Mission San Juan Capistrano

Saint Junípero Serra founded this mission on 1 November 1776, the seventh of the twenty-one Spanish missions of California. It was named for Saint John of Capistrano, the Franciscan preacher. Native Acjachemen people and Franciscan friars built a large community of workshops, fields and living quarters around its courtyards.

Between 1797 and 1806 they built the Great Stone Church, the grandest church in California, with seven domes and a bell tower visible for miles. Just six years later, on 8 December 1812, an earthquake brought it down during Mass, killing forty worshippers. Its ruins, carefully preserved, are the heart of the mission today. The small adobe Serra Chapel, from 1782, is the oldest building in California still in use and the only surviving church where Serra himself celebrated Mass.

The mission is famous for the swallows that return each spring, traditionally on the feast of Saint Joseph, 19 March, and for its gardens and fountains. It is a museum and a place of pilgrimage. The modern Mission Basilica next door, modelled on the Great Stone Church, serves the parish.

Built

Founded 1776; Great Stone Church 1797–1806

Style

Spanish colonial mission

Where

San Juan Capistrano, California, United States

Map

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