2015-7 Remembrances Special Edition1
City of Schertz
Remembrances Special Edition Article 2015-7
Presented by: Schertz Historical Preservation Committee
Sources: Todays Catholic, August 7, 2015/Interview with Paul T. Ringenbach
Schertz Geography and Current Resident Share
Role in San Antonio World Heritage Site Designation
On October 17, 2015, ceremonies were held at Mission San Jose, San Antonio, Texas for the
unveiling of the plaque that names the San Antonio Spanish Missions as World Heritage Sites by
the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The Mission’s
site was the first and only Texas site to ever be named a World Heritage Site. It joins 23 other
iconic United States sites such as the Statue of Liberty, Grand Canyon and Independence Hall.
San Antonio Mission: L to R San Jose (top), Concepcion, San Juan, Alamo, Espada
The City of Schertz shares both a historic and a modern day affiliation with the Missions that
few may be aware exists.
The first connection of our city to the Missions is geographic. In the first half of the 18th century
there were five Spanish missions placed along the route of the San Antonio River from what is
now downtown San Antonio to just south of Highway 410 South. Farm lands outside the then
town of San Antonio were indispensable for supplying the needed food for the mission
populations. One such farm was Monte Galvan (aka: Galban) which was the supplier of food for
Mission San Antonio de Valero (The Alamo). The land occupied by Monte Galvin is the same
land which today constitutes the Cibolo Valley, to include Schertz, Texas.
The modern day Schertz connection to the Missions is a man by the name of Dr. Paul T.
Ringenbach (PhD). Dr. Ringenbach is a man with impressive credentials and exceptional energy.
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Those qualities have taken him through a very successful military career and a rich and
rewarding follow-on civilian professional experience. He holds his doctorate degree in history
and has taught the subject at several colleges to include the United States Military Academy
while on active duty. He retired from the U.S. Air Force as a full colonel and thereafter went to
work for United Services Automobile Association (USAA). His writing and history experience
were readily recognized at USAA where he worked closely with the then leader of the
Association, General Robert F. McDermott, on projects that entailed writing the history of USAA
and writing script for the T.V. production of Scared Silent. He has written several books to
include the biograph of General McDermott.
Dr. Ringenbach’s history background led him to join the Bexar County Historical Commission
and to become a board member of Los Compadres. These affiliations brought him to the
attention of fellow civic organization members who knew of his history and writing expertise.
It did not take long for these fellow leaders to recognize that he would be an excellent choice to
prepare the nominating document for the then (2006) planned submission for the San Antonio
missions to be accepted for World Heritage Site inscription by UNESCO. He was asked and like
any good soldier he agreed. Little did he know the extent of the work ahead.
The initial working committee for nomination consisted of Ringenbach and four other area
teaching and/or preservationist professionals. Ringenbach was given a small office in the San
Antonio Mission’s National Historical Park (SAMNHP) Library to which he commuted nearly
daily from his home in Schertz for three or four years. The committee would meet on a near
weekly basis to review what Ringenbach had written and to offer input. He received reading
assignment suggestions from a number of sources and read everything offered, leading to an
eventual fifteen page bibliography in support of the nomination.
Dr. Ringenbach’s research led him to gain a tremendous amount of respect for the Franciscan
missionaries who came to ‘Texas and for the native Indians who supported the missionaries
work. The Franciscans walked all the way from southern Mexico escorted by a few soldiers, a
couple of experts in masonry, architecture and sculpting. In the San Antonio region the
missionaries first found 200 Indian tribes scattered over a large area and speaking a hundred
different languages and dialects. A relatively small contingent of Indians dug over a million
metric tons of stone that was cut, transported to the mission area and put in place. These same
Indians, according to Ringenbach, had to learn to speak both Spanish and Latin as well as learn
the trade of carpentry and act as militia to protect the missions. One particular Franciscan
missionary who Ringenbach recurrently came across in his research was Father Pedro Perez-
Mezquia, the diarist for the expedition that founded San Antonio and who later served at
Mission San Antonio de Valero (the Alamo). A surprising research finding regarding relations
between the missionaries and the Indians at the San Antonio missions was that there were no
reported instances of missionary mistreatment of the Indians or of any kind of violence inflicted
by the Indians against the missionaries. The latter circumstance was not always the case at
other mission sites.
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Traveling north to San Antonio with the missionaries was the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Her sainthood was to become a celebration of significant importance to the South Texas
Mexican settlers in the years following missionary settlement. Today, you will find a statue or a
panel devoted to Our Lady of Guadalupe in nearly every church in Texas. Her image is sculpted
above the door at Mission San Jose.
Early on in the nomination process the committee was tasked, with a short suspense, to obtain
letters of support from property owners and stake holders. This task proved challenging but
was completed on time. In 2007, the nomination was submitted to the Office of International
Affairs for the new U.S World Heritage Tentative List. That body approved the nomination in
2008 and forwarded it, along with 14 other submissions to the World Heritage Center in Paris,
France. After a year’s wait, it was announced that two other nominees were accepted for
inclusion but not the San Antonio missions. No other U.S. nomination packages were accepted
by the world body from 2009 to 2012. In 2010, UNESCO issued new instructions for nomination
package submissions resulting in additional work for Ringenbach and the committee. In March
2012, an international body of experts assembled at the San Antonio mission sites and offered
suggestions for strengthening the nomination package. In May 2012, Secretary of the U.S.
Interior Department (Ken Salazar) pledged his support for the mission’s nomination and
confirmed he would authorize their nomination to UNESCO in 2014. In September 2012, a
consultant was hired to assist with moving the nomination package along. A revised
nomination package was sent off to the World Heritage Center in September 2013 and
submitted to the World Heritage Committee in January 2014. In March 2015, the Missions
were approved for inscription by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS).
Dr. Ringenbach’s commitment to the missions World Heritage Site nomination project was
unshakeable and indispensable to its success. San Antonio and the communities surrounding it
(including Schertz) will assuredly benefit economically from the recognition given the Spanish
Missions as increased tourist travel occurs. The City of Schertz points with pride to the
expertise of Dr. Ringenbach and congratulates him on such a monumental accomplishment on
behalf of historic preservation for South Central Texas.
October 17, 2015 World Heritage Site inscription ceremony at Mission San Jose (plaque unveiling)