Sunday Briefing : On a Mission

This year, volunteer architects, engineers and students from the University of Pennsylvania arrived at the venerable Mission San Juan Capistrano before the swallows. Their mission: stabilize the decaying Great Stone Church so it can be maintained as a ruin. The church was partially destroyed by an earthquake in 1812 and never rebuilt. The work is part of a $19.5-million project that would refurbish various parts of the entire mission property. A look at the church, the mission, it’s present and past:

What They’ll Fix

Working with local engineers, architecture students from the University of Pennsylvania will stabilize the east wall of the church to determine the amount of time, material and money needed to prevent further decay of the structure. Major problems facing the Great Stone Church:

Mortar

Problem: Walls unstable from eroding mortar and loosened stones; head-size stones fall from walls

Solution: Remove old grout, replace with stronger new mix; replace fallen stones

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Plaster

Problem: Plaster peels, falls off wall

Solution: Develop adhesive to re-adhere fallen plaster and a method to inject adhesive behind lifting plaster

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Pillars

Problem: Decorative detail on pillars wearing away

Solution: Spray on shellac to protect pillars from rain and prevent crumbling

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Projected Costs

Other sections of the mission need work as well. The project will be subsidized by donations and admissions. A look at how an estimated $19.5 million in costs will be divided:

* Great Stone Church (In progress)

Illuminate church, build education center to depict church before 1812 and preserve structure

Cost: $7 million

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* Soldiers’ barracks

Stabilize for earthquakes and preserve adobe walls

Cost: $505,000

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* Front Gatehouse

Enlarge to include space for large groups, restrooms and gift shop

Cost: $1.4 million

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* Front Wall

Restore adobe walls at mission front and replace wire fence with period-type block wall

Cost: $562,000

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* Living History (In progress)

Exhibit customs, furniture, costumes of colonial rancho

Cost: $15,000

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* Museum Renovation

Update exhibits

Cost: $20,000

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* Permanent Endowment

Fund mission maintenance and perpetuation costs

Cost: $10 million

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The Great Quake: On Dec. 8, 1812, an earthquake shook the church during a service. The roof caved in, the adobe walls collapsed and the bells tumbled from the tower. Thirty-eight people were killed.

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Bells: The four bells in the Scared Garden once hung in the bell tower of the Great Stone Church.

Mission Construction: The original mission ceilings were made of reeds from local creeks and adobe, with timber beams.

The Great Stone Church

Capistrano’s chruch took nine years to build. Construction was supervised by Isidro Aguilar, a master stone mason, using Indian labor. Dedicated in 1806, it stood for only six years.

Blue line represents what remains of the original church

Signature dome: The dome over the sanctuary survived the earthquake, but collapsed later during an attemped restoration.

Bell tower: The massive, 120-foot tower could be seen for 10 miles. It had four bells, cast in 1796 and 1804, that were used to call the community to meals, work and religious services.

Stone: The yellow sandstone used was carried by laborers from a quarry six miles northeast of the mission.

Design: Built in the form of a cross, 180 feet long and 40 feet wide, with a vaulted ceiling topped by seven domes.

Site Selection

Mission San Juan Capistrano was built at the juncture of Trabuco and San Juan creeks, which provided plenty of drinking water and irrigation.

Other reasons:

* Site in a fertile valley of coastal mountains

* Close to natural harbor good for trading mission products

* Nearby Juaneno Indians to provide mission laborers

Life at the Mission

During the Day: Work within the mission was centered around self-sufficiency and prayer. Workers tanned hides, made candles and soap, ground grain and crushed olives and grapes. They also raised cattle, wheat and barley. Days began at dawn when priests rang bells to call the village to worship.

Tribal Changes: Missionaries called local Indians Juanenos, for San Juan Capistrano. Their main staple was acorns, sometimes ground into meal or flour. They also hunted deer and fished with nets. After the missionaries arrived, Juanenos planted crops, including grapes and wheat. Homes were made of reeds, palm fronds and sticks; the Spaniards taught them to make clay tiles and adobe buildings.

The Coastal Churches

California’s missions are an extension of those dotting the Baja California desert. Missionaries traveled from Baja to San Francisco along a trail known as El Camino Real (royal highway)--today, Interstate 5. California missions and when they were established:

San Diego de Alcala, 1769

San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo, 1770

San Antonio de Padua, 1771

San Gabriel Arcangel, 1771

San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, 1772

San Francisco de Asis, 1776

San Juan Capistrano, 1776

Santa Clara de Asis, 1777

San Buenaventura, 1782

Santa Barbara, 1786

La Purisima Concepcion, 1787

Santa Cruz, 1791

Nuestra Senora de la Soledad, 1791

San Jose, 1797

San Juan Bautista, 1797

San Miguel Arcangel, 1797

San Fernando Rey de Espana, 1797

San Luis Rey de Francia, 1798

Santa Inez, 1804

San Rafael Arcangel, 1817

San Francisco Solano, 1823

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Father Junipero Serra

* Born Nov. 24, 1713, in Petra, on the Spanish island of Majorca

* Arrives in New World at 36

* Serves as priest for 54 years, traveling and establishing California missions

* Dies in Carmel in 1784

Mission’s Dates

1775: Father Lasuen dedicates San Juan Capistrano site, begins building temporary church. Work stops when word arrives that Indians have attacked Mission San Diego. Bells buried and padres return to San Diego.

1776: Father Serra arrives in San Juan; bells dug up and site moved south to confluence of San Juan and Trabuco creeks.

1777: First adobe church, Serra Chapel, erected.

1791: Bell tower built.

1796-1806: Great Stone Church construction.

1810: Mexican War of Independence begins.

1812: Earthquake collapses ceiling, crumbles bell tower. Bells are saved; services continue, in Serra Chapel.

1813: First swallows arrive at mission.

1821: Mexico wins independence from Spain.

1841: Capistrano becomes Mexican possession.

1845: Gov. Pio Pico sells mission to brother-in-law, Don Juan Forster, for $710. Forster family lives there.

1865: Abraham Lincoln returns mission to Catholic Church. Attempts to restore the mission actually damages the walls.

1895: Restoration of Serra Chapel begins.

1910: Father O’Sullivan leads Serra Chapel restoration, several adobe structures stabilized, gardens and fountains restored.

1924: Services resume in Serra Chapel.

1933: Mission restoration completed.

1978: Archeological studies of mission begin.

1991: Adobe structures undergo earthquake stabilization and preservation.

1996: Students and mission officials begin assessing cost of preventing further deterioration of the Great Stone Church.

Sources: Mission San Juan Capistrano; “California’s Spanish Missions,” by Spenser Crump; “Time of the Bells,” by Richard F. Pourade; World Book Encyclopedia

Researched by APRIL JACKSON and DENNIS LOWE / Los Angeles Times