San Jose Mission

We were thankful for the short drive to the next mission.  We were again confused by the campus near by.  However, we refocused and found the spot to this simple mission church in the rough.  It was nice to see the children running excitedly to be the first inside.  After so many missions, one might think we would be bored but we never lost our interest in viewing these missions.

Mission San Jose was one of the later missions (14th mission) built under the direction of Fr. Lasuen in 1797.  This mission was successful in its efforts but held a connection with the military for most of its active years.  This was likely due to Fr. Lasuen's efforts to have the mission approved by the governor and suggesting that it would be a good stop along the trail for the regular military transports.  This might be one of the reasons it is considered one of the most prosperous of the California missions, in spite of its simple front.  It seems that the year they began construction on the permanent structure was also the year for earthquakes.  This led to a simple yet sturdy building with a single bell tower within the roof line.  Although it was so successful, it continues to be a mission of a larger parish to this day.

This mission is known for its orchestra and choir that began with the help of Fr. Narciso Durian (He would later become the director of all the missions making this mission his headquarters.) beginning in 1821.  He created a simplified musical format to teach the natives.  One point of interest associated with his desire to have fine music...Fr. Durian deeply desired an organ for the mission.  Although he never saw this come to fruition, an organ was finally placed in the mission.  This mission continues his tradition with concerts performed throughout the year.

After an earthquake in 1868 destroyed the mission, the priest of the day chose to create a Normandy style structure.  This church building would remain at the site until 1965.  Many of the artifacts from this time period were found in the museum.  In 1965, the parish chose to return to its adobe style and found the original tiles in the basement.

When you first arrive it appears to be a simple adobe building with little to recognize it as a mission other than the wooden cross on the roof.  We entered the gift shop and museum building attached to the church.  There were many artifacts of the native culture during the mission era.

I loved how the parish decorated for Christmas with the large angels hanging from the ceiling.  It really blended with the rest of the church and I almost wondered if these angels were always part of the decor.

We then went into the small courtyard garden before entering the church.  We liked the simple beauty of this mission replica.  One area of interest was the side altar that was artfully filled with relics from various saints and a piece of the True Cross.

In most of the missions, the wooden walls were covered in plaster of some kind.  Sometimes the walls were painted to resemble marble.  A much less expensive way to have a beautiful interior taht was familiar to the homeland.  However, at San Jose mission, the artists who decorated the interior seemed to embrace the beauty of the wood, especially around the main altar.  The idea of a painted wall to resemble marble was still used and in some areas the painted walls did seem to be lifted off the canvas in a 3-dimensional view.  Although the interior had a rustic appeal, even the bunting looked realistic along the wainscoting region of the wall.

The altars were also made of wood and painted to look like marble.  These were very realistic and beautiful.  Each altar dedicated to a different saint.  However, the one that we were most drawn to was of Jesus as he must have appeared after the scouring.  This was the altar with the relics mentioned above.
 

After such a short day of touring the missions (as they were so close together), we decided we needed to find a couple of caches.  We had a cache that we had hoped to find the day we picked up my mom, and Michael reminded us of it as we were making our way to the hotel.  Imagine our surprise when we arrived to find Fr. Serra there to guide us further north!  We had actually seen the model for this statue at San Carlos and hoped we would find it.  Once again...geocaching led us on our journey!  Could it be that God was helping us choose our caches to make our trip even better?

20+ feet high...hard to miss!