Carmel, California: San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo Mission Basilica and Museum
About Father Junipero Serra:
Called, the “Father of the California Missions”, Franciscan Father Junipero Serra was born in Petra, Spain on November 24, 1713, During the late 1750s into the 1760s, Serra several different missions, including to Puebla and Oaxaca, Mexico . In 1769, Father Serra went northward into California.
He founded first of nine missions in San Diego in what is present-day California, Father Serra spent the rest of his life evangelizing in the region.
His reputation has recently been attacked as having been one of those who enslaved and persecuted the natives, but in actuality he urged the military rulers of the time to treat them fairly. This fact has been overlooked in these times and attempts have been made to disparage his efforts. Father Serra was beatified by Pope John Paul II on September 25, 1988. He is patron saint of vocations to Church ministry.
We celebrate the Feast Day of Saint Junipero Serra on July 1 in the U.S. and August 28 (the date of his death in 1784) throughout the rest of the world,
About San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo Mission Basilica:
The Carmel Mission Basilica is the second of the Alta (Upper) California Spanish Missions. It was originally founded on the shores of Monterey in 1770. Soon after its founding the Mission was moved by Father Junipero Serra to its current location near the ocean mouth of the Carmel River in 1771.
Still an active Parish today, the Mission has been beautifully restored so that it retains its beautiful simplicity that harkens back to the days when the missions were a centerpiece of evangelization in the New World.
Father Serra is buried here under the floor of the church, just to the left of the altar.
There is an admission charge to the museum, which helps in the upkeep of the facility.
There three daily Masses during the week and, of course, several Masses on Sundays.
Traveling to the San Carlos Borromeo Mission and Museum in Carmel:
Address: 3080 Rio Road, Carmel, CA 93923
GPS coordinates: 36° 32′ 32.7372” N, 121° 55′ 12.9036” W
Tel: +1 (831) 624-1271 Fax: +1 (831) 624-8050
e-mail: nick@carmelmission.org (pilgrim services)
Click here for the official website of San Carlos Borromeo Mission and Museum in Carmel, California.
Photo credit: San Carlos Borremeo Mission
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