Just inside the entrance, at the base of each tower, lies a vaulted chapel with a window. Traces of earlier fresco paintings remain still faintly visible today. Although never mentioned in early reports, the acoustics of this church are noteworthy. Many visitors today compare the acoustics to the famous Mormon Tabernacle of Salt Lake City, Utah.

1) Looking past a friar towards the altar inside the church at Mission Concepción. Light coming through the lantern from above, and through the small window set high above the altar, illuminates the dome.

2) Another early photo of the interior of the church, showing plaster missing along the base of the walls.

3) When it reopened in 2010, the interior of Mission Concepción's church glowed with its original Spanish colonial color scheme restored. Photo taken by Ron Bauml.

4) The interior of Mission Concepción's church, facing east. The mural behind the altar depicts the Marian apparition at the grotto near Lourdes, France to reflect the church's dedication to Our Lady of Lourdes in 1887.

Courtesy of the San Antonio Conservation Society Foundation.