Arizona surprises people who expect nothing but cactus and canyons. Scattered across the state sit churches with hand-carved stone, soaring bell towers, and stained glass that could hold their own beside any cathedral in Spain, Greece, or England.
Some cost nothing to walk through, and most sit an easy day-trip from Phoenix, Tucson, or Flagstaff. Here are twelve sacred spaces worth the drive, each one a little slice of old-world wonder hiding in the desert.
1. San Xavier del Bac Mission, Tucson, AZ
They call it the White Dove of the Desert, and once you see those gleaming towers rising from the flat brown land south of Tucson, the nickname makes perfect sense. Completed in 1797, this active Catholic mission is the crown jewel of Spanish Baroque design in Arizona.
The white facade wears intricate carvings and twisting columns that draw your eyes upward, while the domed ceilings inside shelter centuries of painted artwork. Every wall seems to tell a story through color and gilded detail…