Goliad....a Little History

In addition to the Mission Espiritu Santo in Goliad we visited the Presidio La Bahia which houses the  Our Lady of Loreto Chapel and, just outside the presidio, the birth place of General Ignacio Zaragoza. Important place in the Mexican-American timeline.  Why, you ask????

In December of 1835 the Our Lady of Loreto Chapel in the preisdio was the site of the signing of the first declaration of independence from Mexico.  In addition to that....

General Ignacio Zaragoza, who was born just outside the presidio when his father was stationed there, led the victorious battle which determined the beginning of the end of French rule in Mexico when his army defeated the French in the battle of Puebla on May 5th, 1862, Cinco de Mayo.

The entrance to the Presidip La Bahia with the Our Lady of Loreto Chapel in the north corner:

looking across the grounds inside the presidio

 a room in the barracks of the presidio

from inside the presidio, the entrance doors

There are two notable works of art in the Our Lady of Loreto Chapel.  The fresco behind the altar was painted in 1946 by Antonio Garcia of Corpus Christi, known as the Michelangelo of South Texas.  The statue of Our Lady of Loreto, located in the niche above the entrance to the chapel (shown below), was sculpted by Lincoln Borglum, son of Gutzon Borglum of Mount Rushmore fame.

Antonio Garcia's fresco