Todd has been writing about several local Missions and their influence on San Pedro history; yet, had not visited any of them…so we decided to take a field trip.
Founded in 1797, this is the only mission named for a King of Spain. It is an active Roman Catholic Church of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
You enter from the Gift Shop (black arrow) into the East Garden and find the above map. I hadn't been to this Mission in thirty years; I don't remember it having museum exhibits...it may not have been open to the public because of the damage caused by the 1971 earthquake.
I think someone was celebrating a Quinceañera, as the East Garden was filled with photographers and dressed-up children...luckily they were all gone by the time we finished in the museums. The flower shaped fountain is a copy from an original in Cordova.
In one of the museum rooms I followed the signs down to the wine cellar and found myself in a pitch dark room…my camera flash had to tell me what I wasn't seeing:
The Mission church is an exact replica of the earlier edifice erected between 1804 and 1806.
Measuring 166 by 35 feet, its walls are seven feet thick at the base, tapering to five feet at the top.
The 16th century gold-leafed reredos, a memorial to Eugenie Hannon, was installed in 1991.
Tinky Winky just had to touch the pulpit that Pope John Paul II visited in 1987.
The small cemetery holds several thousand neophytes and early settlers.
Next to the cemetery is the Bob Hope Memorial Garden where Bob, his wife (who died in 2011 at the age of 102), are buried near his mother.
There were several workshop exhibits with authentic furnishings, recreating the atmosphere of the carpentry, pottery, saddle, blacksmith shops, and weaving room.
I wanted to take Todd to the San Luis Rey Mission because it’s one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen, all long and white, surrounded by open areas that allows photos. Here, we couldn’t even take an image of the outside of this Mission, as it is surrounded by houses and condos…
…but, I did get their security vehicle:
