Mission San Juan Capistrano is located in San Juan Capistrano which is in the southern part of California.
The mission was founded by Father Junipero Serra. Father Serra named the mission for St. John of Capestrano in Italy. St. John was a warrior priest of the 15th century. The mission was built twice because the first time, there was not enough water. The site of the mission now is closer to water. The mission was officially founded on November 1, 1776.
Mission San Juan Capistrano was built out of adobe bricks covered with an adobe mud. This mud is like “stucco”. The roof is of fired clay tiles. The mission is shaped like a quadrangle. The mission was built by indigenous natives, later known as Juanenos. The mission consisted of numerous storage rooms for provisions, shops for making materials, living and dining rooms for the priests and dorms for the Juanenos. The mission also had housing for the soldiers, a jail, and a powder magazine. The mission was built in the Spanish craftsmanship although the style is colonial. The mission sits on 5.8 acres. The mission has two large bells located in the main tower.
The Acjachemen Indian neophytes, known as Juaneros, resided where the mission is currently located. The people were friendly. The Juaneros helped to build the present day mission. The Mexican government confiscated the property in 1834 and many Juaneros left the area. After the earthquake in 1812, the mission steadily declined. The population at the time was roughly 1,000 people. Some of the jobs done at the mission were various craft skills taught to the natives so that they could make a living. Soldiers were also a large part of the mission lifestyle.
The Essay on Mission San Juan Capistrano
The site had been chosen because it was roughly half way between the mission of San Diego to the south and San Gabriel to the north. Mission San Juan Capistrano is located by the Dana Point harbor. Most missions were built close to harbors so that they could trade the goods manufactured at the mission to ships in the harbor. Many men played important roles in establishing the mission system in ...
Mission San Juan Capistrano grew grapes, which were later made into wine, sold in the gift shop of the mission. Mustard weed ruined the crops growing, although many times different ideas were tried to rid the weed. The crops grew but then were famished due to the weeds. Cattle numbers declined because of disease to the herd.
After the earthquake of 1812, Mission San Juan Capistrano declined. John Foster, who purchased the mission for $710.00 in 1845, never really did much to preserve or save the remaining buildings. Preservation of the mission was started in 1895. In 1886, father St. John O’Sullivan became the first resident priest of the mission since 1886. Father O’Sullivan worked with his own hands, carving window frames, making beams, and uncovering and restoring items.
Mission San Juan Capistrano is located near the ocean. The land is perfect for the growing of grapes, which are used to make wine. The largest California pepper tree resided at the mission until it was felled in 2005 due to illness. The tree was planted at the mission in the 1870’s. The Cliff Swallow is probably the most famous thing talked about at the mission. The birds migrate to the mission each year. The swallows travel 6,000 miles from Argentina to San Juan Capistrano. The swallows have been making the migratory trek for centuries.
In 1812, California had a huge earthquake which ruined many buildings. The Mission San Juan Capistrano was harmed. The church bell tower fell into the church, carrying two young boys to their deaths. Mass had just started when the quake occurred and the parishioners panicked, trying to get out of the doors which had twisted in the quake and would not open. Those who followed the priests’ directions to go to the sacristy survived, others did not. When the shaking finally stopped, forty people had died. The church was in ruins and was never rebuilt.
Severe flooding destroyed a portion of the Mission’s front arcade in 1915, and heavy storms a year later washed away one end of the barracks building (which Father O’Sullivan rebuilt in 1917), incorporating minor modifications such as an ornamental archway in order to make the edifice more closely resemble a church. The Mission grounds were enclosed with a wood picket fence, and beginning on May 9, 1916, a ten-cent admission fee was charged to help defray preservation costs.
The Essay on California Indian Suppression Juan Capistrano
Modern America has established and continues to maintain a positive view of the California Mission System instituted by the Spaniards in the late 1700 s and early 1800 s. This attitude has been popularized due to the United States desire to see their nation as a place of freedom, free of blame, originally based on Christian morality. The problem lies in that history has become subjective. Early ...
If you visit the mission today most of the buildings are not original, nor are there very many. The central courtyard has become the setting for concerts, corporate parties, wedding receptions, garden arts and crafts shows as well as many other parties. Today, something is always going on at the mission. In the year 2000, Pope John Paul II decreed that Mission Church San Juan Capistrano is to be honored with the title “Basilica”.
Mission San Juan Capistrano today is most famous for the Cliff Swallows. The mission holds a festival each year called the Fiesta de las Golondrinas. The festival is held in the City of San Juan Capistrano. Presented by the San Juan Capistrano Fiesta Association, the Fiesta de las Golondrinas is a week-long celebration of this auspicious event culminated by the Swallows Day Parade and Mercado, street fair. Tradition has it that the main flock arrives on March 19 (Saint Joseph’s Day), and flies south on Saint John’s Day, October 23.
