Interior and Iconography: San Xavier del Bac
Two centuries of disuse, earthquake, and tornado had taken a toll on the finishes and statuary of the exterior and interior of the Mission Church of San Xavier del Bac. In 1997 a nonprofit corporation, Patronato of San Xavier, was founded to support the restoration, maintenance, and preservation of the structure and interior
The intricately painted and carved religious imagery, which covers the walls and vaulted ceilings was probably done by Mexican and Tohono O’odham craftsmen. Wooden statues of Saint Xavier and the Virgin are set into a molded background behind the altar, and throughout the church there are carved wooden statues of other saints. Frescoes depicting the lives of Catholic saints decorate the choir loft and main chamber. The large dome over the transept crossing, and smaller domes which flank it are decorated with elaborate plaster painted murals, frescos. A statue enclosed in a glass case in the West Chapel is often confused as a mummy.
It is in fact a portion of an older statue of the crucified Christ removed to this location and repurposed as a reclining St Frances Xavier. A more recent addition is a wood carving of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, a Mohawk woman who in 2012 became the first Native American to be named a saint. Although San Xavier is a Catholic church, it incorporates elements of traditional Tohono O'odham culture. One walled courtyard has a metal gate depicting the Man in the Maze, another name for I'itoi, the O'odham's mischievous creator god, who lives in a cave beneath Baboquivari Peak, a mountain about 50 miles to the southwest
