Misión San Diego de Pitiquito
The Sonoran mission church La Misión de San Diego de Pitiquito is a quaint Franciscan mission built on the site of an original Kino mission church in the lovely Northern Sonora pueblo of Pitiquito (pronounced pee-tee-kee-toe), on Mexico federal highway 15 a few miles east of the city of Heroica Caborca and 10 miles west of Altar, Sonora.
The Kino Mission of San Diego de Pitiquito was first blessed by Father Kino in 1695. It was a visita (satellite church) to the mission in Caborca, and during the Jesuit period it was a basic adobe structure that was constructed and rebuilt at least one time.
The church is known for its centuries-old frescoes of symbolic images painted on its sanctuary walls, such as images of the Virgin Mary, the devil, the apostles and other un-deciphered symbols. The 18th-century drawings had been painted over, but were exposed again in the 1960’s when church caretakers began to use chemical-based cleaners to wash the sanctuary walls.
The church is still an active parish, with services held every week.
