Mission San Antonio de Padua

We drove through the mountain roads south of Monterey to find this diamond in the rough.  We found that a renovation was in full swing and thought that we might have skipped this one.  However, I had a surprise for my mom at this location.  I knew it was going to be good but had no idea how good until the end of our tour.

Mission San Antonio was the third of the missions built at the request of Fr. Serra in 1771.  If it had not been for the construction equipment, we might have thought we had traveled back in time 200 years.  Well, there were the military equipment and gated off areas surrounding it as well, since it is found within the grounds of Fort Hunter/Liggett (a military installation used for training purposes).


This mission was created by the request of the governor because he considered the area so beautiful.  He called this area "Valley of the Oaks," and I can understand why...even today the trees in the area are mainly oaks.  I can imagine it is quite beautiful during the fall months.  Fr. Serra also saw the potential of the area and upon seeing the location immediately hung his standard mission bell from an oak tree.  Days later a cross had been set up and Mass celebrated. By then local Salinan Indians had discovered the missionaries and trading began. Saint Serra stayed about two weeks then left the other priests to build the church.  One of these priests, Fr. Sitjar stayed 37 years and guided the mission development. He also developed a grammar and dictionary of the Telame Language (spoken by the local Salinan people). This book was published in 1861 in New York.

A dam was built on the San Antonio River and three miles of aqueducts and a reservoir system constructed to bring a reliable water supply to the new location. Much of the waterworks still exist.

Hearst Hacienda just around the corner

After many years of success and association with the ranches in the area, the transition of governments caused difficulties among the natives.  The mission fell into ruins under the Mexican secularization era.  In 1863, President Lincoln signed an agreement to turn all the missions back over to the Catholic Church.  It would not be until the early 1900s that a restoration of the mission would be accomplished by a group of Californians.  However, the undertaking proved to be too much and it would not fully be restored until they received assistance from William Randolph Hearst and his foundation.  Hearst would later trade his portion of the lands to the US government which created the military installation in the area.  An interesting restoration story is related to two of the bells that are currently at the mission.  They are the only American cast bells and were made by Paul Revere.  The final bell displayed at the mission was cast at the mission, which is also a unique feature.

After hearing all of this history, it seems this mission should be known as the "Little Mission that Could."  And it seems that in spite of its location, it still continues to thrive.  We were not able to walk the exterior of the mission because it continues to be renovated.  This time it is being safeguarded against future earthquake activity.  Due to this renovation, most of the mission was not available for our viewing.  However, we were able to enter the church.

The interior of the church even in its simplicity was very beautiful.  Many of the statues are originals from the mission era.
However, the best part of this mission is the story of the cat named Rosario (he has a mate named Spirit).  When I was researching the mission, I read this on their website:

"In June 2007 a little black kitten came to experience the Mission’s Annual Fiesta. What happened next could be called extraordinary, and if you believe in them...a miracle."

Since my mother loves cats so much, I knew she would be intrigued by the cat's story.  When we were about to leave, the cat approached us and my mother pet him.  Then I told her there was a story related to the cat and we should ask in the gift shop.

It seems Rosario is a special cat and here is the story we were told:

"In 2007, Rosario along with his littermates came to the Mission’s Fiesta to be adopted. Since Rosario was not adopted, it was decided that he and his brother would become the “Mission cats” where they would be socialized and greeted by all the guests. Rosario being the social butterfly thrived but at this time he was just known as the nameless cat or kitten.

"Shortly after Rosario’s arrival, a grieving family was attending a special service for a young man who had just passed away. When the mourners entered the church, the kittens scampered in. As the Mission manager tried his luck to chase these two rascals out of the church, the grieving mother of the deceased, a cat loving person suggested that the cats be allowed to remain in the church during the service.

"As the presiding priest began the service, the little black cat began strolling down the aisle as if he owned the church. The cat walked past the priest into the sanctuary. Not stopping the cat moved past the altar into the sacristy room.

"A few minutes later all eyes were on this cat as he captured everyone’s attention walking out of the sacristy room. This cat walked straight to the deceased’s mother with a rosary in his mouth, dropping them into her lap as if to say these are yours and than settled in to join the mourners for the rest of the service.

"After the service the mother and widow of the deceased came up to the Priest to return the rosary but the Priest insisted that the young woman keep them as they were not his and perhaps it was a sign from God that she was meant to have this rosary. Interesting enough the young woman explained that this rosary looked like those of her father’s, which she had been looking for prior to the service but could not find. When the priest again told her she could have the rosary, the woman replied that she wanted the cat.

"With this gesture, the cat could not leave the Mission, as he was duly the Mission cat. Soon after this cat received the name Rosario in honor of the special gift he gave to the Church and its mourner."

This seemed like a great story to end our southern mission trail.  We would spend the next couple of days in Monterey for Christmas Eve and the Feast of the Nativity.  It was nice to slow down our pace here.

SIDE NOTE:  At the beginning, I mentioned the mountain roads...well they truly were windy and hilly.  Along the way out of the area, we were able to see a lot of wildlife.  It was the end of a long drive up the coast however, and we were getting tired.  I think our biggest mistake was following this with the scenic ocean view on Hwy 1.  I had to stop several times along the way to make it home.  I do not think I would have done it this way, if we had it to do again.  For those of you who might attempt this adventure, I suggest going to this mission along with San Miguel on the way down Hwy 101.  Then the ocean view is more enjoyable for the trip heading north without the side trip.