Mission San Jose is my favorite San Antonio Mission. Sure the Alamo is the most famous, but Mission San Jose is the best preserved. It is also the home to the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park welcome center and gift shop. Within the mission, walls is another gift shop that is run by the church and sells religious items.
Known as the “Queen of the Missions”, due to the size of the complex, it was founded in 1720 by Fray Antonio Margil de Jesus. The stone walls were used for defense and mission residents learned to use firearms. Both of these together discouraged enemy attacks.
The mission was reconstructed in the 1930s after it had fallen into ruins, however, 80% of the church is original. The Archdiocese of San Antonio and San José parish is responsible for maintenance and preservation work needed on the church structure, while the National Park Service is responsible for the extant structures and historical landscape. In 1941 San Jose became a State and National Historical Site.
Mission San Jose is still an active parish and all are welcome to attend Sunday mass services (see below for times).
While you are welcome to take pictures on the grounds, absolutely NO photography is allowed inside the church (not even with your cell phone). In fact, there are HUGE signs posted at the entrances. Please respect this rule! Believe it or not, this is a pretty typical rule within all churches!
Mission San Jose Pictures
Getting There & Information
Address: 6701 San Jose Drive, San Antonio, Texas 78214
Hours: Open daily from 9am-5pm except for Thanksgiving, Christmas, & New Year’s
Admission: FREE
Distance From Fort Hood: 2.5 hours
Church Services:
Saturday at 5:00 p.m.(English)
Sunday at 7:30 a.m. (Español) 9:00 a.m. (English), 10:30 a.m. (English), and 12:00 p.m. (Mariachi – Bilingual)
Clarissa says
It’s massive! So incredibly beautiful <3 Would love to visit myself!
-Clarissa @ The View From Here
Bridget Carlson says
This was by far my favorite one out of all the missions. So well preserved and beautiful!
bitesofflavor says
I LOVE San Antonio! So much culture, history, and amazing buildings. Great post!
Bridget Carlson says
Me too! I can’t wait to go back and explore some more!
christellelerryn says
We have so many missions here in San Diego. This is a reminder to me to go explore a few :) What a great idea!