Misión San Francisco Javier de Viggé-Biaundó, Catholic mission church in San Javier, Baja California Sur, Mexico
The Misión San Francisco Javier de Viggé-Biaundó is a stone church in San Javier, about 35 km south of Loreto, Baja California Sur. Its baroque facade and supporting buttresses frame a pointed-arch choir window. The church, built between 1744 and 1759, is considered the best-preserved Jesuit mission on the Baja California peninsula.
The mission was founded in 1699 by Jesuit missionary Francisco Maria Piccolo and served as the second permanent mission outpost in Baja California. It played an important role in the early evangelization and settlement of the region by Jesuits.
The building is named after Saint Francis Xavier and showcases an ornate gilded wooden altarpiece inside, which together with religious paintings forms the focal point of the prayer space.
The church stands in the village of San Javier, about 35 km south of Loreto, reached by a road that climbs across the Sierra de la Giganta. The village had 131 residents in 2010, so services are few; bring water and sun protection. The church is maintained by Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History.
The church that survives was designed by Miguel del Barco, who began it in 1744 and saw it finished in 1759; it is considered the best-preserved Jesuit mission on the peninsula. Its sculptures and oil paintings were brought from the Jesuit college of Tepotzotlán, and its altarpieces are carved, gilded Churrigueresque woodwork.
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