Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo, also known as the
Carmel Mission, is a
Roman Catholic mission church in
Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.
It is part of the
National Registry of Historic Places and a
U.S. National Historic Landmark.
It was the headquarters of the original
Alta California Missions headed by Father
Junípero Serra from 1770 until his death in 1784.
The Mission also was the seat of the padre presidente, Father
Fermin Francisco de Lasuen. It was destroyed in the mid 1800s, only to be restored beginning in 1884
. It remains a parish church today. It is regarded as the most beautiful of all missions, and is the only one to have its original bell tower dome.
History
The mission, first established on June 3, 1770, in nearby
Monterey, (near the native village of
Tamo), was named for
Charles Borromeo,
Archbishop of
Milan, Italy. It was the site of the first Christian
confirmation in Alta California.
[Ruscin, p. 196] In May, 1771, the viceroy approved Father
Junípero Serra's petition to relocate the Mission to its current location near the present-day town of Carmel-by-the-Sea. Serra's goal was to put some distance between the Mission's neophytes and the
Presidio of Monterey, (the headquarters of
Pedro Fages, who served as military governor of Alta California between 1770 and 1774, with whom Serra was engaged in a heated power struggle). The original site continued to operate as the "Royal Presidio Chapel" and later became the
Cathedral of San Carlos Borromeo. "Mission Carmel" (as it came to be known) was Father Serra's favorite and, being close to Monterey (the capital of
Alta California), served as his headquarters. When he died on August 28, 1784, he was interred beneath the chapel floor.
The
Esselen and
Ohlone Indians who lived near the Mission were taken in and trained as
plowmen,
shepherds,
cattle herders,
blacksmiths, and
carpenters. They made
adobe bricks, roof tiles and tools needed to build the Mission. In the beginning, the Mission relied on
bear meat from
Mission San Antonio de Padua and supplies brought by ship from
Mission San Diego de Alcalá. In 1794, the population reached its peak of 927, but by 1823 the total had dwindled to 381. On November 20, 1818,
French privateer Hipólito Bouchard raided the Monterey Presidio, before moving on to other Spanish installations in the south. The Mission was in ruins when the
Roman Catholic Church regained control of it in 1863. In 1884 Father Angel Casanova undertook the work of restoration. In 1931, Monsignor Philip Scher appointed Harry Downie to be curator in charge of Mission restoration; it became an independent
parish two years later. In 1961, the Mission was designated as a Minor
Basilica by
Pope John XXIII. In 1987,
Pope John Paul II visited the Mission as part of his U.S. tour.
Today
Mission Carmel has been designated a
National Historic Landmark by the
National Park Service. It is also an active
parish church of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Monterey. Masses are held at 7am, noon and 5:30pm Monday-Friday, Saturday at 8:30am and 5:30pm, and Sunday at 7:30am, 9:30am, 11am, 12:30pm, and 5:30pm.
In addition to its activity as a place of worship, Mission Carmel also hosts concerts, art exhibits, lectures and numerous other community events.
Mission Carmel also serves as a museum, preserving its own history and the history of the area. There are four specific museum galleries: the Harry Downie museum, describing restoration efforts; the Munras Family Heritage Museum, describing the history of one of the most important area families; the Jo Mora Chapel Gallery, hosting a cenotaph sculpted by Jo Mora as well as rotating art exhibits; and the Convento Museum, which holds the cell Father Serra lived and died in, as well as interpretive exhibits.
Visiting hours at Mission Carmel are 9:30am to 5pm Monday through Saturday and 10:30am to 5pm on Sundays.
The Mission Carmel grounds are also the location of the Junipero Serra School, a private Catholic school for kindergartners through 8th grade.
Notable interments
Several notable people are buried in the church and churchyard.
- Juan Crespí (1721–1782), Spanish missionary and explorer
