Congressmen urge Park Service to protect San Antonio Missions from vandalism

After recent vandalism at the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, three Alamo City-area congressmen sent a letter to the National Park Service urging it to better protect the historic structures.

The Oct. 17 letter from U.S. Reps Joaquin Castro, Henry Cuellar and Greg Casar, all Democrats, urges Park Service officials to create an action plan to ensure the missions remain safe and free from further damage.

“We are worried that without proper protection and security, the San Antonio Missions may not survive another 300 years,” the letter said.

In 2022, vandals broke through the church doors at Mission San Juan and attempted to break into Mission Concepcion. Vandals also carved names and dates into San Juan’s doors, causing significant damage, according to the letter.

This July, another group of vandals tried to break into the Mission San Jose church and damaged the structure’s historic rose window.

The San Antonio Missions were designated a National Historic Park by Congress in 1978 and were named a World Heritage Site by the United Nations in 2015.

Since then, the Park Service has shared responsibility for maintaining the Missions and surrounding land with Las Misiones, the nonprofit charged by the Archdiocese of San Antonio to care for the churches.

The 18th century churches require special and expensive work to restore them to their original condition after the vandalism, according to the letter. That’s required Las Misiones to pick up the bill for costly repairs.

“We urge you to continue working closely with appropriate state and local partners to clarify jurisdictional boundaries and to create a plan to ensure our Missions remain safe and damage-free for many more years,” the congressmen said in their letter.

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This article appears in Oct 4-17, 2023.