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Mission San Juan Capistrano is a former religious outpost established by Spanish colonists on the west coast of North America in the present-day State of California. Officially founded on November 1 ("All Saints Day"), 1776 by Roman Catholics of the Franciscan Order, the settlement was the seventh in the twenty-one mission Alta California chain. Named after a 15th-century theologian and "warrior priest" who resided in the Abruzzo region of Italy, San Juan Capistrano has the distinction of being home to the oldest building in California still in use, a chapel constructed in 1782. Known alternately as "Serra's Chapel" and "Father Serra's Church," it is the only extant structure wherein it has been documented that the padre officiated over mass. One of the best known of the Alta California missions, it was the only mission to have been founded twice — the site was originally consecrated on October 30, 1775 but was quickly abandoned due to unrest among the indigenous population in San Diego.
The Mission entered a long period of gradual decline after secularization in 1833. Numerous efforts were made over the years to restore the Mission to its former glory, but none met with great success until the arrival of Father O'Sullivan in 1910. The remains of Father (later Monsignor) O'Sullivan, who recognized the property's historic value and worked tirelessly to conserve and rebuild its structures, are buried at the entrance to the cemetery, and a statue raised in his honor stands at the head of the crypt. The surviving chapel also serves as the final resting place of three padres who passed on while serving at the Mission: Fathers José Barona, Vicente Fustér, and Vicente Pascual Oliva are all entombed beneath the sanctuary floor. Though ruins of "The Great Stone Church" (which was all but leveled by an 1812 earthquake) are a renowned architectural wonder, the Mission is perhaps best known for the annual "Return of the Swallows" which is traditionally observed every March 19 (Saint Joseph's Day). Mission San Juan Capistrano has served as a favorite subject for many notable artists, and has been immortalized in literature and on film numerous times, perhaps more than any other mission. Over 500,000 people visit the site every year. Designated as a historic landmark at both the state and national levels, Pope John Paul II conferred the rank of Minor Basilica to the Mission in 2000. Today "Serra's Chapel" serves as a parish church within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange.
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