Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo - History

History

The mission, first established on June 3, 1770, in nearby Monterey, (near the native village of Tamo), was named for Charles Borromeo, Archbishop of Milan, Italy. It was the site of the first Christian confirmation in Alta California. In May, 1771, the viceroy approved Serra's petition to relocate the mission to its current location near the present-day town of Carmel-by-the-Sea. 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). 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 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. 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. As a result of Downie's dedicated efforts to restore the buildings, the Carmel mission church is one of the most authentically restored of all the mission churches in California. In 1987, Pope John Paul II visited the mission as part of his U.S. tour.