Carmel Mission

Until the gold Rush of 1849, Monterey was the only city in California. After mid-century San Francisco became a boomtown and surpassed Monterey, although this town was still the governmental and religious center of the state.

It’s not surprising that Franciscan Father Junipero Serra made his headquarters here, even though the missions he started stretched from San Diego to San Francisco. But perhaps his favorite community was the one he founded in Carmel. It was in a sense a branch of the Royal Presidio Chapel, the main church in what was the main city in the Spanish colony of California.

We went to the Basilica of the Carmel Mission today, not because we had never been there, but because every time I come, the church and its courtyard exude a peaceful aura I always find appealing. It is never crowded. The only people there today were a few artists who were soaking in the beauty of the place and recording it on their canvases.

I was reading some of the inscriptions around the church today and was surprised by one. I had not realized that under the Pontificate of Pope Francis, in 2015 Junipero Serra had been canonized. He is now Saint Junipero Serra. He is buried in the church, and pilgrims come here from all over the Western Hemisphere to venerate his remains.

As busy as the little town of Carmel has become, the Carmel Mission, around which the town sprang up, remains a place of peace.Read more