Adventure 49/101, Mission 11 - Mission San Diego

Capture California, the Game-2012

Adventure: 101 - 11 : Mission San Diego de Alcala, 1^st mission

Team: Thing One, Thing Two

Date:  August 14, 2012

Location: San Diego

Description:

While our Mom was visiting with our aunt, our Dad, Thing One and Thing Two went on a mission. Particularly, we went on a mission to Mission San Diego. Since we had time available to us, we went on a self-guided tour of the mission. First, there is the soldier barracks. We noticed right away how informative this tour was, explaining how the men slept, what took place and when. Next, the tour led us out to the gardens with a good view of the campanario—the bell tower. There are statues throughout the garden of priests of the past. Then on past the Pieta and a ceramic representation of the 14 stations of the cross. The mission church is next on the tour, where it is very evident that this place of worship is still in use as there is a young man in meditation and prayer in the place. These missions are still a place of awe and reverence. We continue on with our tour, through the mission museum and a La Capilla, where priests hold their special services. Finally around the plaza and back to our car.

From Wikipedia's site:

The mission was the site of the first Christian burial in Alta California. San Diego is also generally regarded as the site of the region's first public execution, in 1778. Father Luís Jayme, "California's First Christian Martyr," lies entombed beneath the chancel floor.

California Mission Resource Center:
Prominent Missionary Leaders: Most of the important early missionaries served or officiated at Mission San Diego, including Fr. Serra's closest friend Fr. Juan Crespi (in 1772). Serra's successor, Fr. Fermín Francisco de Lasuén served at this mission for ten years (from 1775-1785).
Mission Site: The mission was originally located on Presidio Hill overlooking the bay, at a location called Cosoy by the natives. The mission was relocated about five and a half miles inland at the village of Nipaguay in 1774.
Population: The neophyte population at San Diego in its peak years (1797-1831) averaged over 1,500. The highest population was 1,829, in 1824.
Mission Church: The church was originally built in 1813 (the third church on this site). It was rebuilt and fully restored in 1931.

Mission Art: The baptismal font in the museum is original to Mission San Diego. The baptismal font in the church is a replica of the one in which Fr. Junipero Serra was baptized in 1713 in Petra on the island of Majorca.

Significant Event(s): The mission was destroyed in an Indian attack in November, 1775. One of the missionaries, Fr. Luis Jaime, and two others were killed, including Urselino the mission carpenter and the blacksmith Jose Romero.

From California State Parks site:

The mission trail in California began here on July 16, 1769, when Fathers Serra, Palou and Parron dug a hole eight feet into the beachhead near the mouth of the San Diego River and planted a large cross. A bell was suspended from the limb of a nearby tree and the site was dedicated to St. Didacus. Today, the mission's own priests bless the trio of bells which ring each Sunday before mass. Bougainvillea cascades over adobe walls surrounding the gardens and California's first historic cemetery. The gardens contain centuries-old hibiscus, succulents, olive trees, citrus and avocado.

10818 San Diego Mission Rd., San Diego, 92108-2429, (619) 281-8449