I went to this mission the other morning; almost no one else was there, which was exactly the right number of people to be around.

This church was originally founded in East Texas by Spanish friars 1711. It was relocated to its current site in 1731 and still serves as an active parish. The church building dates from approximately 1755 – it’s hosted over 98,000 sunrises so far.

And look! Here are some more facts:

• On October 28, 1835, Mexican troops and Texian insurgents fought the Battle of Concepción here, making it the first major engagement of the Texas Revolution. (The battle lasted 30 minutes.) (The Battle of the Alamo began seven weeks later. It lasted 13 days.)
• The western entrance to the church is aligned to the sunset in such a way that an “annual double solar illumination event” occurs every year on or around August 15, the feast day of the Assumption of Mary. (The ADSIE alignment is when the setting sunlight passes through two windows of the church and align on the altar.)

Mission Concepción
San Antonio, Texas
photographed 10.9.2026