The Wrong Roof at the Right Time The last half of the 19th
century was not kind to the old Spanish missions. Even the
former headquarters of the mission chain, San Carlos Borromeo de
Carmelo was abandoned. The land was sold, right up to the walls
of the church. By 1850 the wooden roof of the abandoned
structure had rotted and partially collapsed. The church stood
roofless for thirty years until Fr. Angelo Casanova arrived on
the scene. ANGELO CASANOVA was appointed resident pastor of the
Catholic Church in Monterey in 1870. He took a special interest
in the old mission and periodically held services in the largely
undamaged sacristy. This painting, which is in the collection of
the California Historical Society, shows him leading a group of
Indian worshipers into the sacristy for a baptism. Fr. Casanova
decided to raise money to repair the church in time to honor the
centennial of Fr. Junipero Serra’s who died at the mission on
August 28, 1784. By the spring of 1884 the church had a new
roof. Unfortunately th