Mission San Antonio de Padua is a Spanish mission established by the

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

order in present-day

Monterey County Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is Salinas. Montere ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, near the present-day town of Jolon. Founded on July 14, 1771, it was the third mission founded in Alta California by Father Presidente

Junípero Serra Junípero Serra y Ferrer (; ; ca, Juníper Serra i Ferrer; November 24, 1713August 28, 1784) was a Spanish Roman Catholic priest and missionary of the Franciscan Order. He is credited with establishing the Franciscan Missions in the Sierr ...

. The mission was the first use of fired tile roofing in Upper California.Ruscin, p. 196 Today the mission is a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

church of the

Diocese of Monterey ''This article describes the present Diocese of Monterey in California. The entity previously known as the Diocese of Monterey from 1849 until 1859, and subsequently known as the Diocese of Monterey-Los Angeles from 1859 until 1922, is the presen ...

and is no longer active in the mission work which it was set up to provide.

History

Beginnings of the Mission

Mission San Antonio de Padua was the third Mission to be founded in Alta California, and was located along the very earliest routing of the Camino Real. This mission was located on a site which was unfortunately somewhat remote from the more reliable water source of what later became known as the Salinas River. In that very early year of the missions, the later more favorable routing of the Camino Real, more closely aligning with the course of the Salinas River, had not yet been discovered or established. , Molera, E. J.
The March of Portolá and the Discovery of the Bay of San Francisco
' (1909) p.35, Wordsworth Editions, ASIN : B002RKT4HG! Access date: April 5, 2021. Father Junipero Serra claimed the site on July 14, 1771, and dedicated the Mission to Saint Anthony of Padua. Saint Anthony was born in 1195 in Lisbon, Portugal and is the patron saint of the poor. Father Serra left Fathers Miguel Pieras and

Buenaventura Sitjar Buenaventura Sitjar (born 9 December 1739 in Porreres, Majorca – died 3 September 1808 at San Antonio, California) was a Franciscan missionary who served in California until his death. He became a monk in April, 1758, joining the College of Sa ...

behind to continue the building efforts, though the construction of the church proper did not actually begin until 1810. By that time, there were 178 Native Americans living at the Mission, mostly Northern

Salinan The Salinan are a Native American tribe whose ancestral territory is in the southern Salinas Valley and the Santa Lucia Range in the Central Coast of California. Today, the Salinan governments are now working toward federal tribal recognition f ...

(Antoniano) but also some Yokuts and Esselen. By 1805, the number had increased to 1,300, but in 1834, after the secularization laws"San Antonio de Padua", California Missions Resource Center
/ref> went into effect, the total number of

Mission Indians Mission Indians are the indigenous peoples of California who lived in Southern California and were forcibly relocated from their traditional dwellings, villages, and homelands to live and work at 15 Franciscan missions in Southern California and ...

at the Mission San Antonio was only 150. No town grew up around the Mission, as many did at other installations. In 1845, Mexican Governor Pío Pico declared all mission buildings in Alta California for sale, but no one bid for Mission San Antonio. In 1863, after nearly 30 years, the Mission was returned to the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. In 1894, roof tiles were salvaged from the property and installed on the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

depot Depot ( or ) may refer to: Places * Depot, Poland, a village * Depot Island, Kemp Land, Antarctica * Depot Island, Victoria Land, Antarctica * Depot Island Formation, Greenland Brands and enterprises * Maxwell Street Depot, a restaurant in ...

located in Burlingame, California, one of the first permanent structures constructed in the Mission Revival Style.

Restoration

The first attempt to rebuild the Mission came in 1903 when the California Historical Landmarks League began holding outings at San Antonio. "Preservation and restoration of Mission San Antonio began. The

Native Sons of the Golden West The Native Sons of the Golden West is a fraternal service organization founded in the U.S. state of California in 1875, dedicated to historic preservation, documentation of historic structures and places in the state, the placement of historic ...

donated $1,400. Tons of debris were removed from the interior of the chapel. Breaches in the side wall were filled in." Unfortunately, the earthquake of 1906 seriously damaged the building. In 1928,

friars held services at San Antonio de Padua. It took nearly 50 years to completely restore the Mission. The State of California is requiring a $12–15 million earthquake retrofit that must be completed by 2015, or the mission will be closed. As of 2011, there were 35 private families keeping the mission open. There is an active campaign to raise funds for the retrofit.

Current use of the old San Antonio Mission

Despite its being still referred to as a mission, the Mission San Antonio de Padua is no longer active in

Catholic missions Missionary work of the Catholic Church has often been undertaken outside the geographically defined parishes and dioceses by religious orders who have people and material resources to spare, and some of which specialized in missions. Eventually, p ...

and has become more focused as a parish church, fundraiser location, and tourist attraction. In 2005, the Franciscan Friars turned over the mission's caretaking and ownership to the Diocese of Monterey. Under the leadership of the Diocese of Monterey, Mission San Antonio de Padua transformed into a Catholic parish which also hosts group gatherings, gift shops and a museum with picnic grounds.

Present day

A131020 3878 Aerial Photo - Mission San Antonio de Padua

Today, the nearest city is King City, nearly away; Jolon, a small town, is located six miles (10 km) from the Mission. Historians consider the Mission's pastoral location in the valley of the

San Antonio River The San Antonio River is a major waterway that originates in central Texas in a cluster of springs in midtown San Antonio, about 4 miles north of downtown, and follows a roughly southeastern path through the state. It eventually feeds into the ...

along the

Santa Lucia Mountains The Santa Lucia Mountains (sæntə luˈsiːə) or Santa Lucia Range is a rugged mountain range in coastal central California, running from Carmel southeast for to the Cuyama River in San Luis Obispo County. The range is never more than from ...

as an outstanding example of early mission life.. The mission is surrounded by the

Fort Hunter Liggett Fort Hunter Liggett is a United States Army fort in Jolon, California, in southern Monterey County, California. The fort, named in 1941 after General Hunter Liggett, is primarily used as a training facility, where activities such as field maneuve ...

Military Reservation, which was acquired by the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

from the Hearst family during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

to train troops. Additional land was acquired from the Army in 1950 to increase the mission area to over . This fort is still actively training troops today. Mission San Antonio de Padua is one of the designated tour sights of the

Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail The Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail is a trail extending from Nogales on the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona, through the California desert and coastal areas in Southern California and the Central Coast region to San Francisco. ...

. As of 2013,

Friar Jeff Burns OFM, is in charge of the Mission. Wooden sculpture from Mission San Antonio de Padua

In popular culture

* The 1965 horror film ''

Incubus An incubus is a demon in male form in folklore that seeks to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women; the corresponding spirit in female form is called a succubus. In medieval Europe, union with an incubus was supposed by some to result in t ...

'' was partly filmed at the Mission. The writer and director,

Leslie Stevens Leslie Clark Stevens IV (February 3, 1924 – April 24, 1998) was an American producer, writer, and director. He created two television series for the ABC network, '' The Outer Limits'' (1963–1965) and '' Stoney Burke'' (1962–63), and ''Se ...

, concerned that the Mission authorities would not allow the film to be shot there because of the subject matter, concocted a cover story that the film was called ''Religious Leaders of Old Monterey'', and presented a script that was about monks and farmers. He was helped in this deception by the fact that the film was shot entirely in Esperanto.Miller, John M
"Incubus" (TCM article)
/ref> * The Mission was featured by

Huell Howser Huell Burnley Howser (October 18, 1945 – January 7, 2013) was an American television personality, actor, producer, writer, singer, and voice artist, best known for hosting, producing, and writing ''California's Gold'' and his human interest sh ...

in ''Road Trip'' Episode 147

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * *

Notes

External links

Mission San Antonio de Padua official website

Fort Hunter Liggett official website

Early photographs, sketches of Mission San Antonio de Padua
via Calisphere, California Digital Library
Early History of the California Coast, a National Park Service ''Discover Our Shared Heritage'' Travel Itinerary

Indigenous educators fight for an accurate history of California

Official U.S. National Park Service Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mission San Antonio De Padua

San Antonio De Padua San Antonio de Padua, or plainly Padua, is a city in the Greater Buenos Aires, in Argentina. It is located in Merlo Partido. The city has an area of and a population of around 38,000. The name commemorates the village founded by Francisco de Mer ...

1771 in Alta California Churches in Monterey County, California Museums in Monterey County, California History museums in California Religious museums in California 1771 establishments in Alta California Religious organizations established in 1771 Roman Catholic churches completed in 1810 History of Monterey County, California California Historical Landmarks Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in California Roman Catholic Diocese of Monterey in California Salinan people Santa Lucia Range National Register of Historic Places in Monterey County, California Junípero Serra 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States