Why was Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo built in Carmel?
3 min read
Asked by: Amber Meyer
In August of 1771, Father Serra moved the mission to nearby Carmel because it offered better agricultural land and a safer political environment for the growing mission. In this new location, the mission thrived. It was closer to fresh water and land more suitable for growing crops.
Why was San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo built?
Serra wanted to put some distance between the mission’s neophytes and Fages’ soldiers. Serra found that the land at the mouth of Carmel Valley where the Carmel River (named Río del Carmelo by Vizcaíno in 1603) runs into Carmel Bay was better suited for farming.
What is unique about the Carmel Mission?
The design is unique: The walls curve inward, and the ceiling follows the curve to form an arch. Mission Carmel is one of only three California missions built of stone, made from native sandstone quarried in the nearby Santa Lucia Mountains.
When was the Carmel Mission built?
1770
The Carmel Mission, also referred to as Carmel Mission Basilica, was founded by Fr. Junipero Serra in 1770, making it the second of the 21 California missions.
What does the Mission Carmel mean?
San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo (Mission Carmel) is a former Spanish mission in Carmel, California. It was the second of California’s 21 missions. San Carlos Borromeo was named after Saint Charles Borromeo, an Italian church official who lived in the 1500s.
Who founded the Carmel Mission?
Father Junipero Serra
The restored Carmel Mission, a National Historic Landmark, was founded in 1770 by Father Junipero Serra, the second of the chain of California missions. The mission served as the headquarters from which Serra directed the expanding mission system of California.
How old is the Carmel Mission?
Father Serra founded Carmel Mission on June 3, 1770, at the Presidio of Monterey, as the second mission in California. In December 1771, he relocated it at the present site, 3 miles south of Monterey, to remove his Indian neophytes from the corrupting influence of the presidial garrison.
Who built Mission San Carlos?
Junípero Serra
Mission San Carlos Borromeo, second of the 21 California’s 21 coastal missions, was founded on June 3, 1770 by Junípero Serra. The original location was at the Royal Presidio of Monterey, located “two gunshots from the beach” and adjacent to Lake El Estero in Monterey.
What was Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo made of?
sandstone
The splendid stone church is made of native sandstone, quarried from the nearby Santa Lucia Mountains, and is built on the site of the first adobe chapel.
Was San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo destroyed?
The Mission’s church is built from locally quarried stone, though the original roof, destroyed in the 1800s, is a historically accurate restoration from 1936.
