Monday, July 20, 2015

Pilgrimage Stop #2: Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcala



Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcala was the first of the California Missions.  It was founded in 1769 by Blessed Junipero Serra and named after St. Didacus.  It is an active parish, with regularly scheduled liturgies. The San Diego Padres baseball team was named after the hometown Mission.




This Mission is known for its "wings" and its distinctive bell tower (campanario).




This cross marks the site where Padre Luis Jayme was martyred.




The boys enjoyed touring the Mission grounds.





Being Good Friday, this stunning sculpture helped to remind us of the significance of Christ's sacrifice.


The Mission grounds and museum contained numerous artifacts.













Like the church at Mission San Luis Rey, the church was decorated in the original Spanish style.



The gardens included beautiful native plants, flowers, lizard friends, and statues.  Each of the 21 Missions displays a statue of Blessed Saint Junipero Serra.



 Family Pilgrimage Selfie #2:



Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcala is located at 10818 San Diego Mission Road, San Diego, CA 92108.
10818 San Diego Mission Road
San Diego, CA 9210810818
10818 San Diego Mission Road
San Diego, CA 92108

Pilgrimage Stop #1: Mission San Luis Rey de Francia







We began our pilgrimage with a visit to Mission San Luis Rey de Francia.  We drive on the highway that leads to the Mission frequently, but have never stopped there.



Mission San Luis Rey currently serves as a retreat center run by the Franciscan Friars from the Province of St. Barbara.  It was founded in 1798 by Padre Fermin Francisco de LaSuen and named after St. Louis IX, King of France.  It is often referred to as the "King of the Missions."

Because it was Good Friday, we were unable to tour the museum, but there was plenty to see on the Mission grounds.  The church was massive and lavishly decorated.








The Mission's beautiful garden features the oldest pepper tree in California, which was a unique bit of trivia.





The Mission also houses a large cemetery.








Unfortunately, because this mission is a retreat center run by a religious order, liturgies are not always open to the public.  However, the Mission has a sister parish, where you can attend Mass.

I have to say that when our pilgrimage had been completed, this ended up being one of my favorite Missions.  I look forward to returning someday so that we can visit the museum.







Here is Family Pilgrimage Selfie #1:


Mission San Luis Rey de Francia is located at 4050 Mission Avenue, Oceanside, CA 92057

The Fathers Speak


https://johnjimenez.selz.com/item/54f77644b798720ef0758447?mode=edit


The Fathers Speak: Catholic Doctrine from the Mouths of the Earliest Christians

This e-book, written by my husband, is a compilation of direct quotes from the Fathers of the Church, a "cheat sheet," if you will, of Catholic doctrine from the first 500 years of Christianity. It is available for a donation by clicking the link above and all proceeds will be used to start Aquinas Academy (aquinasacademy.weebly.com), a classical Catholic educational program. If sufficient funds are not collected to launch the program, all funds collected will be donated to the Norbertine Sisters in Tehachapi, CA, and pro-life charities.

California Missions Pilgrimage


Since my husband is was a 4th grade teacher and we're both California natives, we have talked about visiting all 21 California Missions for years.  Over the course of our marriage, we managed to visit Mission San Diego de Alcala, Mission San Juan Capistrano (our local Mission), Mission San Buenaventura, Mission La Purisima, Mission Santa Ines, Mission San Miguel, Mission San Francisco de Asis, Mission San Rafael, and Mission San Francisco Solano.



Since our oldest son will be entering 4th grade in the fall, we felt that this year would be the perfect opportunity to make our pilgrimage.  We were able to visit all 21 Missions over 8 days during Holy Week and Easter Week.

Day 1 (We live in Orange County, so we spent the night at home)

Day 2 (Holy Saturday)
  • Mission San Gabriel Arcangel
  • Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana
  • Mission San Buenaventura
  • Mission Santa Barbara

Day 3 (Easter Sunday)
  • Mission Santa Barbara (Mass)

Day 4 (Easter Monday)
  • Mission Santa Ines (Mass)
  • Mission La Purisima
  • Mission San Luis Obispo

Day 5 (Easter Tuesday)
  • Mission San Miguel Arcangel
  • Mission San Antonio de Padua
  • Mission Nuestra Senora de la Soledad

Day 6 (Easter Wednesday)
  • Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo (AKA Mission Carmel) 
  • Mission San Juan Bautista
  • Mission Santa Cruz 

Day 7 (Easter Thursday)
  • Mission Santa Clara
  • Mission San Jose

Day 8 (Easter Friday)
  • Mission San Francisco de Asis (Mass)
  • Mission San Rafael Arcangel
  • Mission San Francisco Solano

All the Missions are about 45-60 minutes apart, so it was easy to visit 3 per day.  Most are active parishes, but two of them (Missions La Purisima and San Francisco Solano) are state parks.  The majority of them charge admission for the tour/museum.  However, at some missions, if you attend morning Mass, they will allow you to stay and tour the church and surrounding grounds without paying admission.

We also made sure to take a family photo at each Mission to document our trip.  Some turned out better than others.  =)

Our family at Mission San Juan Capistrano on Divine Mercy Sunday

As soon as we left the motel or campground in the morning, our family went into pilgrimage mode.  We drove in silence, talked as a family, and listened to Glory Stories or CDs from Lighthouse Catholic Media.  At every Mission, we prayed a pilgrimage prayer (Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, Apostle's Creed, and invoking the intercession of the Mission's patron saint).  Once we left the final Mission of the day, we reverted into road trip mode and listened to music and let the boys watch DVDs or play with the tablet as we drove to our destination for the night.  Throughout the trip, my husband read The Story of Junipero Serra: Brave Adventurer (Famous Lives) to the boys.