Capture California, the Game-2012
Adventure: 101 - 16 : Mission
Santa Clara de Asis,
8th mission
Team: Thing One, Thing Two
Date: August 23, 2012
Location: Santa Clara
Description:
Considering that Mission Santa Clara
is only 9 miles from where I grew up and my parents still live, you
would think this would be the first mission we would have visited.
But no, we had to wait until we are three-quarters of the way through
the missions before we visited it for Capture California. But even
so, there is a connection with our team to this mission. The Cat in
the Hat, many years ago when she was in fourth grade, did Mission
Santa Clara as her mission. So with this in mind, we are off to Santa
Clara.
From the start, Mission Santa Clara
gives a sense of positiveness and inclusiveness. The entrance station
person was very friendly, giving us a two hour parking pass. The
mission gives you pretty good access, even without a fee like most of
the other missions do.
The front of the mission is striking,
with the original 1777 cross preserved in front. The rose garden on
the side has roses which were in full bloom, giving off a pleasant
fragrance. On the other side is a tralis with wisteria, which is over
a hundred years old. Yes the whole place reeks with age. It even has
the oldest building in the west of any college/university campus.
That would be the Adobe Building, built in 1822. But where the
mission shines is the interior. It has the most magnificent inside of
any of the missions we visited. The high ceiling with the
chandeliers, the stations of the cross, while a bit high they really
attract your attention, both with your eyes and with your mind. Which
then turns your attention to the main purpose, to the front of the
sanctuary, where you turn your thoughts upward. Isn't that the whole
purpose of the sanctuary?
From Wikipedia site:
A subsequent site of the Mission
dating from 1784 to 1819 is located several hundred yards west of the
De La Cruz overpass of the
Caltrain
track; moreover, several Native American burial sites have been
discovered near this subsequent site.
Initially, there was tension between
the people of the Mission and those in the nearby
Pueblo
de San Jose over disputed ownership rights of land and water. The
tension was relieved when a road,
the
Alameda, was built by two hundred Indians to link the communities
together. On Sundays, people from San Jose would come to the Mission
for services, until the building of
St.
Joseph's Church in 1803
From California Missions
Resource Center site:
Named For: Saint
Claire of Assisi, a 13th century Italian nun, cofoundress with San
Francis of the Order of Poor Clares or Clares.
Mission Church: The
current church is a tasteful modern interpretation of the mission's
fifth church constructed in 1825. The 1825 church was completely
destroyed in a devastating fire.
Mission Art: A tall
cross, erected in 1777 and now in protective casing, stands across
from the church entrance.
Significant Event(s): In
1851, authority for Santa Clara was transferred to the Jesuits and
the old mission became the nucleus of Santa Clara University
Interesting Facts:
A four-mile Alemeda (or four-mile long road lined with willow
trees) connected the mission and the nearby
pueblo
of San Jose.
The bells of Santa Clara have rung faithfully each evening since
1798 by request of King Carlos IV.
Santa Clara was the first California mission to honor a female
saint.
Site of the first college, and the oldest university in
California, founded in 1851.
From California
State Parks site:
Located on the Guadeloupe River, the
log chapel was founded in 1777 by Father Serra in honor of St. Clare
only three months before his death. In 1851 the work began which
ultimately produced Santa Clara University as we know it today.
Located about 40 miles south of San Francisco, the main garden is
devoted to tree roses, a mission tradition, and the string of willows
planted along the miles between the mission and the pueblo of San
Jose is today a well-traveled San Jose street known as The Alameda.
Some initial mission walls exist and the bell tower holds the
original bells sent from Spain. The University is rich in relics of
the mission with a library of notable archival material.
500
El Camino Real, Santa Clara, 95953, (408) 554-4023
