(RNS) During his first visit to the United States, Pope Francis will canonize — Catholic-speak for bestow sainthood on — Junipero Serra. The 18th-century Spanish-born Franciscan friar was the founder of California’s mission system, a chain of 21 Catholic churches that run from San Diego in the south to San Francisco in the north. Walk with RNS through Mission San Diego de Alcala, the first mission Serra founded in California (in 1769) and a place the church claims as “the birthplace of Christianity on the West Coast of the United States.”
Religion News Service photos by Kimberly Winston.
Click on any photo below to view a slideshow.
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- Mission San Diego Alcala, founded in 1769, is the first of California’s chain of missions. Founded by Serra, the mission included an average of 1,500 Native Americans, known as the Kumeyaay or the Tipai-Ipai. To the friars, they were “neophytes.” Religion News Service photo by Kimberly Winston
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- The mission is known for its campanario, a 46-foot-high wall of five bells. The bells rang the times for prayers, work, sleep and rising for the mission’s friars and neophytes. The largest, seen on the bottom right, is the Mater Dolorosa (Sad Mother) and weighs 1,200 pounds. Religion News Service photo by Kimberly Winston
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- This simple cross, laid in the mission courtyard steps from Serra’s statue, memorializes the unnamed and unknown number of Native Americans who died at the mission. The Native Americans rose up against the mission in 1775 and burned it to the ground. Religion News Service photo by Kimberly Winston
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- A statue of Serra awaits visitors just inside the mission. A copy of this statue is on display at all of California’s 21 missions. Religion News Service photo by Kimberly Winston
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- A niche in the church’s stucco walls features a friar and a small Native American boy. Religion News Service photo by Kimberly Winston
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- The church interior is lit only by natural light and candles, much as it was in Serra’s day. Religion News Service photo by Kimberly Winston
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- The church altar is simple and painted, with a woodcarved altarpiece. Its baptismal font is original to the mission and is a replica of the font used to baptize Serra in Majorca, Spain, in 1713. Religion News Service photo by Kimberly Winston
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- The mission is an active Catholic parish with a large Latino population and several Masses in Spanish. Religion News Service photo by Kimberly Winston
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- The Virgin of Guadalupe presides from the front of the church. Religion News Service photo by Kimberly Winston
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- The sanctuary is decorated with wall paintings intended to replicate the original hand-painted decor of the first inhabitants of the mission. Religion News Service photo by Kimberly Winston
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- Worshippers dip into this hand-crafted holy-water sconce. Religion News Service photo by Kimberly Winston
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- In the mission’s museum, a painting shows Serra blessing friars as they move northward to other missions. Religion News Service photo by Kimberly Winston
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- The mission re-creates Serra’s cell with its rope bed, single stool and threadbare carpet. Religion News Service photo by Kimberly Winston
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- Another painting shows the local Native Americans as they worked plowing the mission’s fields. There was often not enough food to support the mission and its inhabitants. Religion News Service photo by Kimberly Winston
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- This wooden carving is one of the first in America to feature the Virgin as a Native American. Religion News Service photo by Kimberly Winston
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- The mission’s garden features plants known to the original friars and neophytes. Religion News Service photo by Kimberly Winston
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- Native Americans worked at the mission into the 1800s. Religion News Service photo by Kimberly Winston
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- Statues of the holy family in one of the mission’s courtyards are a focal point for both visitors and parish members. Religion News Service photo by Kimberly Winston
