Mission San Antonio de Padua is a Spanish mission established by the Franciscan order in present-day Monterey County, California, near the present-day town of Jolon. Founded on July 14, 1771, it was the third mission founded in Alta California by Father Presidente Junípero Serra. The mission was the first use of fired tile roofing in Upper California. Today the mission is a parish church of the Diocese of Monterey and is no longer active in the mission work which it was set up to provide.

History

Beginnings of the Mission

thumb|left|200px|Photograph of Mission San Antonio de Padua by landscape photographer [[Carleton Watkins, dating from 1873 to 1883.]]

thumb|left|200px|Mission San Antonio de Padua painting by Edwin Deakin, 1899

Mission San Antonio de Padua was the third Mission to be founded in Alta California, and was located along the very earliest routing of the Camino Real. This mission was located on a site which was unfortunately somewhat remote from the more reliable water source of what later became known as the Salinas River. In that very early year of the missions, the later more favorable routing of the Camino Real, more closely aligning with the course of the Salinas River, had not yet been discovered or established.

Father Junipero Serra claimed the site on July 14, 1771, and dedicated the Mission to Saint Anthony of Padua. Saint Anthony was born in 1195 in Lisbon, Portugal and is the patron saint of the poor. Father Serra left Fathers Miguel Pieras and Buenaventura Sitjar behind to continue the building efforts, though the construction of the church proper did not actually begin until 1810.

In 1805, the native people at the mission, mostly Northern Salinan (Antoniano) but also some Yokuts and Esselen, In 1834, after secularization there were 150 Mission Indians remaining. No town grew up around the mission, as was usual at other missions.

In 1845, Mexican Governor Pío Pico declared all mission buildings in Alta California for sale, but no one bid for Mission San Antonio. In 1863, after nearly 30 years, the Mission was returned to the Catholic Church.

Unfortunately, the earthquake of 1906 seriously damaged the building. In 1928, Franciscan friars held services at San Antonio de Padua. It took nearly 50 years to completely restore the Mission. The State of California is requiring a $12–15 million earthquake retrofit that must be completed by 2015, or the mission will be closed. As of 2011, there were 35 private families keeping the mission open. There is an active campaign to raise funds for the retrofit.

Current use of the old San Antonio Mission

Despite its being still referred to as a mission, the Mission San Antonio de Padua is no longer active in Catholic missions and has become more focused as a parish church, fundraiser location, and tourist attraction.

  • The Mission was featured by Huell Howser in Road Trip Episode 147

See also

  • The Hacienda (Milpitas Ranchhouse) – the nearby Mission Revival Style guest-ranch house [now hotel] built in 1930 by W.R. Hearst.
  • Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail
  • List of Spanish missions in California
  • List of tourist attractions in Monterey County, California
  • Mission Nuestra Señora de la Soledad – next mission located north
  • Mission San Miguel Arcángel – next mission located south
  • Spanish missions in California
  • USNS Mission San Antonio (T-AO-119), a Buenaventura-Class fleet oiler built in 1944

Further reading

References

Bibliography

Notes

  • Mission San Antonio de Padua official website
  • Fort Hunter Liggett official website
  • Monterey County Historical Society
  • Early photographs, sketches of Mission San Antonio de Padua, via Calisphere, California Digital Library
  • Early History of the California Coast, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary
  • Indigenous educators fight for an accurate history of California
  • Official U.S. National Park Service Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail website