by In 1834 the Mexican government secularized all the now-historic Franciscan Missions in California. The Franciscans were booted out, their enormous holdings of land and cattle were confiscated and re-distributed to worthy locals and friends of various government officials.
Over the decades some missions, like the San Fernando Mission, fell into ruins. Others, like San Gabriel, were returned to the Catholic church as parish churches. And one, La Purisima Concepcion in Lompoc, is now a state park with re-enactments during the summer.
But I never realized that any Franciscans remained involved at any of the Missions until I saw one at San Luis de Rey de Francia (named after French king Louis IX who led a crusade in the 13th Century).
I have since learned that the Mission is under the authority of the local bishop and that early morning services are held in the Mission church. Other services are conducted at a neighboring chapel. The friars residences are adjacent to the Mission behind a wooden wall. I suspect they may have something to do with the Frey Junipero Serra Center on the mission grounds. Serra was declared a saint by the previous pope, over many objections from Californians.
Okay…enough of historic trivia. Here are a few photos of the mission.
On the waterfront in Oceanside I had great fish and chips at Harbor Fish and Chips, a family-owned restaurant with a certificate of excellence from TripAdvisor. It earned this award based on the fish and chips, no doubt. I can only tell you that they were delicious.
Because of the coronavirus in 2020, I am not traveling far from my home in Tucson and am re-publishing some of the popular posts from my travels during 2019. And…I have a new blog about unexpected events and people in Tucson. Visit it here.
Take a look at our new ‘Books and Blogs‘ page for recommendations about good books and interesting blogs.
