The Crossed-Arms Symbol of St. Francis

Circa 1776-90
Low relief
Detail of façade, Mission San Xavier del Bac, Arizona

This is the traditional crossed-arms symbol of St. Francis. Christ's bare arm crosses over Francis's sleeved one, with a cross in the background. The hands seem to show the nail-holes. Unusually, we see a part of the torso of each man.

The symbol is on the uppermost tier of the façade.

According to the Mission's official web site, construction of the church began in 1776 and interior decoration began shortly after the arrival of a new pastor in 1790.

Below, the entire west façade:
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Photographed at the site by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.