Adventure 49/101, Mission 08 - Mission San Gabriel

Capture California, the Game-2012

Adventure: 49/101 - 08 : Mission San Gabriel Archangel, 4th mission

Team: Thing One, Thing Two

Date:  August 13, 2012

Location: San Gabriel

Description:
From the descriptions found on-line, we expected Mission San Gabriel to be a dark and foreboding fort-like structure. But on this day with our parents and one of our daughters, we saw a bright, sunny, festive place. While we walked around the building, we saw how “mission” like the whole area was. Decorative tiles were placed within adobe sidewalks, palm trees swayed in a light breeze, and the grass radiated coolness. In its day, the side door was the main entry way—it opened out onto the original El Camino Real where travelers from many roads would come to the mission for a time of rest.






From Wikipedia site:
Legend has it that the founding expedition was confronted by a large group of native Tongva peoples whose intention was to drive the strangers away. One of the padres laid a painting of "Our Lady of Sorrows" on the ground for all to see, whereupon the natives (known to the settlers as the Gabrieliños) immediately made peace with the missionaries, so moved were they by the painting's beauty. Today the 300-year-old work hangs in front of and slightly to the left of the old high altar and reredos in the Mission's sanctuary.



A large stone cross stands in the center of the campo santo (cemetery), first consecrated in 1778 and then again on January 29, 1939 by the Los Angeles Archbishop John Cantwell. It serves as the final resting place for some 6,000 "neophytes;" a small stone marker denotes the gravesite of José de Los Santos, the last American Indian to be buried on the grounds, at the age of 101 in February 1921. Also interred at the Mission are the bodies of numerous Franciscan fathers who died during their time of service, as well as the remains of Reverend Raymond Catalan, C.M.F., who undertook the restoration of the Mission's gardens. Entombed at the foot of the altar are the remains of eight Franciscan priests (listed in order of interment): Father Miguel Sánchez, Father Antonio Cruzado, Father Francisco Dumetz, Father Roman Ulibarri, Father Joaquin P. Nuez, Father Gerónimo Boscana, Father José Bernardo Sánchez, and Father Blas Ordaz. Buried among the padres is centenarian Eulalia Perez de Guillén Mariné, the "keeper of the keys" under Spanish rule; her grave is marked by a bench dedicated in her memory.






From California Missions Resource Center site:
Prominent Missionary Leaders: Between1775 and for the next 28 years, Fathers Antonio Cruzado and Miguel Sanchez worked together to make this one of the most successful missions in California. Fr. José Zalvidea continued their work for another 20 years, and is credited with introducing large-scale viticulture to California.
Mission Church: The unique San Gabriel church, completed in 1805, features a Moorish, "fortress-like" appearance, with capped buttresses and long narrow windows along the prominent side wall. The style is similar to the Cathedral in Cordova Spain.
Mission Bells: Six bells occupy an espadaña or bell wall. The oldest bells were cast in Mexico City in 1795 by the famous bell maker, Paul Ruelas. The largest bell (dated 1830) weighs over a ton and was used for over a century to ring the Angelus, a prayer said at morning, noon, and evening in commemoration of the Incarnation.
Mission Art: The Stations of the Cross are said to be authentic neophyte Indian paintings. They were exhibited at the 1893 World's Columbia Expedition in commoration of the 400th anniversary of the discovery of the New World.

Interesting Facts: 

The main entrance to the church is quite plain. In the mission era the prominent door in the side wall of the church opened directly onto El Camino Real, ("Royal Road") connecting the missions, pueblos and presidios.
San Gabriel was located astride three prominent trails. Settlers, military expeditions, and travelers frequently stayed at this mission, which had turbulent relations with the Native Americans because of the large military presence.
San Gabriel had the largest vineyard in Spanish California and was the botanical source of many of the vines planted in the other missions in the chain.
Missionaries from San Gabriel guided the development of the Church of our Lady of the Angels at the pueblo (town) of Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Angeles, founded in 1781






From California State Parks site:
Founded in 1771 by Junipero Serra, this fortress-like structure with five-foot thick walls and narrow windows is a design not found in any other mission. Located nine miles east of downtown Los Angeles, at one time it covered several hundred thousand acres; one fourth of the wealth of California missions in stock and grain was credited to San Gabriel. The original vaulted roof was of a Moorish design patterned after the cathedral at Cordova, Spain, with slender capped buttresses and a six-belled campanario. One bell, which weighs a ton, can be heard eight miles away. The hammered copper baptismal font was a gift of King Carlos III of Spain and the six priceless altar statues were brought around the Horn from Spain in 1791. The winery, kitchen gardens and graveyard are still intact and the museum exhibits old books, Indian paintings and parchments.
428 South Mission Drive, San Gabriel, 91776, (626) 457-3035