We visited Mission San Jose this weekend. It was a very special weekend for San Jose, as they dedicated their renovated interior just this past Friday. In fact, as we walked in, Father David Garcia was giving an overview to a group on the restoration. The highlight is the retalbo, which is as close to a faithful reproduction of the missions original retalbo as they could come through extensive research. It is a marvel, and if ever in San Antonio – do not miss this ‘Queen’ of the missions.
Please notice, in the attached photos, that I mixed photosessions of the mission. Many of the exterior photos were taken a few years back during the Christmas season (thus the wreath over the door). These photos were better in that the sun was shining down on the front of the church. The photos I took on Saturday had the sun behind the church facade.
However – with one exception – the interior photos are of the renovated church (they didn’t renovate the exterior, so you didn’t miss anything there). I did put one picture of the altar before restoration. That way you can see the really stunning difference in the before and after.
I also took a few short clips to help give you a better sense of the renovated interior, but there too big to upload. I’ll have to figure out how to get around that (compress the files?). Anyhow, enjoy.