A trend of recent vandalism incidents at the San Antonio Missions has put a spotlight on security measures, and three San Antonio lawmakers are calling on the National Park Service to implement a plan to protect the only World Heritage site in Texas.
“We are writing to express our concerns about the recent acts of crime and vandalism at the historic San Antonio Missions, which the NPS oversees and maintains,” U.S. Reps. Joaquin Castro, Henry Cuellar and Greg Casar wrote in a letter addressed to the agency’s director. “We are worried that without proper protection and security, the San Antonio Missions may not survive another 300 years.”
The letter urged the National Park Service to work with state and local partners to “clarify jurisdictional boundaries” and come up with a comprehensive plan to protect the missions.
The San Antonio Missions National Historic Park is made up of four 18th-century Spanish missions — Mission Concepción, Mission San José, Mission San Juan, and Mission Espada — that sit along 7.7 miles of the San Antonio River on the city’s South Side. The World Heritage site is unique compared to other national parks, because the missions are about 2.5 miles apart from each other and each one serves as a place of worship to this day.
A plan to protect the missions will depend on the National Park Service, which is responsible for protecting the buildings’ exteriors. At the same time, the Archdiocese of San Antonio owns the active churches, and the nonprofit Las Misiones is responsible for their interiors and the items inside.
Repairs to address vandalism are usually covered by funds raised by Las Misiones or Mission Heritage Partners, nonprofits that fund preservation projects at the missions.
After a 2018 vandalism incident, the NPS said Bexar County and the San Antonio Police Department added more park police to patrol the area. After another incident in 2022, security cameras were updated. And new lighting in the area is helping safety at night, said Rebecca Simmons, director of the Old Spanish Missions.
But the “uptick in vandalism” within the past two years shows those efforts may not be enough, Simmons said.
In 2018, vandals defaced Mission San José and Mission San Juan with political graffiti. In 2022, vandals carved words onto the front door of Mission Concepción Convento and broke into Mission San Juan, damaging its door.
Simmons, who is also the executive director of the nonprofit that funds historic preservation projects at the missions, said the door repairs cost more than $1,000. Repairs to the broken Rose Window at Mission San José in July also had a price tag of more than $500, she said.
If the National Parks could provide more security and staffing, especially after hours, it would help, said Jane Henry, president of the Mission San José Neighborhood Association.
“We are very concerned. We are very attached. We love the missions,” she said.
There have been other incidents, like someone stealing the processional cross at Mission Espada, someone intentionally shattering the glass jars of holy oils at Mission Concepción and frequent break-ins at the bathrooms onsite, managed by the NPS.
“When they try to break in a door … when they throw paint on the walls … then you have to get specialists in to fix that without taking away any of the historic structure,” she said. “When you damage the original stuff, then that’s gone. …
“They’re taking things that are not replaceable.”
When the missions are vandalized, the protocol is to call SAPD, which works with the NPS to investigate the incident.
“Part of the problem is that, to them, these are minor,” Simmons said. “When you call the San Antonio Police Department and say, there’s a vandal, it’s not a top priority. For National Parks, it’s a super top priority.”
“What I would like to see is just a better, more structured approach, rather than relying on, ‘Well, I guess [someone] is going to go to the missions to patrol right now,’” she said, adding that law enforcement has met with the missions’ leadership to talk security, but she understands they’re juggling the vandalism cases along with everything else on their plate.
But how do you protect a UNESCO World Heritage Site while it’s also a public place of worship?
“I don’t think anybody anticipates putting fencing all the way around the missions,” Simmons said, “I’m not saying that we wouldn’t look at all options if things increase, it would just be kind of sad.”
On Wednesday, an NPS tour guide said people go into churches to pray at any given time of the day. Some sit and reflect, others ask for guidance. Outside, a pair visiting from Massachusetts whipped out their smartphones in the parking lot and began recording as they walked up to the missions, in awe.
In the parking lot, two more families arrived, eyes locked firmly on the missions as they approached. Inside Mission Concepción, a padlock on a small, black gate at the main entrance that leads up to the President’s Office keeps would-be thieves or vandals away.
Security has long been an issue at the San Antonio Missions, but Simmons attributed the trend in vandalism to increased homelessness and anecdotal accounts of people under the influence of drugs in the area.
“It seems to me there’s more shelterless and more drug drug issues popping up. There are people that I see walk by on the street that clearly are not well,” she said.
It all boils down to funding, said Cristobal Lopez, Texas field representative for the National Parks Conservation Association, a nongovernmental organization that advocates for the NPS. The agency has been lobbying for funding to explore different options to protect the missions since 1919.
“If [the] Park Service is adequately funded, then they’re able to have the resources they need to be able to protect our national parks,” Lopez said.
Minimal funding from the government and possible budget cuts in current appropriation bills proposed could mean job cuts across the agency and delays projects at national parks, Lopez said, adding that Congress needs to act.
“It reduces the ability of the Park Service as a whole to be able to protect some of those natural and cultural resources,” Lopez said.
Lopez said the NPCA has been in regular talks with the Texas delegation asking for more park funding, but would not comment further on specifics.
“Reaching out to our local representatives, urging them that the parks need to be funded and that the NPS needs adequate funding is something we can do right now,” Lopez said.
Simmons, whose office is located at the missions, said the NPS will most likely tap local organizations to begin meeting and formulating a plan to secure the missions.
The NPS did not reply to requests for information.
