Mission San Antonio de Pala
Encyclopedia
The San Antonio de Pala Asistencia, or the "Pala Mission", was founded on June 13, 1816 as an asistencia ("sub-mission") to Mission San Luis Rey de Francia
, some twenty miles inland upstream from the mission on the San Luis Rey River
. It was part of the Spanish missions
, asistencias, and estancias system in Las Californias
—Alta California
. Today it is located in the Pala Indian Reservation
located in northern San Diego County, with official name is now Mission San Antonio de Pala. It is the only historic mission facility still serving a Mission Indian
tribe.
Pala (a derivation of the native term Pale, meaning water) was essentially a small rancho surrounded by large fields and herds. The Pala site had been noted by Father Juan Mariner and Captain Juan Pablo Grijalva on an exploratory trip in 1795, when they went up the San Diego River
, and then through Sycamore Canyon
to the Santa Maria Valley (or Pamó Valley) and into what they named El Valle de San José, now known as Warner Springs
. Once Mission San Luis Rey began to prosper, its existence attracted the attention of large number of mountain Native Americans
, called the Luiseño by the Spanish
.
complex that was constructed at the spot in 1810. The chapel has interior wall surfaces featured paintings by native artists, originally measured 144 by 27 feet. Workers went into the Palomar Mountains
and cut down cedar trees for use as roof beams. Pala is unique among all of the Franciscan
missions
in that it boasts the only completely freestanding campanile
, or "bell tower
," in all of Alta California
. By 1820, some 1,300 baptism
s had been performed at the outpost. Folk tales about the mission all include mention of a prickly pear cactus, a symbol of Christian victory, that grew up at the foot of the cross.
passed An Act for the Secularization of the Missions of California on August 17, 1833 (the Act was ratified in 1834). Father Buenaventura Fortuna surrendered Mission San Luis Rey and all its holdings, including Las Flores Estancia and the Pala Asistencia, to government comisianados (commissioners) Pío Pico
and Pablo de la Portillà
on August 22, 1835; the assessed value of "Rancho de Pala" was $15,363.25. Fearful of the impending conquest of Alta California by the United States
, Pico sold off all of the holdings (including Pala) to Antonio J. Cot and José A. Pico on May 18, 1846 for $2,000 in silver and $437.50 in wheat (the sale was later declared invalid by the U.S. Government). Through the years, priests from San Luis Rey continued to visit Pala and conduct baptisms, marriages, and worship services.
, causing the rook over the church sanctuary
to collapse. In 1902, a group calling itself the "Landmarks Club of Southern California", under the direction of American journalist, historian, and photographer Charles Fletcher Lummis
, purchased Pala Mission. The following year, the Club returned ownership to the Catholic Church and "...saved the Chapel and a few rooms from complete ruin with a timely work of partial restoration...".
Pala is alone among the California missions in that it that has ministered without interruption to the Mission Indians
for whom it was originally built since its inception. It is also the only sub-mission (Asistencia) still intact. The traditional Corpus Christi Fiesta
has been celebrated every year since its founding. Though it lacked a resident priest, Pala nonetheless served as the "mother" mission to chapels in Cahuilla, La Jolla, Pauma, Pichanga, Rincon, Santa Rosa, and Temecula. On August 9, 1942 MGM motion picture actress Ruth Hussey
was wed at Pala Mission. In 1948 the Verona Fathers (Sons of the Sacred Heart) succeeded the Franciscan
s in the care of the Mission. Six years later, the fathers undertook a complete restoration of the Mission. In May, 1991 administration of the Mission reverted to the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego
, and since June of 1996 the Barnabite Fathers
have held charge over the Mission's affairs.
Bell
s were vitally important to daily life at any mission. The bells were rung at mealtimes, to call the Mission residents to work, religious services, birth and funeral ceremonies, and to signal the approach of a ship or returning Spaniard, and other occasions. Novices were instructed in the specific rituals for ringing the mission bells. Pala's bells are the same ones used since 1916. American academician, architect, and author Rexford Newcomb
published design studies of the original bell tower
in his 1916 work The Franciscan Mission Architecture of Alta California. Ironically, the structure was completely destroyed by torrential rains later that same year; a precise replica was erected immediately thereafter and today stands in its place. The structure measures some 35 feet above the base (which itself is 15 feet off the ground) and supports two bells, each hanging from a rawhide tether.
The large bell, set in the lower embrasure
, bears inscriptions in Latin and Spanish as follows (translated into English):
The smaller bell, mounted in the upper opening, reads (in Latin):
Mission San Luis Rey de Francia
Mission San Luis Rey de Francia, also known as Mission San Luis Rey or San Luis Rey Mission Church, was founded on June 13, 1798 in coastal Las Californias, in the present day U.S. city of Oceanside in California. The local Quechnajuichom Native American tribe became known as the Luiseño 'Mission...
, some twenty miles inland upstream from the mission on the San Luis Rey River
San Luis Rey River
The San Luis Rey River is a river in northern San Diego County, California. The river's headwaters are in the Cleveland National Forest near Palomar Mountain. The river drains into the Pacific Ocean on the northern end of the city of Oceanside. The river is over long and drains...
. It was part of the Spanish missions
Spanish missions in California
The Spanish missions in California comprise a series of religious and military outposts established by Spanish Catholics of the Franciscan Order between 1769 and 1823 to spread the Christian faith among the local Native Americans. The missions represented the first major effort by Europeans to...
, asistencias, and estancias system in Las Californias
Las Californias
The Californias, or in — - was the name given by the Spanish to their northwestern territory of New Spain, comprising the present day states of Baja California and Baja California Sur on the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico; and the present day U.S. state of California in the United States of...
—Alta California
Alta California
Alta California was a province and territory in the Viceroyalty of New Spain and later a territory and department in independent Mexico. The territory was created in 1769 out of the northern part of the former province of Las Californias, and consisted of the modern American states of California,...
. Today it is located in the Pala Indian Reservation
Pala Indian Reservation
The Pala Indian Reservation is located in the middle San Luis Rey River Valley in northern San Diego County, California, east of the community of Fallbrook, and has been assigned feature ID 272502. Historic variant names used to describe the area include Mission Indian Reservation and Mission...
located in northern San Diego County, with official name is now Mission San Antonio de Pala. It is the only historic mission facility still serving a Mission Indian
Mission Indians
Mission Indians is a term for many Native California tribes, primarily living in coastal plains, adjacent inland valleys and mountains, and on the Channel Islands in central and southern California, United States. The tribes had established comparatively peaceful cultures varying from 250 to 8,000...
tribe.
Pala (a derivation of the native term Pale, meaning water) was essentially a small rancho surrounded by large fields and herds. The Pala site had been noted by Father Juan Mariner and Captain Juan Pablo Grijalva on an exploratory trip in 1795, when they went up the San Diego River
San Diego River
The San Diego River is a river in San Diego County, California. It originates in the Cuyamaca Mountains northwest of the town of Julian, then flows to the southwest until it reaches the El Capitan Reservoir, the largest reservoir in the river's watershed at . Below El Capitan Dam, the river runs...
, and then through Sycamore Canyon
Sycamore Canyon
Sycamore Canyon is the second largest canyon in the Arizona redrock country, after Oak Creek Canyon. The long scenic canyon reaches a maximum width of about and is located in North Central Arizona below the Mogollon Rim west and northwest of Sedona. Located within three different U.S...
to the Santa Maria Valley (or Pamó Valley) and into what they named El Valle de San José, now known as Warner Springs
Warner Springs, California
Warner Springs is a small unincorporated community in northern San Diego County, California. It is associated with two National Historic Landmarks, the Oak Grove Butterfield Stage Station and Warner's Ranch, both connected to the Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach line. It is also near the...
. Once Mission San Luis Rey began to prosper, its existence attracted the attention of large number of mountain Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
, called the Luiseño by the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
Spanish era
The site for the Pala Mission was selected because it already was a traditional gathering place and village for the Native American residents. Father Peyrí oversaw the addition of a chapel and housing to the granaryGranary
A granary is a storehouse for threshed grain or animal feed. In ancient or primitive granaries, pottery is the most common use of storage in these buildings. Granaries are often built above the ground to keep the stored food away from mice and other animals.-Early origins:From ancient times grain...
complex that was constructed at the spot in 1810. The chapel has interior wall surfaces featured paintings by native artists, originally measured 144 by 27 feet. Workers went into the Palomar Mountains
Palomar Mountain Range
The Palomar Mountain Range is a high Peninsular mountain range in northern San Diego County of Southern California. The name, which means pigeon roost in Spanish, was given to it due to the prevalence of Band-tailed Pigeons....
and cut down cedar trees for use as roof beams. Pala is unique among all of the Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
missions
Mission (Christian)
Christian missionary activities often involve sending individuals and groups , to foreign countries and to places in their own homeland. This has frequently involved not only evangelization , but also humanitarian work, especially among the poor and disadvantaged...
in that it boasts the only completely freestanding campanile
Campanile
Campanile is an Italian word meaning "bell tower" . The term applies to bell towers which are either part of a larger building or free-standing, although in American English, the latter meaning has become prevalent.The most famous campanile is probably the Leaning Tower of Pisa...
, or "bell tower
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
," in all of Alta California
Alta California
Alta California was a province and territory in the Viceroyalty of New Spain and later a territory and department in independent Mexico. The territory was created in 1769 out of the northern part of the former province of Las Californias, and consisted of the modern American states of California,...
. By 1820, some 1,300 baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
s had been performed at the outpost. Folk tales about the mission all include mention of a prickly pear cactus, a symbol of Christian victory, that grew up at the foot of the cross.
Mexican era
The Mexican CongressCongress of Mexico
The Congress of the Union is the legislative branch of the Mexican government...
passed An Act for the Secularization of the Missions of California on August 17, 1833 (the Act was ratified in 1834). Father Buenaventura Fortuna surrendered Mission San Luis Rey and all its holdings, including Las Flores Estancia and the Pala Asistencia, to government comisianados (commissioners) Pío Pico
Pío Pico
Pío de Jesús Pico was the last Governor of Alta California under Mexican rule.-Origins:...
and Pablo de la Portillà
Pablo de la Portillà
Pablo de la Portillà was a soldier and pioneer in nineteenth-century California.Capt. Portillà served in the frontier Spanish army.He arrived in 1819 with his troops on the Cossack from Mazatlán, Mexico....
on August 22, 1835; the assessed value of "Rancho de Pala" was $15,363.25. Fearful of the impending conquest of Alta California by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Pico sold off all of the holdings (including Pala) to Antonio J. Cot and José A. Pico on May 18, 1846 for $2,000 in silver and $437.50 in wheat (the sale was later declared invalid by the U.S. Government). Through the years, priests from San Luis Rey continued to visit Pala and conduct baptisms, marriages, and worship services.
Modern era
On Christmas Day, 1899 the San Jacinto Earthquake shook the Pala ValleyPala, California
Pala is a small, mostly Native American, community located in San Diego County, California near Fallbrook. It is east of Carlsbad in the San Diego-Carlsbad metro area. In the National Geographic Names Database it is officially catalogued as feature number 1661174...
, causing the rook over the church sanctuary
Sanctuary
A sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...
to collapse. In 1902, a group calling itself the "Landmarks Club of Southern California", under the direction of American journalist, historian, and photographer Charles Fletcher Lummis
Charles Fletcher Lummis
Charles Fletcher Lummis was a United States journalist and Indian activist; he is also acclaimed as a historian, photographer, poet and librarian....
, purchased Pala Mission. The following year, the Club returned ownership to the Catholic Church and "...saved the Chapel and a few rooms from complete ruin with a timely work of partial restoration...".
Pala is alone among the California missions in that it that has ministered without interruption to the Mission Indians
Mission Indians
Mission Indians is a term for many Native California tribes, primarily living in coastal plains, adjacent inland valleys and mountains, and on the Channel Islands in central and southern California, United States. The tribes had established comparatively peaceful cultures varying from 250 to 8,000...
for whom it was originally built since its inception. It is also the only sub-mission (Asistencia) still intact. The traditional Corpus Christi Fiesta
Corpus Christi (feast)
Corpus Christi is a Latin Rite solemnity, now designated the solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ . It is also celebrated in some Anglican, Lutheran and Old Catholic Churches. Like Trinity Sunday and the Solemnity of Christ the King, it does not commemorate a particular event in...
has been celebrated every year since its founding. Though it lacked a resident priest, Pala nonetheless served as the "mother" mission to chapels in Cahuilla, La Jolla, Pauma, Pichanga, Rincon, Santa Rosa, and Temecula. On August 9, 1942 MGM motion picture actress Ruth Hussey
Ruth Hussey
Ruth Carol Hussey was an American actress best known for her Academy Award-nominated role as photographer Elizabeth Imbrie in The Philadelphia Story.-Early life:...
was wed at Pala Mission. In 1948 the Verona Fathers (Sons of the Sacred Heart) succeeded the Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
s in the care of the Mission. Six years later, the fathers undertook a complete restoration of the Mission. In May, 1991 administration of the Mission reverted to the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego
Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego
The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego is a particular church of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in the western region of the United States. Its ecclesiastic territory includes all of San Diego and Imperial Counties in Southern California, with a Catholic population of 1,981,057...
, and since June of 1996 the Barnabite Fathers
Barnabites
The Barnabites, or Clerics Regular of Saint Paul is a Roman Catholic order.-Establishment of the Order :It was founded in 1530 by three Italian noblemen: St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria The Barnabites, or Clerics Regular of Saint Paul (Latin: Clerici Regulares Sancti Pauli, abbr. B.) is a Roman Catholic...
have held charge over the Mission's affairs.
Mission bells
Bell (instrument)
A bell is a simple sound-making device. The bell is a percussion instrument and an idiophone. Its form is usually a hollow, cup-shaped object, which resonates upon being struck...
s were vitally important to daily life at any mission. The bells were rung at mealtimes, to call the Mission residents to work, religious services, birth and funeral ceremonies, and to signal the approach of a ship or returning Spaniard, and other occasions. Novices were instructed in the specific rituals for ringing the mission bells. Pala's bells are the same ones used since 1916. American academician, architect, and author Rexford Newcomb
Rexford Newcomb
Rexford G. Newcomb was an American academician, architect, and author.-Published works:*Mediterranean Domestic Architecture for the United States, Acanthus Press, October 1999...
published design studies of the original bell tower
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
in his 1916 work The Franciscan Mission Architecture of Alta California. Ironically, the structure was completely destroyed by torrential rains later that same year; a precise replica was erected immediately thereafter and today stands in its place. The structure measures some 35 feet above the base (which itself is 15 feet off the ground) and supports two bells, each hanging from a rawhide tether.
The large bell, set in the lower embrasure
Embrasure
In military architecture, an embrasure is the opening in a crenellation or battlement between the two raised solid portions or merlons, sometimes called a crenel or crenelle...
, bears inscriptions in Latin and Spanish as follows (translated into English):
- "Jesus, Redemptor of Mankind [IHR] Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, Have Mercy on us. Year of our Lord 1816" (upper band);
- "Cervantes made us." (middle band); and
- "[In honor of] Our Seraphic Father, Francis of Assisi, San Luis King, Saint Clara, Saint Eulalia, Our Light" (lower band).
The smaller bell, mounted in the upper opening, reads (in Latin):
- "Jesus + Maria" (upper band); and
- "Santus Deis, Santus Fortus, Santus Immortalis" and "Micerere nobis" (lower band).
See also
- Mission San Luis Rey de FranciaMission San Luis Rey de FranciaMission San Luis Rey de Francia, also known as Mission San Luis Rey or San Luis Rey Mission Church, was founded on June 13, 1798 in coastal Las Californias, in the present day U.S. city of Oceanside in California. The local Quechnajuichom Native American tribe became known as the Luiseño 'Mission...
- Las Flores Estancia
- Luiseño—Mission IndiansMission IndiansMission Indians is a term for many Native California tribes, primarily living in coastal plains, adjacent inland valleys and mountains, and on the Channel Islands in central and southern California, United States. The tribes had established comparatively peaceful cultures varying from 250 to 8,000...
- California mission clash of culturesCalifornia mission clash of culturesThe California mission clash of cultures occurred at the Spanish Missions in California during the Spanish Las Californias-New Spain and Mexican Alta California eras of control, with lasting consequences after American statehood...
- USNS Mission De Pala (AO-114)USNS Mission De Pala (AO-114)SS Mission De Pala was a Type T2-SE-A2 tanker built for the United States Maritime Commission during World War II. After the war she was acquired by the United States Navy as USS Mission De Pala . Later the tanker transferred to the Military Sea Transportation Service as USNS Mission De Pala ...
— a Mission Buenaventura Class fleet oiler built during World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.