California Missions - San Luis Rey de Francia

Hey There:

California's oldest buildings are the Missions, built by the Spanish Catholic Church back in the late 1700's and early 1800's. We have 21 missions from San Diego all the way to San Francisco, I aim to visit all of them and today I'll show you the Old Mission San Luis Rey de Francia.

Chronology:

1798 - Founded by Padre Fermin Lausen
1811 - Current church built - third in its location.
1833 - Secularized (Missions disbanded by Mexican decree)
1846 - Sold
1865 - Returned to Catholic Church
1893 - Rededicated

This Mission is located in Oceanside, CA, about a 30 minute drive from Downtown San Diego and while its not one of the biggest in California, there are several things to see, apart from the Mission itself.

On one side of the Church there is a cemetery that is still in use today, we saw some gravestones from the 1800's but many were contemporary. It is very nicely kept, very quiet....a place for rest.

The Church itself is so beautiful and old, in fact, there is a sign at the entrance warning people in the case of earthquakes to get the heck out of there since its not safe. Currently there are fundraising efforts going on for seismic retrofit of the building, if this is not done the State of California will close the Church. Click here to find out more about it.

I don't take pictures of the inside of the Church, except on this occasion when I took a photo of the dome ceiling. I can't express the Colonial beauty inside the Church and since this is a historical building, everyone is welcome to come in and enjoy it.

This Mission is very active when it comes to spiritual retreats and from the cordoned off courtyard we could see some of the living quarters. Everything about the Mission inspires tranquility and reflection.

Outside of the Mission as we walked around we saw the oldest pepper tree in California, planted by Fr. Antonio Peyri with seeds brought by a sailor from Peru in 1830 and it still stands big and strong today. This pepper tree does not produce the edible kind of peppers, instead they are used to treat wounds and infections due to its antibacterial and antiseptic properties.

One of my favorite parts of the Mission was the laundry ruins, in the second picture you can see how close we were from traffic and civilization, but we could barely hear it. It truly felt like we were in the middle of nowhere.

My absolute favorite thing in my two visits to this Mission? Picking tunas! To this day the prickly pears (tunas) we picked early September last year were the sweetest I've ever tasted. Even though we suffered with the tiny pricks from the cactus. But just look at them! The cactus were overflowing with them and we had the best time picking them. Although next time we will be better prepared clothing-wise.

In case you are wondering, here is a post on How to Eat Tunas and How to Cook Nopales.

Sources:

California Missions - a Pictorial Tour (book)
Old Mission San Luis Rey de Francia site
Wikipedia site

California Missions - San Diego de Alcala

Hey There:

Once upon a time I used to work at Michael's Craft store, I worked there right around the time kids had  to build models of the different Missions in California as a school project. I loved looking at the craft projects ready to be assembled, but my fascination with the Missions started many years before when I was a kid living in Huntington Beach and our school had a road trip to San Juan Capistrano. It was so magical, right around the time the swallows came back to the Mission, I never forgot it.

The California Missions were built in the late 1700's and early 1800's, so for California purposes these are some the oldest buildings we have. They were built back when California was part of Mexico and the Spanish Empire, so many wars and conflict happened in those years, but we are lucky to still have them with us. My goal is to visit all 21 Missions, I have 5 down, 16 to go.

This time I'll show the one nearest to me: San Diego de Alcala.

Chronology:

• 1769 - Founded by Padre Junipero Serra.
• 1774 - Moved from Presidio Hill above Old Town to present site in Grantville.
• 1775 - Burned in Natives attack.
• 1780 - Rebuilt.
• 1801 - Damaged by earthquake.
• 1883 - Secularized (Missions disbanded by Mexican decree.)
• 1845 - Sold.
• 1862 - Returned to Catholic Church.
• 1931 - Rebuilt.

This is a small Mission, the model below makes it look bigger than it is. The courtyard is small, and a tour can be completed in less than 20 minutes.

Among the things you can see in the courtyard are the living quarters, a Kumeyaay hut and a fountain in the middle of the Mission courtyard.

The current church is the fifth one on the site and they also have a beautiful chapel. The floor of the church is made with very old adobe bricks, the benches are solid knotty wood, everything is in earthy golden colors with crimson here and there. The sun comes through beautifully through the stained glass windows. They have several areas for votive candles and they are always burning. The candles and matches are provided, all you need to do is put in some money through a slotted hole in the candle structure, light your candle and say your prayer. Out of respect I just can't bring myself to take pictures inside the church or the chapel, but trust me, it's beautiful.

The church is still being used for Masses in English, and if you go on a Sunday the Mission is open to the public for free. If you want to take a tour any other day of the week, they are open from 9 AM to 4:30 PM, anyone can go inside for a $3 donation fee, the gift shop is awesome!

Annually the Mission celebrates the Festival of Bells to commemorate the Mission's anniversary with food, dance, entertainment and the blessing of the bells and animals. All five Mission bells ring during the festivities, including an original bell dating back to 1802. This year, the festivities will be on July 13th, 14th and 15th.

The vegetation around the Mission is native and thick, which helps to drown out the sounds of the heavy traffic a few feet away. There are several areas where you will be compelled to sit down, relax and meditate.

Sources:

• California Missions - a Pictorial Tour (book)
• Mission site
• Wikipedia site