Mission System

The year was 1769. A group of adventurous men from New Spain  came to this wild beautiful country .They were following the orders of their king, King Charles III of Spain.

Priests wanted to establish Catholic churches and schools. They wanted to convert the Native Americans to Roman Catholicism. Priests also wanted to help the Native Americans by making them be educated in European ways, and opened private schools. Twenty-one missions were sprung up along the El Camino Real.

There were also Soldier’s motives to establish missions in order to control and conquer. Soldiers also were there to protect the Missions and Spanish settlers. Many soldiers hoped to gain wealth.

Establishing missions did affect the people who were already living in California. Native Americans were often required to change their beliefs to Catholicism.They had to be told when to eat, sleep, wake up and pray. They were not free to come and go.

                                                                     

The Founders of The Mission

The Spanish sent more than 200 men from New Spain to start the mission chain in Alta California. Fray Junipero Serra was sent to accompany Gaspar de Portola as president of the missions.Fray Serra first founded Mission San Diego de Alcala.

  In 1772, when food supplies started to dwindled, father Junipero Serra remembered the “La Canada de Los Osos” (Valley of The Bears). This was important because when the supplies dwindled, the Spanish soldiers killed the bears and traded them for seeds. He decided to send hunters to kill the bears in order to feed the Spanish. This huge success of hunting caused Fray Serra to consider building a mission in the fertile soil of San Luis Obispo. The area was rich with water and had a mild climate, making it a good site for a mission.

Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa is located near the town of San Luis Obispo. The mission is the fifth in founding order. It was founded on September1, 1772.                                                                                    

BUILDING THE MISSION

Father Serra gave the responsibility of the mission’s construction to Jose Cavalier. Father Cavellar, five soldiers and two Christian Indians began building the mission. Local natives, the Chumash Indians, helped as well.

The Spanish built the mission by using adobe, mud, straw and water. It took about 1 year to build the mission. It was completed in 1772. There were difficulties constructing the mission. Some difficulties included shortage of food and also fires that damaged the buildings. After all of these difficulties, they built the missions roof out of clay and tile. They packed the adobe in to wooden molds and then left the bricks to dry in the sun. Once the bricks hardened, they were ready to be used to form walls.

Church exterior:  The mission’s “L” shape is different from the usual mission, which are usually long, narrow and rectangles. “L” shaped church wing is almost as large as the main building. The outside walls are made from adobe, covered with plaster, and then whitewashed. The roof is made from baked tiles which are red color.

 

In front of the church, the three original Peruvian bells are hanging. A colorful garden is planted in front of the main entrance. The garden has small fountain, a statue of Saint Francis of Assisi in a niche on a side wall and what appears to be an old kiln or beehive oven displayed in the garden.

 

Church Interior: The ceiling and floor was originally wooden. Indian Fresco’s designs decorate the lower section of the walls. There are also original Stations of the Cross paintings hang on the walls.

At the center of the “L” there is a sanctuary. The main altar is the one used from the old mission days. In the center above the main altar is the original statue of St. Louis, Bishop of Toulouse.

The patio is beside the church and behind the convent and has flower gardens. The patio has the remaining walls of original mission.

The old convento had 2 parts, Portico with its eleven columns and is now one of the most complete museums of the mission chain.

They made a fountain to wash their clothes and do laundry back when the mission was first built. If you visit the mission today, when you reach the top of the stairs hang on to the handrail and look up. Note the mission bells (named, left to right: Sorrow, Angelus [Gloria]and Joy).

                                                                          

http://missiontour.org/sanluisobispo/tour03.htm

 

                      

                                                 

                                                                                               

Life at the Mission

      Daily Life, Life at the mission was hard for the California Indians.   

•       The day began around sunrise. They headed to the church for morning Mass, morning prayers and church lessons.
•        After church came breakfast.
•        Then the Indians went to work.
•       After the morning, work ended they had lunch. They were served soup called pozole.  After lunch they took a rest and a short period of work followed in the afternoon.
•        Everyone then gathered again for Mass followed by dinner. More church instructions were held in the evenings as well as Spanish language lessons.
•        They also enjoyed dancing and singing in the Spanish tradition.
•        Other  jobs at the mission, for men and for women.
•        The Chumash men were responsible for farming, ranching, letter making, tanning, carpentry and construction. The Chumash women cooked the food, made baskets, soap and made clothing. The missionaries taught the Indians about farming, ranching , crafts and religion.
•        They prepared religious lessons, performed church services, weddings, funerals   and baptisms.

       Hardships at the mission. There were conflicts between the California Indians, the Spanish soldiers, and missionaries.
       Many of the Indians converted to Christianity and believed in the religion but some came only because of access to food and shelter. As a result, they became frustrated and unhappy. They couldn’t escape from the mission, but if they did, they were rounded up and punished in front of the others. Therefore, many natives felt they lost their freedom.

       Spanish Arrival in New Spain and in Alta California exposed the America Indians to many European diseases that they never had contact with before, for example:  chicken pox and syphilis. Poor Sanitation systems in the dorms attracted bugs and rats. Many Chumash died due to disease.

     

Important events at the mission San luis obispo

Every year, missionaries had to write a report.  It allowed historians   to understand the productivity of  each mission.
For  example, in 1832, the records show an inventory of 5422 sheep,
2500 cattle, 700 hoses and 200 mules. It was also noted that there were 763 marriages, 2268 deaths and 2644 baptisms in a 60 year span.

Many Spanish soldiers were brutal to the Indians.
Pedro Fages was in charge of soldiers in 1770. Fray Serra didn’t get along with Pedro Fages. So Serra asked the government to remove Fages as military head. He received a document stating that the missionaries could control the Indians instead of the military. At that time, this document was considered Native American Bill of Rights, which created cruelty towards them such as they had to do the hardest work, do labor in the burning tropical sun and they had to work for years doing hard labor.

Present Day

The mission was rebuilt because an earthquake destroyed the building in 1832. It was restored by Father Harnett in 1930. In 1845 governor Pio Pico sold the mission, except for the church for 510 dollars. After it was sold, mission gradually fell apart.

In 1872, the mission was in a bad shape, so the Catholic community raised money to put up a roof and add a steeple to the church. During restoration, walls were once again plastered and whitewashed. The three Peruvian bells were returned to the front of the church.

Today, the mission is used for many community programs:

In the courtyard there are different wishing wells, all with signs that say that the mission is using the money to donate to an organization called the Saint Vincent de Paul Society. The collected money is used for food, clothing, utilities, rent money and bus tickets for people who are experiencing financial problems.

The mission runs a youth group. This unique project helps kids to have better self-worth.

Also during Christmas time poor children write down their wishes and the adults grant them their wish by buying them what they want.  

 Mission San Luis Obispo also runs a Native American museum for visitors to learn about local history.

Church services are still served in the mission.

 

Map of the Mission

The diagram in this  page shows the chain of missions that the Spanish built along the coast of California.

The San Luis Obispo de Tolosa Mission is shown by star in the map.