Santa Ines Mission

We then entered into the small historical town of Solvang, which is quite different as it is influenced by its Danish roots.  It is like stepping into a story book, in fact one of its parks is dedicated to Hans Christian Andersen.  It would be easy to get distracted in this town, but we were on a mission to go to the mission.  We moved our way past the town and on to Santa Ines Mission.

This mission was the dedicated to St. Agnes of Rome, a youthful martyr of the 4th century, in 1804.  It is the 19th of the missions under the direction of Fr. Estevan Tapis.  It has been under the direction of the Capuchin Franciscans since 1924.  This mission had a full size gristmill and fulling mill in its prime.  It is also known for being the first seminary and college in California.  Our Lady of Refuge was built in 1844.

In 1824, the Mission was witness to an uprising of the Native Americans.  The natives were unhappy at the their treatment by the Spanish soldiers who had essentially been abandoned at the missions since Mexico had won its independence in 1821.  Tensions came to a head when a Spanish soldier flogged a neophyte from Mission la Purisima.  The mission padres were caught in between the two sides.  When the mission church at Santa Ines caught fire, the Indians stopped the fighting to put out the fire, and then retreated to la Purisima, where they held out for a month until reinforcements for the soldiers arrived from Monterey.

The church that remains today, is essentially the same as the church that was repaired after the fighting.  The colors used in the paintings are the native vegetable dyes, and the floor tiles are all original.  It is believed that the statue of St. Agnes that forms the centerpiece of the altar was the work of one of the native converts.

In the garden is a statue of one of our favorite stories of St. Francis, the Wolf of Gubbio.