are sited along the San Antonio River. It also includes a ranch about 22 miles further south. Among the features of the site are the missions themselves, with their architectural and archaeological details, residencies, granaries, churches, and water distribution systems.

The newly designated World Heritage Site is the first in Texas, and one of only 23 in the country. Site managers might want to work with a booklet printing company to create an item about the site. It could be sold to raise funds to maintain the missions.