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Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo

The façade of the capilla (chapel) at Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo.
Location	Carmel-by-the-Sea, California
Name as Founded	La Misión San Carlos Borromeo del Río Carmelo [1]
Patron	Saint Charles Borromeo
Nickname(s)	"Father of the Alta California Missions" [2]
Founding Date	June 3, 1770 [3]
Founding Priest(s)	Father Presidente Junípero Serra [4]
Founding Order	Second
Headquarters of the Alta California Mission System	1771–1815; 1819–1824; 1827–1830 [5]
Military District	Third
Native Tribe(s) Spanish Name(s)	Esselen, Ohlone Costeño
Native Place Name(s)	Ekheya [6]
Current Owner	Roman Catholic Church
Current Use	Parish Church
National Historic Landmark	#NPS-66000214
California Historical Landmark	#135
Web Site	http://carmelmission.org

Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo was first established on June 3, 1770 in Monterey, California (near the native village of Tamo) and was named for Charles Borromeo, Archbishop of Milan, Italy. It was the site of the first Christian confirmation in Alta California.^[4] The following year (in May of 1771) the Viceroy approved Father Serra's petition to relocate the Mission to its current location near the present-day town of Carmel-by-the-Sea.^[7] Serra's goal was to put some distance between the Mission's neophytes and the Presidio of Monterey (the headquarters of Pedro Fages, who served as military governor of Alta California between 1770 and 1774, with whom Serra was engaged in a heated power struggle).^[8] The original site continued to operate as the "Royal Presidio Chapel" and later became the Cathedral of San Carlos Borromeo. "Mission Carmel" (as it came to be known) was Father Serra's favorite, and being close to Monterey (the capital of Alta California) served as his headquarters. When he died on August 28, 1784 he was interred beneath the chapel floor.

The Esselen and Ohlone Indians who lived near the Mission were taken in and trained as plowmen, shepherds, cattle herders, blacksmiths, and carpenters. They made adobe bricks, roof tiles and tools needed to build the Mission. In the beginning, the Mission relied on bear meat from Mission San Antonio de Padua and supplies brought by ship from Mission San Diego de Alcalá. In 1794, the population reached its peak of 927, but by 1823 the total had dwindled to 381. On November 20, 1818 French privateer Hipólito Bouchard raided the Monterey Presidio, before moving on to other Spanish installations in the south.^[9] The Mission was in ruins when the Roman Catholic Church regained control of it in 1863. In 1884 Father Angel Casanova undertook the work of restoration. In 1931, Monsignor Philip Scher appointed Harry Downie to be curator in charge of Mission restoration; it became an independent parish two years later. In 1961, the Mission was designated as a Minor Basilica by Pope John XXIII.

Today, Mission Carmel is one of the most popular tourist sites on the Monterey Peninsula and is a National Historic Landmark. It is a place of pilgrimage for visitors from all over the world. In 1987, Pope John Paul II visited the Mission as part of his U.S. tour. It is also a busy and active parish church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Monterey.

1. ^ Leffingwell, p. 113
2. ^ Ruscin, p. 25
3. ^ Yenne, p. 33
4. ^ ^{a b} Ruscin, p. 196
5. ^ Yenne, p. 186
6. ^ Ruscin, p. 195
7. ^ Smith, p. 18: The Mission was established in the new location on August 1, 1771; the first mass was celebrated on August 24; and Serra officially took up residence in the newly constructed buildings on December 24.
8. ^ Paddison, p. 23: Fages regarded the Spanish installations in California as military institutions first and religious outposts second.
9. ^ There is a great contrast between the legacy of Bouchard in Argentina versus his reputation in the United States. In Buenos Aires, Bouchard is honored as a brave patriot, while in California he is most often remembered as a pirate, and not a privateer. See Hippolyte de Bouchard.

• Leffingwell, Randy (2005). California Missions and Presidios: The History & Beauty of the Spanish Missions. Voyageur Press, Inc., Stillwater, MN. ISBN 0-89658-492-5. 
• Paddison, Joshua (ed.) (1999). A World Transformed: Firsthand Accounts of California Before the Gold Rush. Heyday Books, Berkeley, CA. ISBN 1-890771-13-9. 
• Ruscin, Terry (1999). Mission Memoirs. Sunbelt Publications, San Diego, CA. ISBN 0-932653-30-8. 
• Smith, Frances Rand (1921). The Architectural History of Mission San Carlos Borromeo, California. California Historical Survey Commission, Berkeley, CA. 
• Yenne, Bill (2004). The Missions of California. Advantage Publishers Group, San Diego, CA. ISBN 1-59223-319-8. 

A sketch of Mission Carmel by George Vancouver depicts the grounds as they appeared in 1792.

The Mission at Carmel, circa 1910. Note the reduction in the roof line in the modern-day photo above.

The mission cemetery.

The mission bell tower as seen from the courtyard.

• Spanish missions in California
• Cathedral of San Carlos Borroméo (aka Royal Presidio Chapel), Monterey, California
• USNS Mission Carmel (AO-113), a Buenaventura Class fleet oiler built during World War II.
• USNS Mission San Carlos (AO-120), a Buenaventura Class fleet oiler built during World War II.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo

• Elevation & Site Layout sketches of the Mission proper
• National Park Service page