Thursday, October 8, 2020

MISSION BASILICA SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA - PART 2

 Continuing our visit, this is California's first mission established in 1769.  There is a wealth of information on its history at this website.  Today we go into the gardens which are lovely.

Outside I read the following and I am repeating some of the information at the beginning of yesterday's post: "Padre Luis Jayme - Born Melchor Jayme on October 18, 1740 in the farming village of San Juan, Majorca, Spain. 
In 1760 he was received into the Franciscan Order and chose "Luis" as his religious name. Padre Jayme became pastor of the Mission San Diego in 1771 and was instrumental in moving the Mission inland from the Presidio to the present site in August of 1774. By December of that year, a number of adobe and thatch buildings were constructed. Crops were planted and many natives joined the mission life and were baptized as Christians.
Progress was being made until the early morning hours of November 5th, 1775, when hundreds of natives from surrounding rancherias set fire to the Mission buildings, pillaged the church and Padre Jayme was killed as he met them with his usual greeting, "jAmar a Dios, hijos - Love God my children!"
(This above photo and the cropped version below shows a statue of St. Francis)
"Padre Jayme became California's first Christian martyr because of his self-sacrifice, devotions, faith and love.  His remains are buried in the sanctuary of the church at Mission San Diego de Alcala."
(This is a statue of Father Junipero Serra)
A sign in the gardens tells us that "The Campanario is 46 feet high and holds the Mission bells. The crown-topped bell on the lower right is named Ave Maria Parisma - Immaculate Mary. It weighs 805 pounds and was cast in 1802. A crown-topped bell was usually supplied by the Spanish King and cast in the royal foundry in Barcelona at the King's expense or made in a country ruled by Spain. Ave Maria Parisma was in the vestibule of St. Joseph's church and was hung in the campanario after the reconstruction of Mission San Diego in 1931.
The bell on the lower left is called the Mater Dolorosa - Our Lady of Sorrows. It weighs 1200 pounds and was recast by the Standard Iron Works of San Diego in 1894 from bell fragments found in the vicinity of the Mission.
The bells played an important role in the everyday life of the Mission. A sequence of tones and rhythms was developed for each occasion. They were used to announce times for Mass, work, meals and siestas. The bells signaled danger, rang solemnly to honor the dead and pealed joyously to celebrate feast days, weddings and fiestas.




Gregg walking along the corridor.
These show a few of the Saints mentioned before, representing the other nine missions.  They were behind a grid of iron fencing, but I was able to capture five free of obstruction by placing my lens between the bars.
Just before we left, a group of young people arrived. You can just make out Gregg on the right as he waited for them to go into the Mission. I think what we were witnessing and felt privileged to see was a young girl's Quinceañera, a celebration when a girl reaches 15, a transition from childhood to young womanhood so I read. (Click on the name where you can learn more if interested.) The young lady wore a long, strapless, bright red gown, one of the young men, her escort I believe, wore a white tux. The couple looked very striking and at the time I remember thinking they must have only been about 15 or so.
This was the vehicle they arrived in.
Their arrival coincided with our departure, as we had looked around for some time and were ready to move on.  
Notice those bright red orbs?  They are from a pomegranate tree.  I have never seen a pomegranate tree before, and the one on the grounds was loaded with their fruit. 
One had fallen onto a stone bench so we couldn't resist taking a photo.
I loved the palm trees also.
We don't get these in our area back home, and we were immediately drawn to them.
And let's not forget those pomegranates.  The only time I have seen this pretty fruit is at our grocery market in the produce area.
We came across the large white stone cross in a section of the garden.
This is the bell from the Spanish King.
I am very glad we got the chance to visit the Mission. When we lived here all those years ago we never knew what we had missed, although I do remember visiting another in the area.
I am very happy we came back as tourists.  We got to see a lot for the first time.  It seemed we were busy with other priorities back in those days and we were much younger of course. With busy schedules, Gregg with his navy days in full swing, and me being a navy wife with many responsibilities, looking after a small child who was my biggest responsibility and wouldn't have had it any other way of course, I didn't realize we were missing so many beautiful places.  All the more reason to come back at an age where we not only had the time, but could appreciate them, and we certainly did.

Another place I would enjoy going back to one day. 


28 comments:

  1. Wow, so many interesting facts, and things I did not know. Especially about the bells; that they had different tones for different circumstances. And how much they weigh! I like the St. Francis statue as well. That vehicle sure is strange looking. My favorite picture is the bells with the purple flowers in the foreground.

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    1. I am happy you found this interesting Ginny. I learned a lot also while researching my post. Those limos are Hummers. You can look at one here:

      https://www.limoserviceconcord.com/Concord_Hummer_Limousine_Service.php

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  2. Such a sad end for a man who did his best. And a very good best it was.

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  3. Lovely post and thanks for the links - went and read most of it.
    Your photos are lovely and that is one long vehicle..
    Take care.

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    1. Thank you Margaret and you are very welcome. You take care also.

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    1. Obrigado, que bom que você gostou. Um abraço e continuação de uma boa semana para vocês também.

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  5. Las imágenes, parecen trasladarnos de época y sentimos las figuras de esos frailes, que labraban su huerto y se ocupaban de embellecer el precioso jardín.

    Voy a ver la primera parte para tener la visión completa del edificio.

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    1. Muito obrigado! Agradeço seu comentário gentil e fico feliz que tenha gostado.

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  6. LOVE the bell tower and the gardens are so beautiful, would love to sit and stare a while in that garden.

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    1. Thanks Sandra, I know what you mean. I would love to go back and do just that.

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  7. Beautiful mission, it seems peaceful now.

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    1. Thank you Christine, I remember it was very peaceful, especially when we first arrived.

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  8. That's a beautiful Mission and I love the backstory. I have never seen a Mission in California but have seen several in New Mexico. It's interesting that in both places the Native Americans revolted at times against the priests. They still seem to be mad about it in New Mexico.

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    1. Hi Yogi, I found that so interesting. I have been to New Mexico several times but never ventured too far from the town of Santa Fe and never went to any missions. There was a large church we wanted to explore further but never made it inside. There was such a lot to see and it is on the list for whenever we go back, plus visiting other areas. We will get off the freeway and visit other towns next time and not rush through the State.

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  9. A very informative post and full of memories for you. I visited a few missions on my trips to California. I got interested and investigated the history of all the missions. It is an interesting history.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed Diane. You have probably seen more missions than I did. Their history is fascinating.

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  10. Thank you so much for sharing this trip with us, Denise. It made me curious as to why the Kumeyaay warriors killed the poor priest. He was certainly very brave and pious, but I've read that the Kumeyaay people resented the Spanish invasion into their land. It's funny that we have pomegranates in Hawaii but when I saw them in Turkey, I was fascinated by them because there was so many of them.

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    1. Hi Kay, throughout history invaders have been resented by the people that have been invaded and understandably so. We are only getting one version of the story here. That poor priest got caught up in the middle sad to say, as so many do. How interesting about the pomegranates in Hawaii and Turkey. I loved seeing them at the mission on the trees.

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  11. Interesting post and beautiful photos. Now I'm going to read Part One.

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  12. I enjoyed reading your informative post very much, Denise! Such lovely photos to accompany your post. I love the bells and the garden is so tasteful. It's so nice to "see" the mission through your camera again. Thank you!

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    1. Very glad you enjoyed Martha Ellen, thank you! I would love to go back and see this beautiful mission again, and to know that you have been there makes me happy that you shared a similar experience.

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