Mission San Luis Rey

I hope that Catholics venture out to the Mormon temples just like my little family of Mormons ventured out to view an incredibly old historical Catholic Mission. You can learn a lot about how Christian we all can be!
Brushing up on my 'summarizing skills' here's a brief history of the mission.
Founded in 1798 the mission was named after St. Louis IX, King of France, who lived during the 13th Century. Between the years 1798-1832 when Father Antonio Peyri was put in charge of the mission the mission became home to approx 3000 Indians. The mission was self-sustaining, in that it cared for over 50,000 head of livestock, cultivated grapes, oranges, olives, wheat and corn (just to name a few of the crops). By 1830 the mission was the largest building in California. It was the largest of the 21 missions built and became know as "The King of the Missions."
When Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821, the law of secularization was passed. Each mission was given 10 years to complete their religious instructions to the Indians. By 1833 'sticky secular hands' gained control and the mission was not given to the Indians as the law required.
From 1847-1857 the mission was used as an operational base by US soliders. "Notable figures that served at the mission include General Stephen W. Kearny, Kit Carson and the Battalion of Mormon volunteers, who served at the mission for 6 weeks." In 1850 California became a state of the union and the Catholic church petitioned the US Government for the return of the missions. Abraham Lincoln complied this petition in 1865. Unfortunately, it lay abandoned after the military left it until 1892.

Restoration begun in 1892 under the direction of Fr. Joseph Jeremias O'Keefe. Repairs to the church, rebuilding the permanent living quarters, rebuilding the quandrangle, uncovering the soldiers barracks, and conserving the paintings and sculptures in the museum is a continual process.

Mission Cemetery

Courtyard: Largest Yucca plant we've ever seen

I'm so glad we went to see it. There was also a Pepper-Tree brought from Peru. The history of the self-sustaining attributes I just envisioned it was it's very own city. Absolutely incredible...and I admit it piqued my interest when they mentioned that the Mormon Battalion had been placed here after they arrived to San Diego.