La Purisima

Father Fermin Lasuen founded Mission La Purisima Concepcion de Maria Santisima (Mission of the Immaculate Conception of Most Holy Mary) in 1787.  Today, it's simply known as La Purisima.  It was not the first mission to be called that.  The first was established in the California desert near the Colorado River.  Yuma Indians wiped it out along with another mission seven years earlier.

     Progress on the eleventh mission was slow.  The padres had no funds to start the construction and no master builder to supervise it, so the plans languished until 1800.  Two years later work on the church was finished and a large mission garden surrounded by an adobe wall was in place.  Two more years passed and by then 1500 neophytes were living at the mission.  The mission continued to grow, before long over a hundred buildings were constructed, crops and livestock were raised and an elaborate and efficient water system was developed.

    In 1812 a series of small tremors were felt at the mission and then came a tremendous jolt, which shook the ground for four minutes.  Then a half hour later a strong aftershock hit.  The great earthquake of 1812 was not just restricted to La Purisima.  It did serious damage all the way from Mission Santa Ines in the north to Mission San Fernando in the south, a distance of 100 miles.  It destroyed many of Mission Santa Barbara's buildings.  The continuous aftershocks and a drenching rain sealed La Purisima’s fate, bringing down the church and turning most of the buildings into mud.  Father Mariano Payeras, then in charge, was granted permission to rebuild four miles to the northwest.  It went from being off the beaten path to being on the El Camino Real in La Canada de los Berros (Canyon of the Watercress).  A few years after it was relocated, it became a great ranching enterprise, with over 20,000 cattle and sheep and hundreds of horses, mules, burros and other livestock.

    The peaceful nature of the mission was shattered again in 1824 when a growing conflict between the Chumash and the soldiers exploded into armed revolt.  Beginning at neighboring Mission Santa Ines, the unrest then spread to La Purisima.  The Indians killed a neophyte and four hapless travelers on the road.  They then seized the mission and turned it into a fortress.  This lasted two months until one hundred soldiers from Monterey restored order.  As punishment, seven Indians were executed, and twelve others were sentenced to hard labor at the military fort in Monterey.   

    The mission was secularized in 1834.  A series of administrators that followed were more interested in their own prosperity than in the mission's.  They disposed of most of the land and livestock absconding with the money.  By 1829 only 122 Indians and crumbling buildings were left.  The property then passed from owner to owner until finally in 1933 it was donated to the public by the Union Oil Company. 

    Over the succeeding years, it has been extensively restored and is the most complete and, some say, the most authentic of the twenty-one missions.  The area surrounding the mission is now a State Historical Park with a little under a thousand acres, which is to say the least, only a small portion of the original 300,000 acres.

    To walk onto the property is to walk back in time.  The mission stands much as it did a century and a half ago.  There is no evidence of the modern    world.  You can stand in the middle of the field and turn 360 degrees and there are no cars, no power lines, and no way to tell that you are still in the 21st century.  And to add to the realism, volunteers who are known as Prelado do los Tesoros ("Keeper of the Treasures") dressed in period costumes are busy going about what must have been daily mission tasks.  They provide information and tours in true period style. 

     There is still one more realistic element that gives a further sense of mission life...pigs, goats, sheep, long horned cattle and horses can be found standing in their corals just as others like them must have done so long ago.

NOTE:  La Purisima is the only example in California of a complete Spanish Catholic mission complex and it is the only mission that was laid out in a linear fashion, with no quadrangle.   The mission is part of the La Purisima Mission State Historic Park within the California State Park system.  There is a visitor center that offers guided tours.

Mission Santa Barbara

Europeans first saw the bay near where the tenth mission was to be established when Juan Cabrillo’s two tiny caravelles anchored in its waters in 1542.  Sixty years later, the Spanish Viceroy of New Spain appointed Sebastian Vizcaino in charge of locating safe harbors along Alta California’s coast.  When Vizcaino reached the bay that Cabrillo had sailed into, he entered the name “Santa Barbara” on his sailing chart.  Gaspar Portola and Franciscan missionaries rode into the area in 1769 and immediately determined that it would be an ideal location for a mission. 

    By 1782, Father Serra had founded nine missions and was anxious to begin a tenth.  The new mission was to be located at Santa Barbara.  However, the politics of the time were working against him.  After having established a presidio and chapel, he was told that the mission would have to wait.  Alta California’s Governor, Felipe de Neve caused the delay. He was concerned that the Franciscan’s economic power was growing with each new mission, so he delayed his approval. The governor also convinced the viceroy, his immediate boss, to withhold the funds. Father Serra died in Monterey two years later. It was his successor, Padre Fermin Francisco de Lasuen, who finally established the mission on December 4, 1786. It took nine years before the first quadrangle and a temporary church were built. The mission was named for the Great Martyr, Saint Barbara, who as legend has it was beheaded by her father for being a Christian.

     A second quadrangle was built next to the first, along with a succession of larger churches. The last one, which had six side chapels, was the most elaborate. That church was completely destroyed in a series of earthquakes in 1812. Then in 1815, construction began on the majestic church that stands today. Its interior uses imitation marble to form a neoclassical look. The mission's facade is adapted from a design of a Greek temple. The plans called for twin Spanish bell towers, but at first only one was built. It may seem odd to mix Greek and Spanish architectural design elements, but in this case they do work together beautifully. Building the arches was a remarkable feat of construction by the Chumash Indians, who under the direction of Father Antonio Ripoll built the mission. For five years they quarried native sandstone, creating walls that were as much as 5-1/2 feet thick. A second bell tower was added in 1833, making it the only mission with two of them.

    In the early years of the 1800s, the great days of the missions were slowly drawing to a close. They had weathered the plundering of pirates, natural disasters and Indian uprisings. Mexico had gained its independence and the missions were about to be secularized, which was a devastating blow to them. Santa Barbara escaped the exploitation suffered by other missions, due largely because Narcisco Duran, presidente of the missions and Francisco Garcia Diego, first bishop of California chose Santa Barbara as their headquarters. It is the only California mission never to have been abandoned. It has had continuous use since 1786.

    In 1925, an earthquake, once again destroyed the church. Restoration began immediately. The "new" church was faithful to the original design. Twenty-three years later, the building materials were not holding up well because of some sort of chemical reaction. Concrete and reinforced steel was added, giving the structure added strength. What we see today is true to how the majestic church appeared in its glory days.

    The mission continues to serve the community as a parish church. The Franciscan Province of Santa Barbara owns it, and the local parish rents the church from them. Members of the Franciscan order live at the mission and care for it.

 

Note: Juana Maria, the Lone Woman of San Nicholas Island portrayed in Scott O'Dell's, Island of the Blue Dolphin was buried in the mission cemetery in 1853.

Mission Buenaventura

Mission San Buenaventura was originally intended to be the third mission, because the site was half way between Mission San Diego and Mission Carmel, but its actuality was slow in coming.  The year before its founding, Padre Serra wanted to start work on it, but an Indian uprising took place at two California desert missions.  Yuma Indians attacked them, killing half a hundred settlers and soldiers. Because of that, the military opposed any new missions, fearful that it would lead to another Indian uprising. To further complicate the situation, missionaries were against a new government policy, which provided for more Spanish settlers to come into Indian territory, a policy that many missionaries thought responsible for the disaster in the desert. Padre Serra and the civilian authorities could not see eye to eye, so construction was postponed ultimately for 12 years. Serra personally dedicated the mission on Easter morning in 1782 as the ninth in the chain. It would be the last mission he founded.

    Looking at the front of the mission’s church, the outstanding features are the bell tower and the triangular frame on the front facade, with a window in the center. The mission is the only one known to have wooden bells, which were carved out of blocks two-feet thick. Bells were of great importance to the daily life of a mission. They were rung at mealtimes, as a call to begin work and to attend religious services, to mark births and funerals, and to signal the approach of a ship or returning missionaries.

    From the start San Buenaventura was a huge success. There were numerous Chumash Indians living in the area. They turned out to be friendly and very skillful. They were so friendly that the mission was built right in the midst of their village. A reservoir was constructed seven miles away on the Ventura River. The padres built an elaborate aqueduct system that brought water to what became a fertile land in which a large variety of crops were grown. It was the combination of rich soil and a mild climate that helped to produce exotic fruits, which included bananas and sugar cane. San Buenaventura’s reputation for growing fruits and vegetable was known far and wide and its proximity to the Pacific Ocean made it a popular place for passing whaling vessels to stop and take on supplies.

    As was the case with many of the other missions, San Buenaventura had to face several threats to its existence. The first church was destroyed by fire, so the present structure was designed of stone and brick and adobe. A violent earthquake of 1812 nearly destroyed the mission. It took two years to make it serviceable again. In 1818, there were threats of pirate raids.

    The mission was secularized in 1836. Soldiers belonging to two rival contenders for governor waged a two-day battle over the mission, resulting in significant damage. In 1846, Governor Pio Pico sold the land for $12.000. The buyer immediately subdivided the property into lots and advertised them for sale to Americans in the East. No land was ever sold because by that time the United States had taken possession of Alta California. The sale of the mission was declared illegal and the property was returned to the Catholic Church.

    Over the years attempts have been made to modernize historic structures. In many cases this ruins the original intent of the builders, but in the case of Mission San Buenaventura, it has been fully restored to it original state; however some of the original buildings were torn down to make way for the city of Ventura which grew up around them.

    Because it is located on Ventura's busy main street, it’s hard to image that the old mission was once the garden spot of all the missions, surrounded by orchards, vineyards, and grain fields.   

    Today, the church is still very active. There have been only a few times since its dedication in 1809 that services were not held.  

Mission San Juan Capistrano is referred to as the "Jewel of the Missions." not only because of its architecture, but perhaps because it is best known due to the annual migration of swallows that return year after year to nest in the many trees and under the eaves of buildings in and around the town. “Los Golondrinas” is the Spanish name for the birds and cliff swallow is their common name.

    The mission was founded in 1775 by Father Lasuen, but was later abandoned because of Indian unrest. Father Serra founded it again in 1776.  It is one of three missions that were founded twice; the others are San Gabriel and La Purisima. 

    Little is left of the original stone church, which was designed with a floor plan in the shape of a Latin cross.  When the padres began construction, their goal was to have the finest church in the chain.  The Great Stone Church was truly magnificent and the padres were proud of their accomplishment. Then in 1812, six years after they had completed construction, a devastating earthquake struck while Mass was being conducted. The church and its 200-foot bell tower were completely destroyed.  Forty bodies were pulled from the ruins.  Since then no attempt has been made to restore it. Today, all that remains of the original structure is the back wall.  Many of the other buildings on the property have been restored. The Serra Chapel is the only surviving structure where Padre Serra is known to have conducted mass. The baroque reredos is believed to be 300 years old and is the highlight of the chapel. The interior of the chapel is shown here. 

    Buildings on the property show masonry work that has been compare to that which is found in Rome and Greece. The padres did indeed deliver on their promise and made San Juan Capistrano the “Jewel of the Missions.”

    In 1818, the French privateer Hipolito Bouchard, sailing under the flag of "United Province of Rio de la Plata" (Argentina) came ashore. Overpowering the outnumbered guards, the pirates looted the mission warehouses and did some minor damage to other buildings. This is regarded as one of the most colorful events in the mission's history and is remembered annually at the celebration known as "The Day that Pirates Sacked the Mission."

        Mission San Juan Capistrano has served as a favorite subject for many notable artists, and has been immortalized in literature and on film numerous times, perhaps more than any other mission. On the day the birds make their annual appearance, usually March 19th, St. Joseph's Day, the village of San Juan Capistrano takes on a fiesta air and the mission bells are rung. The bells are unlike most of the other missions’ bells, because they are still tolled the old fashion way, by pulling on a rope that is attached to the clapper. Most of the other bells are attached to support beams, which means when the beam is swung the bell tolls.

    The imposing Mission Basilica San Juan Capistrano is nearby. It was designed "in the spirit and likeness" of the original mission church.  Pope John Paul II conferred the title of minor basilica to the church in 2000.

    The mission is a destination for countless number of tourists each year.  On almost any given day, beside the tourists, one can find a fourth grade class or two on the mission property. Fourth grade students throughout California study the California missions.  In the photograph shown above, a group of students is gathered around a docent, who is more than likely telling them all about the architecture.

NOTE:  A reredos is the screen of decoration behind the altar.