On a gorgeous Sunday afternoon a few weeks past, we visited San
Juan Bautista Mission. San Juan Bautista Mission, the 15th of
the 21 missions in California founded on June 24, 1797, on the
feast day of St. John the Baptist by Fr. Fermin Lausén,
successor to Fr. Serra. It is said that San Juan Bautista
mission is the largest among the 21 missions with 19 arches
across the front of its 230 feet cloister, or convento. San Juan
Bautista mission has many interesting facts: 1) It claims to
”have served mass every day since 1797″, 2) Remarkably, the San
Andreas Fault “runs along the base of the hill below the
cemetery” and 3) Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” was filmed on the
Mission grounds. The purpose of the mission was to propagate
religion and for Spain to stake its claim on Alta, California.
The campanaria, or bell tower in the distance, holds 2 of the 3
original bells. The purpose of the bells was to regulate daily
activities for prayers, meals and work. Just below this white
picket fence is the original El Camin