Junipero Serra cell in Carmel Mission

In this small room (11'9 x 11'7), Junipero Serra died just before 2 p.m. on Saturday 28 August 1784. After the mission was abandoned in 1852, the... more

by RicardMN Photography

Title

Junipero Serra cell in Carmel Mission

Artist

RicardMN Photography

Medium

Photograph

Description

In this small room (11'9" x 11'7"), Junipero Serra died just before 2 p.m. on Saturday 28 August 1784. After the mission was abandoned in 1852, the room fell into ruin, and by the time it was restored in 1937, only the foundation and first few feet of wall remained. Curator Harry Downie used original materials and floor tiles gathered from other parts of the compound to reconstruct it. The dedication ceremony took place on 29 August 1937, when, after a Solumn High Mass, the cell was blessed by Reverend Augustine Hobrecht, O.F.M., first Serra Cause vice-postulator. He delivered a speech about Serra's "life and labors," and members of the Onesimo family, the last Mission Carmel Indians, placed a wreath and flowers on the replica bed. Afterward, "as a happy and blessed ending to the day, Solemn Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament ... was given at the grave of Father Serra." The replica bed constructed from original mission timbers, follows Francisco Palou's first hand description: "His bed consisted of some roughhewn boards, covered by a blanket serving more as a covering than an aid to rest for he never used even a sheepskin cover, as was customary." (From http://www.letsgoseeit.com)

Mission San Carlos Borromeo del rio Carmelo, also known as the Carmel Mission, is a Roman Catholic mission church in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and a U.S. National Historic Landmark.
The mission was the headquarters of the Alta California missions headed by Father Junipero Serra from 1770 until his death in 1784. It was also the seat of the second presidente, Father Fermin Francisco de Lasuen. The mission buildings had fallen into disrepair by the mid-19th century, but were restored beginning in 1884. It remains a parish church today. It is the only one of the California Missions to have its original bell tower dome.

Junipero Serra, (November 24, 1713 - August 28, 1784) was a Spanish Franciscan friar who founded a mission in Baja California and the first nine of 21 Spanish missions in California from San Diego to San Francisco, which at the time were in Alta California of the Las Californias Province in New Spain. He began in San Diego on July 16, 1769, and established his headquarters near Monterey, California at Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo.
The missions were primarily designed to convert the natives. Other aims were to integrate the neophytes into Spanish society, and to train them to take over ownership and management of the land. As head of the order in California, Serra not only dealt with church officials, but also with Spanish officials in Mexico City and with the local military officers who commanded the nearby presidios (garrisons).

FEATURED PHOTO, Balcony Window and DoorsPhotography group, 12/19/2013

Uploaded

December 13th, 2013