San Juan Capistrano San Juan Capistrano (săn wän kăpĭsträˈnō)
[key], city (1990 pop. 26,183), Orange co., S Calif.; inc. 1961.
San Juan Capistrano has some manufactures, including aircraft
parts, medical apparatus, and boats, but the economy is based
chiefly on tourism. Junípero Serra founded a mission there in
1776 and named it after St. John of Capistrano, a Crusader. The
mission church, completed in 1806, was ruined by an earthquake
in 1812, but the chapel is still in daily use. Renovation of
existing mission buildings to protect them from earthquakes was
undertaken in the 1990s. It is said that swallows come to the
ruins of the church every Mar. 19, the feast day of St. Joseph,
and depart on Oct. 23, the death date of St. John of Capistrano.
An annual fiesta celebrates the arrival of the swallows. The
Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012,
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