Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA, July 11, 2011: The second of the 22 Alta California missions was Mission San Carlos Borromeo del Rio Carmelo founded on June 3, 1770 in Monterey, CA and moved to it's present Carmel location August 24, 1771 by Blessed Fray Junipero Serra, "Father Presidente" of the California Missions. Carmel served as Serra's headquarters until his death August 28, 1784. He is buried in the floor of the mission church. The current stone church was built by Serra's successor, Padre Fermín de Francisco Lasuén de Arasqueta, in 1793. It was the first of only 3 mission churches built of stone (the other 18 were built of adobe). The nave features an inverted catenary arch [like the St. Louis Arch] and the bell tower is Moorish in style. The church was restored in 1884 and again in 1936. The bell tower is the only original bell tower of any of the Alta California missions.
The tomb of Fray Junipero Serra (left), and a reliquary holding the wood from his original coffin (below):
In the 1920s artist Jo Mora created a life-sized memorial cenotaph for Serra as well as this alter piece in what is known as the Mora chapel.
Serra's cell is reconstructed with part of its original walls:
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