San Fernando Cathedral, San Antonio

This was our last stop for the day on Wednesday. What immediately caught my eye as I entered the church was the golden altar. It has three golden retablos (altar pieces) which were completed in 2003. A memorial plaque on the wall near the altar notes that the retablos were provided by an individual in memory of two prominent families of San Antonio for their religious and civic activities.

To explain the next picture it is necessary to go back to the year 1731. With a goal of populating and preserving Spain's hold on the region, the Spanish government sent several dozen colonists from the Canary Islands to the mission, San Antonio de Valero. In a chapel of the cathedral there is a statue of the Patroness of the Canary Islands. It was given by the government of the Canary Islands in 1884 in "memory of 56 Canary Island immigrants who came to San Antonio in 1731 and founded San Fernando".

Also of note in this church is a small room where there is a marble coffin said to contain the bodies of three heroes of the Alamo; Bowie, Crockett, and Travis.