Mission San Carlos Borroméo de Carmelo, also known as Carmel Mission, was founded on June 3, 1770, by Father Junípero Serra at the Royal Presidio of Monterey Bay. Junípero Serra named the Mission for Saint Charles Borromeo, Archbishop of Milan, Italy, in the 16th Century. In 1771, the Mission was moved five miles south to the other side of the Monterey Peninsula, near the “Rio Carmel”.
Father Serra intended to put some distance between the Presidio of Monterey and the new Mission. The first church at the Monterey Presidio remained in use for the soldiers of the garrison until 1794 when it was replaced by the structure today known as “San Carlos Cathedral”, “Historic Royal Presidio Chapel of Monterey” or “Old Mission Chapel of Monterey”.
Mission Carmel was the second Mission founded by Saint Junípero Serra in California. The present stone church was begun under President Padre Fermín Francisco de Lasuén in 1793 and built with native sandstone coming from the nearby Santa Lucia Mountains. It was dedicated in 1797 and replaced the original adobe church.
The Mission served as mission chain headquarters between 1770 and 1803. From Carmel Mission, Father Serra looked after the growing chain of missions until he died in 1784. The body of Saint Junípero Serra rests within the walls of the original adobe church around which Fermín de Francisco Lasuén built the new stone church.
With its beautiful setting against the sea and river, its strong sense of history and appealing architecture, Mission San Carlos Borroméo is considered one of the most beautiful and informative among all Spanish Missions in California. A visit to Mission Carmel satisfies the student and the visitor as no other mission in the chain can.
Secularized in 1834, eventually, the United States of America returned Carmel Mission to the Catholic Church in 1859. Major renovations were made in 1884, 1924, and 1936. The beautiful Moorish tower still visible today is a perfect example of the early architectural Spanish influence.
Location of Mission San Carlos Borroméo
3080 Rio Road, Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA 93921, United States