Our Mission
Patronato San Xavier 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.
Friends of Patronato 2026 Open House
Saturday, February 28, 2026
11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Join us at the Mission and hear updates about current and future preservation projects.
2027 Calendar Photo Contest
Patronato San Xavier invites photographers of all skill levels, age 18 and over, to submit their best images of Mission San Xavier del Bac and its surrounding landscape for a 2027 wall calendar. All entries must be submitted by July 15, 2026.
Patronato Annual Report
Graphs providing information about income and expenditure across Patronato’s last fiscal year (2023 – 2024). We also provide a listing of current donors across the last fiscal year. Check to see that we have captured your information accurately.
Take a Self-Guided Virtual Tour of Mission San Xavier
To take 360-degree self-guided tour of the Mission, click on the link below, then scroll down past the photo of the Mission to the section that says “Tour Inside”. Once there, click on the white circles with black arrows to follow the tour through the Church, the Mortuary, and the Museum Rooms. Patronato San Xavier extends many thanks to Visit Tucson, who have kindly allowed us to present this virtual tour of Mission San Xavier on our website.
Our Current Priority Project
Patronato San Xavier’s current priority project is stabilization and rehabilitation of the retablo façade, the ornate decorative element surrounding the main entrance to the church. Scaffolding is currently up covering the Mission façade and the conservation team is hard at work on Phase 1.
If you would like to support our work on the façade, consider making a tax-deductible contribution to our Conservation & Preservation Fund!
Docent tours at the Mission!
On your next visit, join one of our fabulous Docents to learn all about the history, art, and architecture of the Mission. All public tours are donation based. Tour times vary by season. To see current times for Public Tours, click on the “Learn More” button below.
Special Group Tours and School Tours remain temporarily suspended.
Interested in joining our docent program? Contact: info@patronatosanxavier.org for more information.
Our thanks to Robert Shea for this incredible shot of the blood moon over Mission San Xavier del Bac on January 31, 2018.
In The News
Tucson Mission fixing 1950s cement mistake
BY KYLE SIMCHUK | The project funded by a $749,000 grant from the National Park Service’s Historic Preservation Fund is expected to last for three winters.
Mission entrance set for major restoration
BY HENRY BREAN / Arizona Daily Star
/ Conservators for San Xavier plan to give the building’s decorative facade a facelift. The ornate entrance to San Xavier Mission will soon get a much-needed facelift, thanks to a $749,000 grant from the National Park Service.
Conservators for the late-18th-century church plan to spend the next two to three years carefully stabilizing and restoring the building’s decorative facade, which dates back to the late 18th century and features statues of five saints guarded by a pair of lions.
San Xavier Mission’s unique Nativity scene gets manger makeover
Joseph’s broken leg has healed, and the angel has his wings back at San Xavier del Bac. Just in time for Christmas, worshipers at the 240-year-old church can say a prayer in front of the Nativity and rock the baby Jesus in his cradle, thanks to restoration work on the...