| Event | Overview |
|---|---|
| Location | Modern Oceanside, California. |
| Founders | Franciscan priests Fathers Lasuen, Santiago and Peyri. Built by Luiseño natives. |
| Dedicated | June 13 1798, feast day of Saint Anthony of Padua. |
Mission San Luis Rey de Francia was named after French king Louis IX and was known as King of the Missions due to its size, productivity and power, and for performing more baptisms and marriages than any other mission. At over 6 acres, Mission San Luis Rey de Francia was the largest building in California until the mid-1800s.
| Event | Time Period | Overview |
| Luiseno Indians | Luiseno Indians resided in the area for centuries prior to Spanish occupation. | |
|---|---|---|
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Spanish Mission Era
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| Dedication of Mission | 13/06/1798 | Mission San Luis Rey de Francia was dedicated on the feast day of Saint Anthony of Padua. Father Antonio Peyri was placed in charge of the Mission. |
| Plans for Church | 1811 | Father Peyri and Father Geronimo Boscana signed plans for a permanent church and the foundations were laid the same year. |
| Dedication of Church | 04/10/1815 | Present church completed and dedicated on the Feast of St. Francis. |
| Church Repairs | 1817 | Repairs fixed masonry errors that had caused a leaky roof. |
| Mexican Independence | 1821 | Mexico won its independence from Spain and passed a Decree of Secularization. Each mission was given ten years to fulfill their goal of instructing the natives. At the end of ten years, the missions and their land would be handed over to the natives. No additional building was reported after Mexican Independence. |
| Mission’s Power Rises | 1827 | According to Father Peyri’s account, Mission San Luis Rey towered over all other missions: 22,610 head of cattle, 27,412 sheep, 1,120 goats and 1,501 horses. The Mission claimed extensive land and brought the surrounding 15 miles under cultivation. Its self-sustaining community used local materials, adobe, fired clay bricks and wooden timbers. |
| Great Heights | 1829 | A community of 3,000 neophytes flourished at the Mission by 1829. Its lands had been brought brought into grape, orange, olive, wheat and corn cultivation. Water was channeled from the river just north of the Mission to irrigate the fields. |
| California Record | 1830 | Mission San Luis Rey de Francia was the largest building in California. |
| Father Peyri Departs | 01/1832 | Father Antonio Peyri departed the mission. |
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Mexican Secularization Era
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| Decree of Secularization | 1833 | The Decree of Secularization was issued by Governor Echeandia. Secularization occurred late in Alta California. The Missions were turned into parishes and the lands became large ranchos upon being sold or gifted to colonists, military personnel or politicos. Various secular persons seized control of the Mission, its land and its livestock; the Luisenos were left with nothing. Under control of Pio Pico and other secular administrators, Mission San Luis Rey de Francia was plundered and left for ruin. |
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American Military Era (1847-1857)
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| Captain Fremont | 08/1846 | Captain Fremont took possession of Mission San Luis Rey. |
| US Military Use | 1847-1857 | Notable figures who served at the mission include General Stephen W. Kearney, Kit Carson and the Battalion of Mormon Volunteers. Some troops stationed a the mission were ordered to prevent its depredation. Others assisted local ranchers in its dismantlement so its building materials could be reused elsewhere. |
| Mormon Visitors | 02/1847 | The Battalion of Mormon Volunteers under Lt. Cooke camped at Mission San Luis Rey for six weeks. |
| American California | 1850 | California became part of the United States. The Catholic Bishop in California petitioned the US government to return the missions. |
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Abandonment (1860-1892)
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| Collapse of Mission | 1860-1892 | Abandonment of Mission San Luis Rey de Francia led to its heavy destruction. Local settlers had begun reusing brick, roof tiles and wooden beams from the Mission for their own homes. The Mission walls eroded away, columns collapsed, the alter was stolen and the front doors were taken away. The cupola fell into the crossing. |
| Proclamation | 18/03/1865 | President Abraham Lincoln signed a proclamation that returned Mission San Luis Rey de Francia to the Catholic Church. This included the structure itself and 64 acres of land. |
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20th Century Restoration
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| Franciscan Return | 1892 | A group of Franciscans from Zacatecas, Mexico sought refuge in California and asked the Bishop for a site to move their novitiate. They were assigned to Mission San Luis Rey de Francia. Father Joseph Jeremias O’Keefe was sent as an interpreter and to oversee the renovations of the church. The Church was walled off at the crossing to allow for rededication and to allow restoration of walls of the transepts and sanctuary, as well as the roof. |
| Renovations | 1892-1912 | Father O’Keefe repaired the church and rebuilt the permanent living quarters on the foundations of the old mission. |
| Church Superstructure | 1893 | New dome and cupola structures were completed over the crossing and north end of the Church. |
| Church Ceiling | 1899 | The church’s new wooden ceiling was completed. |
| Repairs Complete | 1905 | The work on the quadrangle and the church was complete. |
| Church Superstructure | 1906 | The dome and cupola were heightened. |
| Bell Tower Collapse | 1926 | The bell tower’s southeast corner collapsed, up to but not including the dome. |
| Bell Tower Repair | 1927 | The repair and reconstruction of the bell tower was complete, supposedly with reinforced concrete in some areas. |
| Franciscan College | 1949 | The quadrangle was partially rebuilt for the usage of a Franciscan college. It serves today as a Retreat Center. |
| Excavations | 1950′s-1960′s | The Friars uncovered soldiers barracks and the lavanderia beneath layers of dirt. |
| Church Renovations | 1984 | A project was completed to stabilize and preserve the church exterior. |
| Getty Foundation | 2004 | The Getty Foundation gave Mission San Luis Rey de Francia a planning grant that was used to create the Mission San Luis Rey Seismic Retrofit Conservation Plan. |
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General Plan
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| # | Structure | Time Period | Overview |
| 1 | Plaza | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Museum | ||
| 3 | Peyri Court | ||
| 4 | Sacred Garden | ||
| 5 | Church | ||
| 6 | Cemetery | ||
| 7 | Soliders Barracks | ||
| 8 | Lavanderia | ||
| 9 | Carriage Arch | ||
| 10 | Pepper Tree | ||
| 11 | Gift Shop | ||
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