Ultimate Guide to Visiting Carmel Mission

The Carmel Mission was the second Spanish mission built in California, founded June 30, 1770, by Father Junipero Serra. Its full name, Mission San Carlos de Borromeo de Carmelo is for Saint Charles Borromeo, the Bishop of Milan who died in 1538.

Father Junipero Serra is its founder. It also has unique architecture, with stone walls and an arched ceiling.

2. Carmel Mission Timeline

The mission was founded in 1770 and moved to the Carmel River in 1771. It was secularized in 1834 and returned to the Catholic Church in 1859.​

3. 1770 to the Present Day

When the Spanish decided to build a second California mission near the Monterey Bay, Father Junipero Serra left San Diego to go there by ship. However, at the same time, Governor Portola traveled by land. It took them each more than a month to travel about 400 miles, and Father Serra arrived about a week after Portola.

Two days after he arrived, on June 3, 1770, Father Serra founded the Carmel Mission, which was originally located at the Monterey Presidio.

4. Early Years

Portola left soon after the missions’ founding. He left Lieutenant Fages in charge. Fages started to interfere with Carmel Mission. Within a year, Father Serra decided to move the mission to a spot on the Carmel River that had better soil and water and was further away from the soldiers.

In the summer of 1771, the first buildings were started, using 40 Indians from the south, 3 soldiers, and 5 sailors for labor. The first winter was very hard. They arrived too late to plant crops. Consequently, no ships could get there because of ocean storms. Eventually, some soldiers went south toward present-day San Luis Obispo and killed some bears. They also harvested wild seeds along the way. In all, they carried enough food back to keep the people from starvation.

Father Serra went along with the bear hunters. On the trip, he persuaded a sea captain to carry supplies back to the mission, but he did not return. Instead, he went to Mexico and was gone for a year and a half. While he was away, Father Palou took over.

5. 1780-1800

In 1783, records show the mission had 165 converts, and there were 700 people living at Carmel Mission and on its ranch. They built an irrigation canal from the river to a pool nearby, where they kept fish. The Fathers trained the Indians to do farm and ranch work, blacksmithing and carpentry, and how to make adobe bricks, roof tiles, and tools.

Supplies ran low again in early 177. Many people almost died. However, that fall, things improved when they harvested 207 bushels of wheat, 250 bushels of corn, and 45 bushels of beans. By 1774, the harvest was four times larger. Moreover, around the same time, Don Juan Bautista de Anza established an inland route and started bringing supplies by land, so the settlers did not have to depend on ships.

Father Serra came back to Carmel in 1774. He moved into a small building next to Carmel Mission and managed mission affairs from there until he died on August 28, 1784, at age 70. He was buried next to Father Crespi, who died in 1782.

Fathers Palou and Lasuen succeeded Serra as Presidente of the Missions, and both of them made Carmel their headquarters.

By 1794, the Indian neophyte population reached 927. A new stone church was started in 1793 and finished in 1797.

6. 1800-1830s

Father Lasuen died in 1803 and was buried in the church next to Fathers Crespi and Serra.

During its 66-year history, Carmel Mission made 4,000 converts, but by 1823, the population had begun to decline, with only 381 remaining. In 1833, Father Jose Real took charge.

7. Secularization

The next year, 1834, Mexico secularized the missions due to financial constraints following Mexico’s independence from Spain. Consequently, the Mexican government sold the land around the church, right up to its walls. Father Real moved to Monterey and held services at Carmel Mission only occasionally.

The United States government returned the land to the church in 1859. By then, the roof had collapsed, and it remained in ruins for 30 years.

8. In the 20th Century

The church restoration began in the 1930s by Harry Downie. Initially, Downie aimed to repair some of the statues but grew interested in renovating the entire building. With support from Father Michael O’Connell, the pastor after 1933, he restored the church and surrounding buildings.

Carmel Mission became a parish church in 1933 and was designated a minor basilica by Pope John XXIII in 1961. Currently, it operates as an active parish church featuring regular services and a school.

9. Mission Carmel Layout, Floor Plan, Buildings, and Grounds

Construction at the current mission site began in 1771 after Father Serra moved the mission away from the Presidio in Monterey. He personally oversaw the construction.

There were plenty of trees around Carmel Mission. The first buildings (except the church) were made of logs stuck in the ground and standing vertically, with more logs across the top, covered with sticks and grass to create a roof. The initial church was a brush hut, and all the buildings were surrounded by a pole fence.

Father Palou built the next church at Carmel Mission using logs and tule reeds, finishing it by 1776 along with the fathers’ quarters made of adobe and a separate kitchen.

After Father Serra died in 1784, Father Lasuen decided to build a new stone church in 1793. Since Fathers Serra and Crespi were buried in the old church, they opted to construct the new church in the same location.

A master brick-layer from Mexico, named Manuel Ruiz, supervised the construction, and the church was completed in 1797. The unique design features walls that curve inward, with the ceiling following 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.

A burial chapel was added to the church in 1821.

Following secularization, the mission roof collapsed in 1851, leaving the building roofless for thirty years. In 1884, Father Angelo Casanova, the pastor at Monterey, raised funds to repair the church for the one-hundredth anniversary of Father Serra’s death. They constructed a wood-and-shingle rooftop on the church, featuring a high peak that gave the building an unusual appearance.

Harry Downie began repairing broken statues at the mission but became so invested in the old building that he initiated renovations in 1931. By 1936, a roof resembling the original was constructed.

In 1939, Downie discovered the remains of the original cross buried in the patio. He created a replica and placed it in the same location. His restoration efforts were supported by Father Michael O’Connell, who became pastor of Carmel Mission after 1933, and the complete restoration took fifty years.

10. Mission Carmel Cattle Brand

Every California mission raised cattle, each having its own unique brand. The image above illustrates the Carmel Mission’s cattle brand, which is derived from samples on display at Mission San Francisco Solano and Mission San Antonio.

11. Mission Carmel Bells

Because it was also the headquarters of Father Serra, the building’s design was more elaborate than other missions, featuring two bell towers — one containing two bells and the larger one with nine bells.

This particular bell, named Ave Maria, was cast in Mexico City in 1807 and installed at the mission in 1820. After the mission was secularized, local Indians took down the bell and hid it in the cathedral at Watsonville.

For many years, people forgot about it, but it was rediscovered and returned to the mission in 1925. Although this bell is cracked and does not ring properly, a copy was made and hung back in the tower in 2010.

12. Ceiling Decoration

Many of the Spanish missions feature decorations like this on their ceilings; however, the crystal chandelier is a unique addition.

13. Cemetery

The Catholic priests and fathers were buried inside the church, while the Indians who died were buried outside. It was customary for the graves of the Christian Indians to have a simple wooden cross above them, similar to these.

14. Exterior Buttresses and Windows

From outside, it’s easy to see how thick the adobe walls are, strengthened with sections called buttresses that are even thicker.

15. California’s First Library

According to a sign posted outside the door, California’s first library was created at Mission Carmel, utilizing books brought north from Mexico City’s San Fernando Apostolic College. By 1778, the library had about 30 books; however, by 1784 it grew to include more than 300 volumes. Today, it holds around 600 volumes.

16. Priest’s Bedroom

This room is set up to resemble how it might have looked around 1810. By that time, European furniture had started reaching the U.S., and local cabinetmakers produced items like the bed. The chest of drawers was brought from Boston, transported by ship that had to navigate around South America.

17. Reception Room

This room, referred to as the Grand Sala, served as a formal reception area for important visitors. Although the current layout is not in its original location, it is furnished with numerous original pieces, and the flooring is authentic.

18. Father Serra’s Room

Father Junipero Serra, often called the Father of the California Missions, lived in this modest room and passed away here in 1784.

According to a sign beside the door, this space was rebuilt using original materials salvaged from around the old mission. The bed was recreated based on a description provided by Francisco Palou: “His bed consisted of some roughhewn board, covered by a blanket serving more as a covering than an aid for rest for he never used even a sheepskin cover, as was customary.”