Address
406 Second Street
Old Mission San Juan Bautista
San Juan Bautista, CA 95045
United States
San Juan Bautista
General Information
Founded:
June 24, 1797 - The 15th California Mission
Also Called:
La Misión del Glorioso Precursor de Jesu Cristro, Nuestro Señor San Juan Bautista (The Mission of the Glorious Precursor of Jesus Christ, Our Lord San Juan Bautista)
Current Status:
An active Roman Catholic Church since 1797, now under the Roman Catholic Diocese of Monterey. The existing adobe church has seen continuous use since 1812.
Summary:
San Juan Bautista was founded on June 24, 1797. This mission sits on the edge of the only remaining Spanish Plaza in California. Mission San Juan Bautista’s historic church (built in 1812), well-landscaped grounds and setting, offer a unique opportunity to see and appreciate the California of two centuries ago.
Directions
Reached from Highway 101 or Highway 5. Detailed directions are available on the mission website.
This historic and exceptionally well-restored mission sits on the edge of the only remaining Spanish Plaza left in California. Visitor entry is through a picturesque colonnade.
Website(s)
Phone(s)
831-623-4528 - Gift Shop
831-623-2127 - Parish Office
Fees, Hours, Tours and Church Services
Please contact the mission directly by telephone or by visiting the mission website for the most current information regarding tours and church services.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, it is best to check for current information.
Weddings and Other Special Services
San Juan Bautista is a particularly popular wedding location and arrangements must be made at least six months in advance. As is the policy at all of the missions which are Catholic Churches, at least one member of the couple must be a baptized Catholic. Extensive marriage guidelines for San Juan Bautista are available on the mission website.
Guidelines for the Baptism sacrament can also be found on the mission website.
Special Events
Many of the California missions (including San Juan Bautista) were sited so that the sun rays from the winter and summer solstice illuminated the interior of the church. For details, visit the Solstice Chronicles website. Dr. Ruben Mendoza's article "New Light on the California Missions" is an illuminating description of this special event.
Unique Attractions
- San Juan Bautista is a particularly picturesque well-landscaped mission. The mission is located on the only original Spanish Plaza left in California.
- The church, dedicated on June 23, 1812, has a two-tiered companario added during a 1976 restoration.
- When you visit the church pay attention to the main altar reredos which were painted (and probably constructed) in 1818 by an Anglo-American carpenter named Thomas Doak. The pulpit, installed between 1812-1813, has a sounding board mounted overhead.
- The inner courtyard has inviting gardens, several important displays, and an area for picnicking.
- The museum rooms offer some of the best displays you will find in the mission chain. Be sure to visit the room dedicated to the Indians of the area (the Mutsons and subsequently the Yokuts in the 1820's).
Other Historic Attractions
The Town of San Juan Bautista offers the best opportunity to see and appreciate 19th century California. There are about thirty (30) historic buildings in the 12-block area surrounding the Plaza. These are part of the San Juan Bautista State Park. You will find lots of information about the park by visiting the CA Department of Parks and Recreation website.
Tips for Visitors
This is a mission where you can spend more than several hours visiting the well-restored mission as well as the grounds and adjacent historic state park that offer additional "must see" attractions.
- A statue of Saint John the Baptist Greeting the Sunrise located on the mission grounds honors the Saint for whom the mission is named.
- You can see part of the original El Camino Real (the Kings Road) just beyond the walls of the mission cemetery.
- Stay alert for the mission "rooster".
- Be sure to visit the mission's original adobe monjerío (nunnery) renamed Plaza Hall as well as the former cuartel (Soldiers' barracks) retrofitted by Angelo Zanetta in 1858 as the Plaza Hotel.
Year Secularized
1835
Year Returned to Catholic Church
1859, by U.S. President James Buchanan
Patron Saint (Named For)
St. John the Baptist
Prominent Missionary Leaders
- Founding Father President - Fr. Fermin Francisco de Lasuén
- Founding Missionaries - Fr. Pedro Martínez and Fr. José Martiarena
- Prominent Missionary Leader - Fr. Felipe del Arroyo de la Cuesta served as head padre for 25 years. He was a self-sacrificing missionary, inspired leader, scholar, linguist, ingenious inventor, clock maker, and a talented singer and composer with a cheerful, witty, and engaging personality. His many contributions, made despite a crippling long-term illness, have been described as nothing less than heroic.
Indians Joining Mission
The mission was founded near the village of Popeloutchom in the land of the Mutsun tribelet of the Coastanoan people. Its location, at the crossroads of El Camino Real (Royal Road) and El Camino Viejo (Old Road) at Pacheco Pass, drew Yokuts to the mission in significant numbers in the 1820's.
The Amah Mutsun, descendants of the San Juaneros or mission neophytes, have engaged in a decades-long struggle for Federal recognition of their tribal status.
Mission Site
Located on the main plaza in the town that developed around the mission, about 90 miles southeast of San Francisco.
Mission Layout
Traditional quadrangle. The mission vineyard was one mile southeast of the Church.
Water Source
Ample water was channeled from El Rio de Pájaro to the mission and its orchards, vineyards, gardens and fulling mill (1818) via a system of zanjas or earthen canals. A deep pozo, or rock-lined well, was the primary source of drinking water.
Population
Highest recorded population was 1,248 in 1823.
Livestock
In 1832 the mission reported a livestock herd of 6,000 cattle, 6,004 sheep, 20 swine, 296 horses, and 13 mules on its various ranches. Some 50 head of cattle were slaughtered weekly in order to feed the mission community.
Agricultural Output
Total agricultural output between 1798 and 1832 was over 90,000 bushels of wheat, barley, corn, beans, and peas.
Mission Church
The present church was dedicated on June 23, 1812 and replaced the much smaller adobe chapel of 1979-1798 built by Ygnacio Barrera, Second Carpenter of the frigate Concepción.
In 1818 Anglo-American carpenter Felipe Santiago (Thomas Doak), the earliest American settler in California, painted (and very likely constructed) the main altar reredos after a design by Fr. Estévan Tapis.
Mission Bells
The church did not include a bell tower in the mission era. Two bells were hung from a wooden bell rack.
A two-tiered companario with three bell openings was added during a 1976 restoration. One of the bells is original.
Mission Art and Artifacts
The 1818 main altar reredos (altar screen) and bultos (sculptures of saints) remain largely unrestored.
The church ambo or pulpit, which has a sounding board mounted overhead, was installed between 1812-1813.
In 1820 the church acquired the largest and most complete collection of apostolate paintings in the mission chain.
Interesting Facts
- San Juan Bautista had a renowned Indian Boys choir developed by Fr. Estévan Tapis who retired to this mission after serving nine (9) years as Father-President.
- You can see part of the original El Camino Real (Royal Road) just beyond the walls of the mission cemetery. The road is situated atop an escarpment of the great rift of the San Andreas Fault.
- Each December 21st and/or 22nd, the mission church is open to the public for the annual midwinter solstice illumination of the main altar. Check the mission website for exact times.
- This mission was the setting for Alfred Hitchcock's 1957 production of the movie Vertigo starring James Stewart, Kim Novak, and Barbara Bel Geddes.
For Additional Information
- Draper, A.S. (2000). Mission of San Juan Bautista.
(PowerKids Press series on the Missions of California). - Clough, C.W. (1995). San Juan Bautista: The Town, the Mission and the Park. Word Dancer Press.
- Engelhardt, Fr. Zephrin, Mission San Juan Bautista: A School of Church Music, Santa Barbara, California: 1931. The definitive early history of the mission.
Historical Gallery
San Juan Bautista offers the best opportunity to see and appreciate the California of 160 years ago. The well-preserved mission founded on June 24, 1797 is picturesque. There are about 30 historic buildings in the 12-block area surrounding a Spanish Plaza (the only one remaining in California).
This Historical Image Gallery displays a number of drawings and paintings made of San Juan Bautista in 19th and early 20th centuries.
Contemporary Gallery
The Contemporary Image Gallery displays photographs of the mission taken during several visits by the Executive Director of the California Missions Resource Center.
Architectural Gallery
