Mission San Juan Capistrano

Title

Mission San Juan Capistrano

Artist

Ram Vasudev

Medium

Photograph

Description

Mission San Juan Capistrano, Orange County, California

Mission San Juan Capistrano was a Spanish mission in colonial Las Californias. Its ruins, shown here, are located in southern California's Orange County. The mission was founded on All Saint's Day November 1, 1776, by Spanish Catholics of the Franciscan Order. Named after Giovanni da Capistrano, a 15th-century thoelogian, San Juan Capistrano is the home to the oldest building in California still in use, a chapel built in 1782. Known alternately as "Serra's Chapel" and "Father Serra's Church," it is the only extant structure where the padre Junipero Serra celebrated mass. It is one of the best known of the Alta California missions, and one of the few missions to have actually been founded twice. The site was originally consecrated on October 30, 1775 by Father Fermin Lasuen, but was quickly abandoned due to unrest among indigenous Native Americans in San Diego.

The Mission entered a long period of gradual decline around 1833. Numerous efforts were made over the latter 19th century to restore the Mission to its former state, but none achieved much success until the arrival of Father O'Sullivan in 1910. Restoration efforts continue, and "Serra's Chapel" is still used for religious services. Over 500,000 visitors, including 80,000 school children, come to the Mission each year. While the ruins of "The Great Stone Church" (which was all but leveled by an 1812 earthquake) are a renowned architectural wonder, the Mission is perhaps best known for the annual "Return of the Swallows" which is traditionally observed every March 19 (Saint Joseph's Day). Mission San Juan Capistrano has served as a favorite subject for many notable artists, and has been immortalized in literature and on film numerous times, perhaps more than any other mission. (Wikipedia.org)

This image is featured in the following groups:
• Catholics Art Gallery
• USA Photographers Only, 04/12/2023
• Churches, 04/20/2024

Image copyrighted
© Ram Vasudev
All rights reserved

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August 21st, 2015

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