San Antonio missions nominated for World Heritage List - Bizjournals.com

James Aldridge

Web Editor- San Antonio Business Journal

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U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has nominated the San Antonio Franciscan Missions to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List.

The World Heritage List includes 936 sites around the world that UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee considers as having outstanding universal value, according to the U.N. To put it in perspective, the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal in India, Israel’s Masada and the Statue of Liberty in New York are all on the list.

If the four San Antonio missions can be included on UNESCO’s list, it could establish a more visible linkage between European settlers and San Antonio. Spanish missionaries founded San Antonio de Béxar Presidio in 1718.

The church later established Mission Concepción in 1731, Mission San José in 1720, Mission San Juan Capistrano in 1731, and Mission San Francisco de la Espada in 1741.

U.S. Rep. Charlie Gonzalez wrote a letter to the Interior Department in support of the missions’ inclusion on the World Heritage List.

“Modern San Antonio owes much of its legacy to the steadfast presence of the Missions. They remain an enduring reminder of the resilience of a community and its people,” Gonzalez says.

Gonzalez says the inclusion on this list would support the Obama administration’s recently announced National Tourism and Travel Strategy to promote U.S. historical sites for domestic and international travel.

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James Aldridge oversees online content of the newspaper; edits and reports stories for the online edition.