 A view of the Mission San Juan Bautista and its three-bell campanario ("bell wall"). Two of the bells were salvaged by Father Nick Senf in 2009 from the original chime, which was destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. | |
  Location in California | |
| Location | 406 2nd Street San Juan Bautista, California 95045 |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 36°50′42″N 121°32′09″W / 36.845083°N 121.535889°W |
| Name as founded | La Misión del Glorios Precursor de Jesu Cristo, Nuestro Señor San Juan Bautista [1] |
| English translation | The Mission of the Glorious Precursor of Jesus Christ, Our Lord, Saint John the Baptist |
| Patron | Saint John the Baptist[2] |
| Nickname(s) | "Mission of Music" [3] |
| Founding date | June 24, 1797 [4] |
| Founding priest(s) | Father Fermín Lasuén [5] |
| Founding Order | Fifteenth [2] |
| Military district | Third [6] |
| Native tribe(s) Spanish name(s) | Mutsun, Yokuts Costeño |
| Native place name(s) | Popeloutchom [7] |
| Baptisms | 4,106 [8] |
| Marriages | 1,003 [8] |
| Burials | 2,854 [8] |
| Secularized | 1835 [2] |
| Returned to the Church | 1859 [2] |
| Governing body | Diocese of Monterey |
| Current use | Parish Church |
| Reference no. |
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| Website | |
| http://www.oldmissionsjb.org/ | |
Mission San Juan Bautista is a Spanish mission in San Juan Bautista, San Benito County, California. Founded on June 24, 1797, by Father Fermín Lasuén of the Franciscan order, the mission was the fifteenth of the Spanish missions established in present-day California. Named for Saint John the Baptist, the mission is the namesake of the city of San Juan Bautista.
Barracks for the soldiers, a nunnery, the Jose Castro House, and other buildings were constructed around a large grassy plaza in front of the church and can be seen today in their original form. The Ohlone, the original residents of the valley, were brought to live at the mission and baptized, followed by Yokuts from the Central Valley. Mission San Juan Bautista has served mass daily since 1797, and today functions as a parish church of the Diocese of Monterey.