Fourth grade is the first and last time most people learn anything about the mission period in California. In case you don’t know, the state social studies curriculum mandates that all fourth graders be able to “describe the social, political, cultural, and economic life and interactions among people of California from the pre-Columbian societies to the […]
Junipero Serra Video Clarifies Some Misconceptions
The Academy of American Franciscan History has released a new video documentary on Junipero Serra, Introducing Junipero Serra: The Newest Saint. This video does a good job of avoiding the “grand narrative,” i.e., of framing Serra and the missions as part of a struggle between good guys vs. bad guys. Instead, in Introducing Junipero Serra, we something more resembling […]
Mission Leveled by Quake, Tsunami Seen off Central Coast
Tsunamis are a fact of life in seismic California, as mission history reminds us. Dr. Dan Krieger is Professor Emeritus of History at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and a leading expert on the California missions. He relates the story of a tsunami that occurred off California’s central coast while Father Luis Gil y Taboada was stationed at […]
The Five Reasons Pope Francis Canonized Junípero Serra
Note: this is an updated version of an earlier post written at the time of Serra’s canonization. Catholics and non-Catholics alike seem to be interested in whether Junipero Serra should be declared a saint. In the previous post I gave an outline of the long process that Junipero Serra — or any other would-be saint — must undergo […]
The Seven Steps to Sainthood for Junipero Serra
When Pope Francis announced that he was going to declare sainthood for Junipero Serra during a flight to Manila in January 2015, some people took it as an impromptu decision. And while the announcement might have been made on the spur of the moment, the process that led to it was anything but. When the Catholic Church declares […]
Indian Life at the California Missions – San Miguel Arcangel
One of the things people often ask about is what life was like on the California missions, especially Indian life. Some of the most important accounts of California Indian life at the missions come from the Interrogatorio (Questionnaire) that the Spanish Government sent to the priests of the California Missions in 1813.
Books About the California Missions – Where to Start
Friends often ask me where they should begin in learning about the California missions. There are are so many books about the California missions out there — some of which I’ll review later — that it is hard to know where to start. Below are a few books that have helped me. All of these […]
California 4th Grade History Standards
For many people growing up in California, their first exposure to the mission era takes place during their 4th grade year in elementary school (not me, I was living in the Pacific Northwest during 4th grade!). As part of the state-mandated curriculum, all students in 4th grade are required to learn about people and their surroundings […]
California Mission List: Photos, Locations, Founders
Between 1769 and 1823 Spanish missionaries founded 21 missions up and down the coast of Alta California (today’s state of California). These missions were meant to continue the chain of missions extending north from the southern tip of Baja California.
California Missions Map
This map of the Alta California missions displays the 21 missions that Franciscan missionaries founded between 1769 and 1823. Each mission was established near a Native American settlement in an area that was known to provide water and land suitable for farming and ranching. Each mission was also located within the protective zone of one […]
Who Was Junípero Serra?
Junípero Serra was a Spanish priest who established the a series of missions among the native peoples of what is today California. He is considered by many to be the founding father of California and is recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church.
Organizations and Websites
There is a great deal of information about the mission era on the Internet. Not all of it is reliable or well-researched. Below are some resources which I personally believe provide solid and useful information related to the California missions, Junipero Serra and related topics. I will continue to update this page, so check back often! […]
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