El Camino Real refers to the 600 mile stretch of road within the state of California along which each of the 21 California Missions are located. They begin at Mission San Diego, the first of the 21 missions and end in Sonoma, at San Francisco Solano.

This is the fifth church on the grounds of Mission San Diego and was rebuilt in 1930 according to the specifications of the 1813 church.

As you look at the front of the church, you can see an arched doorway – the doors are copies of the original hand carved redwood doors.

The campanario or wall with niches for holding the bells is typical Spanish Mission Architecture.

The walls on either side of the façade are called buttress wings. These were added in the 1813 reconstruction for earthquake stability and to symbolize the outstretched arms of a padre welcoming people to Mission San Diego.

Leaving the façade, we enter the Portico, which is a long corridor leading to the entrance of the mission complex. Notice the nine niches along the wall. In each niche is a statue of the Saint after whom each of the first nine missions was named. In front of each statue is a depiction of the façade of each of the missions.

Jim Hubbell, a well-known artist from Julian, California, handcrafted the nine statues in these niches. They are represented in chronological order. Father Serra was the Presidente of the Mission System for the establishment of the first nine – although he was not always physically on site.

Mission San Diego de Alcalá, Mission San Carlos Borromeo, Mission San Antonio de Padua, Mission San Gabriel Arcangel, Mission San Luis Obispo, Mission San Francisco de Asis, Mission San Juan Capistrano, MissionSanta Clara de Asis and Mission San Buenaventura.

Father Fermin Lasuén who succeeded Father Serra as Presidente of the Mission System founded the next nine missions; Frs. Tapis, Sarria, and Altimira founded each of the last three.

Father Melcor (Luis) Jayme became pastor of Mission San Diego de Alcalá in 1771 and was instrumental in moving the mission to its present site – six miles east of the original site. The reasons for moving the mission were: to be closer to the Native Villages, a better source of water, more fertile soil to grow the crops, and to separate the Mission from the Presidio which remained at the original site.

The mission was moved to this site in August of 1774. By December, several adobe and thatched buildings were constructed. Crops were planted and many of the Native Americans joined in mission life and were baptized.

Progress was being made until the early morning hours of Nov. 5, 1775 when 600 – 800 Native Americans raided Mission San Diego. The Native Americans began to take items from the mission and an open fire erupted. When Padre Jayme ran out to them with his usual greeting “Amar a Dios, hijos ! – love God, my children”, he was stoned to death.

Padre Jayme became California’s first Christian martyr. His remains are buried in the sanctuary in the church at Mission San Diego.

During the summer of 1966, students from area Universities began excavating this south wing of the mission quadrangle as part of their archaeological studies. Remains of the adobe walls and tile floors of the building believed to be used as the padres’ living quarters, library, waiting rooms and guest rooms were uncovered.

As we observe the ruins, we can focus upon the difficult and time-intensive tasks involved in building the mission rooms and in making the adobe bricks. The padres wanted to introduce the process to the Native Americans to enable them to have permanent structures.

To begin the process, a bowl-shaped hole was dug in the ground. Straw was placed in the hole and mixed with enough water, soil, and manure to obtain a thick, stiff mixture. This mixture was poured into moistened wooden forms (approximately 11”x23”x4”) and leveled out. After setting for a while, the bricks were carefully removed from the forms and dried in the sun for 90 days. Each day the bricks had to be moistened because if they dried too quickly, they would be brittle.

Once the bricks were cured and ready for use, they were placed over trenches which had been dug 2 feet deep and three to four feet wide (for the walls) and filled with smooth round rocks for drainage. Wooden beams were placed on top to form support for the roof and raised to the desired height.

Finally, a limestone mixture was used to cover the bricks which strengthened the walls and provided a waterproof barrier.

It is possible to determine the crops that were grown at each mission by testing the straw found in the adobe bricks.

The Casa de Los Padres is the oldest room at Mission San Diego. The wall at front of this room is a part of the mission that was left standing after years of decay.  Originally, it would have been two rooms. It is believed to have been the padres’ quarters because of its proximity to the church and would have been where Father Junípero Serra stayed when he visited the mission.

After the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed on February 2, 1848 and the US states acquired this land from Mexico, the US  Military moved onto the mission  grounds as a presence. It is believed that the senior military officer and his family used this space as their quarters and at that time the fireplace was added. The next slide describes some of the significant displays.

The Mission Church is a National Historic Landmark.

It measures 150 feet long, 35 feet wide and 29 feet high. All mission churches were long and narrow because in mission days they had no way of joining beams. Windows were built high for protection and to prevent the walls from collapsing under the weight of the adobe. Specially treated rawhide was used to cover the window openings.

In 1931 the building was restored to the specifications and appearance of the 1813 church. Original materials present in the building include the wooden beams over the doorways, the dark adobe tiles at the front of the church. These floor tiles were baked in underground kilns.

A copy of the original font in which Junípero Serra was baptized in Petra de Majorca, Spain. He was born on November 24, 1713.

The font is located in the baptistry by the front door as you enter the Mission Church.

THE CAMPANARIO is 46 feet high and is very typical of Spanish architecture. It is basically a wall adjoining a church with niches for holding bells. The crown-topped bell on the lower right is named Ave Purisima (Immaculate Mary). It weighs 805 pounds and was cast in 1802. A crown-topped (Conan) bell was usually supplied by the Spanish King and cast in the royal foundry in Barcelona at the King’s expense or made in a country under Spanish rule. During the years of the church’s abandonment, Ave Maria Purisima was kept in the vestibule of St. Joseph’s Church and was re-hung in the Campanario after the reconstruction of the mission in 1931.

The Bell on the lower left is called Mater Dolorosa – our Lady of Sorrows. It weighs 1200 pounds and was recast by the Standard Iron Works of San Diego in 1894 from fragments of original mission bells that were found in Old Town San Diego. It is rung every day at noon and at six PM.

In mission days, the bells were rung with different intonations – rings joyously to celebrate happy occasions and peals solemnly for sad occasions.

The five bells are only rung in unison once a year to commemorate the founding of the mission, July 16, 1769.

Millstones were used to grind grains in mission days. These millstones are on display in our garden area.

Statistics in the Life of Fr. Serra

1713 November 24th Born in Petra de Mallorca

1930 September 14th Received into the Franciscan Order

1749 Arrived in New Spain (present day Mexico) and was assigned to

work in the Sierra Gorda Missions

1767 Assigned to the Baja Missions as Father Presidente

1768 Assigned as Father Presidente of the Alta California Missions

1769 Begins the journey north to establish new outposts in Upper California and he founded the first nine of the 21 missions.

1784 August 28th He dies and is buried at Mission San Carlos Borromeo in Carmel, CA

Father Serra was 55 almost 56 years old when he arrived in San Diego

He was 5’ 2” tall

He weighed 120 pounds

He had a chronically ulcerated leg from an insect bite which left him with a bad limp.

All of the missions with the exception of Mission Purisima Concepcion, are built in the shape of a quadrangle. On one side of the church would be a courtyard which would be a gathering place for social events, games and celebrations. Most missions have a fountain as a source of water.

The courtyard continues to be used for gatherings for our parishioners and visitors.

This is a traditional Kumeyaay hut that was built for the mission by a Kumeyaay descendant. It is made of willow branches and intricately woven. It provided shelter for a family of four. Since the Kumeyaay were seasonally nomadic, they would burn these down when it was time to move to the mountains in the warmer months. They would rebuild them in their new location.