Tel DeGrazia Chapel, Gallery in the Sun

“The Mission in the Sun is a place for remembering. A place in which to begin to believe.” – DeGrazia

In 1952, DeGrazia built the Mission in the Sun as the first building constructed on the property in memory of Padre Eusebio Kino, a Jesuit priest, and dedicated the mission to Our Lady of Guadalupe. Following his own building plans, DeGrazia and his friends carefully handcrafted the adobe constructed building. In 2006, the Mission in the Sun was registered as a National Historic landmark.

At the altar, a painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe welcomes visitors where they often place photos, candles and mementos. The ceiling of the mission opens to the sky and the walls showcase DeGrazia’s hand-painted frescoes.

“I built the mission for myself. I’m not a churchgoing man but I am a religious man and perhaps religious only within me. Religion to me is right or wrong. You do right and you’re a religious man. It’s not Catholic it’s just an old chapel for anybody who wants to go in there whether Christian or non-Christian.” – DeGrazia