Mission Past & Present

Past (1830) & Present

A - Church
B - Cemetery
C - Patio of Quadrangle
D - Convento
E - Colonnade
F - Dormitories
G - Workshops
H - Granaries
I - Barracks
J - Lavanderia
K - Answers to FAQ

Church Interior

A. Church

Construction of the present church began in 1811 and was completed in 1815.

The Mission church is in the shape of a cross with the dimensions being 165 feet in length, 30 feet in height, and 27 feet In width.

The solitary bell tower, which serves as a cornerstone to the entire mission quadrangle, is 75 feet high. Adobe, lime plaster, wooden timbers, fired clay bricks, and roof tiles comprise the primary building materials.

PRESENT - The church is Historic Landmark No. 239 and is open daily to visitors via the museum, which oversees its restoration and the care of the collections within the church; this includes many beautiful works of art. Although the walls have been touched up through the years the original designs, obtained from patterns found in books and on textiles, are intact.

Detail work continues and this church is recognized as one of the most beautiful In the mission chain. Still a working mission, the church today is used for weddings, funerals and concerts.

Cemetery Gates

B. Cemetery

The cemetery has been in continuous use since the founding of the mission in 1798. The Indian Memorial was erected In 1830 by Father Antonio Peyri to honor the many Luisenos who helped build and maintain the mission; including those who lived in outlying areas such as Pala, the asistencia or sub-mission, to Mission San Luis Rey. Almost 3000 Indians are buried here as well as many of the area's leading Catholic pioneers and priests.

The cemetery continues to be the oldest burial ground in North San Diego County still in operation. The Franciscan Crypts house the remains of many of the Friars who have served this mission, while recent expansion makes it possible for area residents of all faiths to be buried here. The skull and crossbones on the cemetery gate traces its origin to the 1950's when the Walt Disney Studio was filming the television show "Zorro" here at MSLR.

Original Adobe Arch

C. Patio of Quadrangle

The mission quadrangle, approximately 500 feet square, overlooked fruit trees and grain crops. Containing a fountain and various plants and shrubs for needed shade, the patio of the quadrangle was surrounded by work areas. It was in this courtyard that the first pepper trees brought to California were planted. Sailors brought the seeds from Peru in 1830 and the trees, schinus molle, produced red berries known as peppercorns used in cooking.

PRESENT - One of the original pepper trees still stands in this quadrangle, and can be seen from the original carriage arch. The patio of the quadrangle, however, today is much smaller due to the rebuilding which occurred after 1892 when the Franciscans returned. During this period the present enclosed quadrangle was built to house the smaller community of Friars -- now called the O'Keefe Quadrangle, it is the center of the current friary and part of the museum complex.

1848 Drawing by W. R. Hutton

D. Convento

A convento is the friars' living quarters which usually attaches to the church. At Mission San Luis Rey, as shown in this 1848 drawing by W. R. Hutton, this wing was fronted by thirty-two arches and held rooms intended for the missionaries and official visitors and guests. The dining room and kitchen were also in this part of the mission.

PRESENT - Today only twelve of the original arches remain and what was once the convento now houses the museum and a gift shop. The arched corridors stop short of extending to the western edge of the property. Completion of the front colonnade Is planned as part of the ongoing restoration effort.

Arched columns

E. Colonnade

The beautiful arched columns were part of the Spanish Colonial era that incorporated several styles of architecture.

During the mission period these graceful structures extended into the interior grounds of the quadrangle.

PRESENT - When the mission was abandoned many of the materials were stripped to supply neighboring ranchos. The arches fell into ruin and today there is little trace of these once grand columns. The original carriage arch can be seen from the retreat center.

F. Dormitories

In 1830, the young unmarried women lived in the north west corner of the west wing of Mission San Luis Rey. Many families preferred to live outside the mission walls in their own homes, but many of the younger neophytes (newly converted Indians) lived dormitory-style within the quadrangle at Mission San Luis Rey.

PRESENT - The dormitory wings were part of the Mission that awaited the extensive restoration efforts of the Franciscan Friars. When San Luis Rey College was created in 1950 the wings were intended to be living quarters for Franciscan students preparing for Ordination. The College closed in 1968 and the newly rebuilt structure was converted into the present Retreat Center, a place for contemplation and spiritual reflection.

Mission life

G. Workshops

Mission life centered around prayer and work. As such, Mission San Luis Rey was an Important center of industry. The padres taught skills which would best benefit the needs of the mission community, Including: adobe brick making, blacksmithing, carpentry, leatherwork and tanning, shoemaking, soap making, weaving, spinning, and candle making.

The daily life of those who lived here was full of activity as MSLR supported and sustained an expanding population. The workshops and classrooms were located around the quadrangle.

PRESENT - Today workshops are maintained exclusively for the upkeep of the mission property and the welfare of the friars and lay people who live here. Some of the trades of the past are still vital, such as carpentry, gardening, and water reclamation. Other trades have been developed for the modern mission: computer technology, electrical engineering, and the myriad of tasks required to oversee the departments and ministries within Mission San Luis Rey.

Cattle brand

I. Granaries

During the height of the Spanish Colonial period, Mission San Luis Rey was a thriving institution, at once self-sustaining and able to help some of the less productive missions. With thousands of head of cattle and sheep, and extensive land acreage for orchards and grain crops, the Mission Included stables, corrals, mills, and storehouses for flour and exports and no less than five granaries. These were located behind the mission.

PRESENT - Set against the backdrop of housing developments and urban sprawl and long since stripped of its extensive land holdings, Mission San Luis Rey no longer owns the property surrounding the mission.

Although some of the land was returned to the Church in 1865, what remains today is but a fraction of the original mission complex. Today MSLR is Historic Landmark 239 and only a small part If its 56 acres are used for agriculture.

Remains of Spanish Barracks

J. Barracks

Each mission was established with three cooperating entities: civil, religious, and military. Although not a fort, or presidio, the barracks housed the military arm of the mission system. Between five and eleven Spanish soldiers assigned to protect this mission resided In these barracks. The building had several apartments and a tower. The barracks were located in front of the Mission.

PRESENT - When the mission was abandoned, the barracks fell into ruins. Today a fence surrounds the area where the barracks once stood, guarding the remnants of the centuries old structure.

K. Lavanderia

To the South of the Mission lay the lavanderia, or open air laundry area. This shallow valley in front of the mission proved ideal as both a bathing site and a place to wash clothes. Additionally, the structure provided a means of channeling the water into the mission's gardens and fields for irrigation. An extensive water conservation system by even modern standards, the lavanderia was surrounded by an adobe wall and entry was through an arched and pillared gateway. A turnstile kept wildlife out. Water flowed down from both sides of the tiled stairway and spouted from the mouths of carved gargoyles.

• See pictures of Lavanderia

PRESENT - In 1955 the first organized archaeological work was begun by seminary students under the direction of the staff at San Luis Rey College and visiting historians and archaeologists. The site was registered at the archaeological survey office at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and given the permanent trinomial designation SDi241. Since then professional restoration attempts have been minimal. Highway construction projects and housing developments have leveled hills and the valley has undergone many changes including the diversion of the San Luis Rey River. In this area, however, the awesomeness of Mission San Luis Rey de Francia is not lost to time. From the lavanderia it is still possible to look upward through the adobe arch and view the Mission's magnificent dome silhouetted against an azure sky.