The Story of Misión San Francisco de la Espada.

The year was 1731. The mission, previously named San Francisco de las Tejas, had been located in East Texas. But it was then moved to its present site by the San Antonio River. Even now, all these centuries later, the location is remote enough to appear almost as it must have when it first began.

Life at Mission Espada was productive in its early years. The Franciscan padres worked to make it as much like a Spanish village as possible. They trained the natives in many useful vocations—including carpentry, masonry, stonecutting, and brick-making. In fact, Espada was the only mission to make brick—and you can see some of these bricks today in the mission itself.

The last years of Espada, however, were difficult and tragic. There were epidemics that devastated the population. Multiple fires. And Apache raids that were unceasing. There seemed to be no hope of recovery. The populations of the other missions were declining as well.

In September of 1831, the Governor of Coahuila and Texas sent orders to the political chief of Texas to close all of the missions in San Antonio. All the mission property was sold—except for the churches—at auction.

Then, in 1858, a flicker of hope arrived for Mission Espada—in the form of a French priest. His name was the Reverend Francis Bouchu. He made records of everything still standing, including all the painted artwork still visible. While he did this, he established Mission Espada as his home and made a start at rebuilding the church. Today, we owe a debt of real gratitude to Father Bouchu. Without his intervention, there might not have been anything left to save or restore today. With your help, we can continue that important work.

The administrator for Misión San Francisco de la Espada is Rev. Andres Gallegos, OFM
10040 Espada Road
San Antonio, TX 78214
210-627-2064

Friday Mass 
9 a.m.

First Friday of the Month Mass
6 p.m.

Sunday Mass Schedule

Mission Espada – Outdoor
10:00 a.m. – Spanish

Saint Frances Cabrini – Indoor
8:00 a.m. – Spanish
12:00 p.m. – English

Lenten Mass Schedule

Ash Wednesday, Feb. 22

9:00 a.m. – Mass with Ash Distribution at Mission San Francisco (Spanish)
12:00 p.m. – Ash Distribution Service at Mission San Francisco (Bilingual)
5:00 p.m. – Ash Distribution Service for CCD Students at Cabrini
7:00 p.m. – Mass with Ash Distribution at Cabrini (Bilingual)

Lenten Penance Service

March 24th – 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at Mission San Francisco (Espada)

Holy Week

Palm Sunday – April 2nd
8:00 a.m. – Mass at Cabrini (Spanish)
10:00 a.m. – Mass at Mission San Francisco (Spanish)
12:00 p.m. – Mass at Cabrini (English)

Holy Thursday – April 6th
7:00 p.m. – Mass at Cabrini (Bilingual)
8:00 p.m.-Midnight – Adoration at Cabrini

Good Friday – April 7th
11:30 a.m. – Via Crucis from Cabrini to Mission San Francisco
6:00 p.m. – Adoration of the Cross at Mission San Francisco
7:00 p.m. – Processional Silence from Mission San Francisco to Cabrini

Holy Saturday – April 8th
7:00 p.m. – Easter Vigil at Cabrini

Easter Sunday – April 9th
8:00 a.m. – Mass at Cabrini (Spanish)
10:00 a.m. – Mass at Mission