You might have visited a famous historic site in San Diego— Mission San Diego Alcalá, established by Father Junípero Serra in 1769. This was the first of 21 missions established in California.

This week we have a special guest, Janet Bartel, to tell us more about the history of the Spanish missions, and about Mission San Diego Alcalá in particular. In 1984, Janet initiated the present Docent Program at Mission San Diego. Originally the program provided tours mainly for elementary school students. The program also offers Guided Group Tours and information for self-guided tours. Currently she serves as volunteer historian and Docent Coordinator at Mission San Diego, and will serve as the facilitator of the newly expanded museum.  

Jan served six years as a board member of California Mission Studies Association and for nine years as a board member of California Missions Foundation.

Janet will tell us much more about the story behind the mission, as well as its unique features.

Read on to learn more about the legacy behind the California missions.

The Roman Catholic Church sent missionaries and Spanish royal authorities to other lands to convert people to Christianity. The missionaries who served in the northern borderlands of New Spain served under one of two major Roman Catholic orders: the Franciscans (members of the Order of Friars Minor, a religious order of men founded by Francis of Assisi [1181–1226]) and the Jesuits, founded by Ignatius de Loyola [1491–1556] in 1534.

To found a mission, the missionary priests would select a spot near an Indian settlement. There they would erect a temporary chapel and a few crude log cabins. After setting up, they would immediately begin working to convert the Indians, usually getting their attention by giving them glass beads, clothing, or blankets. Once the bare essentials of a mission community had been established, the priests usually requested military protection. The Spanish crown then sent soldiers to establish a military outpost near the mission.

Over the years, many missions grew into thriving farming, religious, and commercial complexes. The military outposts expanded into armed garrisons, or presidios. The inhabitants of the presidios needed the necessities of life—food, clothing, and manufactured goods. Civilian settlements often developed near mission/presidio complexes to satisfy such needs.

While the main goal of the missions (beginning in the late 18th century) was to convert Native Americans, another motivation for the missions was to expand European territory, and also to ensure that rival countries, such as Russia and Great Britain, didn’t try to occupy the California region first.

There were 21 missions in all, lasting from 1769 until about 1833. The mission system brought many new cultural and religious ideas to California, though critics charge the systematic oppression of Native Americans amounted to slavery.

Over 54 years, four forts, or presidios, and twenty-one missions were founded along the California coast. Some of these sites eventually evolved into the state's major cities, including San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Jose and San Francisco.

Founding of the California missions began seven years before the American Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, and ended 25 years before gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill in 1848. Mission expansion came to an end in 1823. 

The California Missions Foundation was created in 1998 as the only organization dedicated to restoring and protecting all 21 mission structures and their contents, with the goal of preserving California's rich history.

Check out the California Missions website (below) for more information...

The missions created new communities where the Native Americans received religious education and instruction. The Spanish established pueblos (towns) and presidios (forts) for protection.

The natives lived in the missions until their religious training was complete. Then, they would move to homes outside of the missions. Once the natives converted to Christianity, the missionaries would move on to new locations, and the existing missions served as churches.

The native converts were known as “neophytes.” After they were baptized, they were expected to perform labor. Typically, men worked in the fields, and women cooked. Both learned Spanish and attended church.

Farming was an especially important job in the mission community. Wheat, barley and maize were some of the staple crops that were grown. The Spanish missionaries also brought fruits from Europe, such as apples, peaches and pears. Other jobs included carpentry, building, weaving and leather-working.

Padres oversaw the mission. They were assigned six soldiers to protect them and the mission properties.

The California missions, which stretched from San Diego to Sonoma, had a significant impact on the Native Californians. The mission era influenced culture, religion, architecture, art, language and economy in the region.

The missions also impacted California Indian cultures in negative ways. Europeans forced the natives to change their civilization to match the modern world. In the process, local traditions, cultures and customs were lost.

Additionally, Spanish missionaries brought diseases with them that killed untold thousands of natives. Prior to the California missions, there were about 300,000 Native Californians. By 1834, scholars believe there were only about 20,000 remaining.

Facts…

[Retrieved from St. Junípero Serra]

• Born to a farming family in Majorca in 1713.

• Educated by Franciscan monks; was 15 when he decided to become a priest.

• Was 36 when he decided to become a missionary and sailed to New Spain.

•  After landing in Vera Cruz in 1749, walked 250 miles to Mexico City (and injured his leg along the way; it never fully healed)

• Began working at the College of San Fernando; spent 9 years preaching to native people in the Sierra Gorda region of Mexico

• Spent the next 8 years traveling to mining camps and coastal villages.

• Joined the Portola Expedition in 1769, which took him north along the coast of California; San Diego was the first mission he founded along the way.

•  Missions were not just for religious purposes; they served to protect colonists, provide crops, livestock, and housing.

• Traveled more than 6,000 miles in the Alta California Missions.

• Confirmed 5,309 people.

• Died in 1748 at the age of 70 at Mission San Carlos Borromeo (was buried under the sanctuary floor.

Father Junípero Serra’s work left a lasting impression on the lands of New Spain, not just in terms of Catholicism but in spreading knowledge, culture, law, and government.  This early chapter in history influenced the next generations as Mexico eventually achieved independence from Spain in 1821.

A movement to make the Father a saint began in the 1940s.  Pope John Paul II beautified him in 1988, and he was canonized (not without controversy) by Pope Francis

in 2015.

On July 16, 1769, Father Serra planted a cross on what is today Presidio Hill, and Mission San Diego de Alcala came to be.

Before arriving in San Diego, in 1749 Father Serra arrived in Veracruz, Mexico. This was part of the training for all new missionaries of the Franciscan Order.  He traveled with his missionary friends Francisco Palou and Juan Crespi. For his first eight years in New Spain, Father Serra and Palou were assigned to the Sierra Gorda missions, converting the Pame Indians to Catholicism. Until mid-1767 Father Serra served in various roles at missions surrounding the Mexico City area. When the Jesuits were expelled from the Spanish missions in Baja California, the Franciscans took over. The Franciscan missionaries planned to head even further north.

Opportunity came when King Carlos III of Spain sponsored a plan to occupy San Diego. Four expeditions set out from Mexico, two by sea and two over land. Soldiers, munitions, workers, pack animals, equipment, and food were part of the convoy, and of course new missions needed to be founded. That’s where Father Serra and Crespi played a role. Hight atop Presidio Hill they built a simple chapel first, and later constructed an adobe church. 

Life was dangerous for the Spaniards, as the indigenous people did not trust the newcomers. Gaspar de Portola, appointed Governor of the area, struggled to keep the Spaniards safe as well as expand their control over the native people. The Spaniards constructed a garrison on Presidio Hill to stave off Indian attacks.

The early days at Mission Alcalá were rough. Hostilities with the native people increased, and food was scarce. The military and religious leaders at the time didn’t always agree on how run the mission. By 1774, San Diego was elevated to presidio status (more soldiers and protection than a mere military post). Things were more stable, so Serra headed north to visit Monterey and continue leading the way to develop more missions.

Father Serra made his headquarters in Monterey, but he was aware of the situation in San Diego, and would travel south when he could.

According to the Mission San Diego History website, In 1776 Father Serra supervised re-building of the earlier adobe church (raided by Indians and ravaged by fire). By 1790, much of the construction was complete.

By 1767, historians chronicled that 565 Indians were baptized (bringing the number of converts to 1405). The mission had expanded to 55,000 acres, which included orchards, vineyards, and vegetable gardens that grew wheat, barley, beans, and corn.

It is reported that the mission owned 20,000 sheep, 10,000 cattle and 1250 horses. During an 1813 construction to enlarge the church, buttress wings were added to give earthquake stability to the façade and to provide a more welcoming appearance.

In 1821, when Mexico gained its independence from Spain, Mission San Diego was given to Santiago Arguello. After the U.S. - Mexican War and the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, the United States Cavalry used the mission as a military presence from 1850-1857. The soldiers made some temporary repairs to the decayed buildings in order make them habitable. In 1862, the Mission lands were restored to the Church by order of President Abraham Lincoln.

The present mission church was named a minor basilica by Pope Paul VI in the bicentennial year of 1976. Today, it serves as an active parish for the Catholic community and as a cultural center for people of all faiths who are most welcome to visit the mission.

In 1450, Didacus journeyed to Rome with Padre Alonso de Castro to attend the canonization of St. Bernardine of Siena and to join in a celebration proclaimed by Pope Nicholas V. Remaining in Rome for some months, Didacus took charge of the infirmary of the Friary of Ara Caeli, where he was engaged in nursing many sick friars, some of whom were said to have miraculously recovered through his care. He returned to Spain and lived at Alcalá in Castile. At Alcalá, Didacus was taken ill and died on November 12, 1463. King Phillip II of Spain solicited the Saint’s canonization which was decreed in 1588 for the many miracles attributed to him.

Alcalá, Spain, has been the seat of a university and a center of learning for centuries. For this reason, the University of San Diego, the Catholic University of the West is located in an area known as Alcalá Park.

Mission San Diego stands as a reminder of California’s relationship to its colonial roots. It’s a mixed legacy for sure. Save your questions for Janet, our Missions expert, and you might just want to take yourself on a field trip to this treasure in our own backyard.

California Missions. (2022). Retrieved from https://californiamissionsfoundation.org/the-california-missions/

California Missions. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.history.com/topics/religion/california-missions

Junípero Serra.(2001).   New Perspectives on the West.  PBS.  Retrieved from:

         http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/s_z/serra.htm

Junípero Serra Biography. (2014, April).  Biography.com.  Retrieved from: https://www.biography.com/religious-figure/junipero-serra

Junípero Serra Museum. (2019).  San Diego History Center.  Retrieved from:

         https://sandiegohistory.org/serramuseum/

Mission San Diego History. (2024). Retrieved from https://www.missionsandiegohistory.org/father-junipero-serra

Engstrand, I. (n.d.). Serra’s San Diego. Retrieved from https://sandiegohistory.org/archives/books/serrassandiego/

"Spanish Missions ." U*X*L Encyclopedia of U.S. History. . Retrieved November 24, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/spanish-missions