San Antonio, Texas.

Near the Alamo and a large mall and shopping complex in downtown San Antonio, St. Joseph’s Catholic Church sits surrounded by a multi-story retail center known as Rivercenter. I’m in San Antonio for a conference being held at the Rivercenter Marriott hotel. In the mornings, before I spend the day sitting in conference meetings, I go out for a walk. If I head west from the hotel, I pass by this beautiful old church. 

Built in 1868 to serve a large German population that had emigrated to Texas, the location is quite possibly the original location of the Mission San Antonio de Valero. In 1724, the mission moved a couple of blocks north. You probably know the current mission site by its more recent name, The Alamo. But I digress from St. Joseph’s Church… In 1944, a large local department store owner offered to purchase the site of the church, then as now a prime downtown property but the parishioners refused to sell. Eventually the department store gave way to the Rivercenter Mall which is now a U-shaped building with the church property in the center of the ‘U’. The church remains an active parish to this day with a regular schedule of services posted on the sign by the door.

About the photo: On my morning walk, I grabbed some images of the church while it was still fully dark outside. On the way back to the hotel, twilight just started turning to daylight. The image I captured with my Samsung S7 cell phone was much improved over the images I’d captured at night. The streetlight in those night images overpowered the church. Adding just enough daylight brought out greater detail in the steeple. The rule for Cellpic Sunday is simple. The image must be captured by a mobile device.

John Steiner