Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
coercive methods were used. Missionaries justified their enslavement of “heathens”
as acceptable if the natives ultimately converted to Christianity and found salvation.
In 1821, Mexico declared independence from Spanish rule, and in 1834 the vast
mission lands were secularized and divided into livestock “ranchos.” Any law-abid-
ing Mexican Catholic was now eligible to receive land grants. California's ranching
era had begun.
VISITING THE SAN CARLOS BORROMEO DE CARMELO MISSION
Step back in time and enter Father Junipero Serra's chosen home and final resting
place, founded near the mouth of the Carmel River on August 24, 1771. Serra wished
to build a permanent stone house of worship that required skilled masons to cut and
dress the stones in the style of missions that Serra had erected in Mexico. With no
skilled masons available in California, many of the missions never progressed past
the humble adobe style, and the Carmel Mission we see today was delayed until years
after Serra's death.
The construction of the stone church began in 1795 and was basically complete
by 1797, when it was dedicated for worship on Christmas Day of that year. When the
church was originally constructed, the sandstone walls were quarried from the Santa
Lucia Mountains, but most of the exterior is different today. Inside, the statue of the
Virgin Mary in the side chapel of Our Lady Bethlehem is the same one that Father
Serra carried back from Mexico in 1769.
Carmel Mission served both as headquarters for the mission's agricultural hold-
ings in the Carmel Valley and as command center for the statewide California mis-
sion system. Today, the mission serves as a parish church, school, and basilica.
Its distinction as a basilica is the highest honorary rank for a church and implies
great historical and artistic importance. Pope John XXIII honored Carmel Mission's
church with the rank of basilica in 1961 in recognition of Serra's work in the es-
tablishment of Christianity on the western coast of the United States, as well as the
unique architectural features of the structure such as the Moorish dome and the para-
bolic ceiling. Since that designation, Carmel Mission Basilica was honored with a
visit by Pope John Paul II, who visited the church to lay a wreath at the foot of the
grave of Father Serra, who is buried beneath the floor of the sanctuary (near the al-
tar).
Carmel Mission is open to the public Monday-Saturday 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. and
Sunday 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. The admission fee to visit the mission grounds, basilica,
and museums is $6.50 for adults, $4 for seniors (age 65 and up), and $2 for children
age 7 and up (children under 6 are admitted free). These funds are used to support
the continued maintenance and restoration of Carmel Mission. To get there, turn west
from Highway 1 onto Rio Road and drive 0.7 mile to the corner of Lausen Drive. For
more information, call (831) 624-1271 or visit
carmelmission.org
.
