History ||TOP
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On June 29, 1776, just a few days before the Declaration
of Independence was being signed on the opposite coast, the first
Mission Dolores site was being dedicated a half block from the corner of
16th & Valencia. The California historic marker shows it sited on the
Lake of the Lady of Sorrows or the intersection of Camp and Albion. When
the 198 Spanish priests, soldiers and Mexican settlers led by Lt. Don Jose Joaquin Moraga
made this site of
the Mission the first public building they named it San Francisco de Asis
but the people chose to call it Mission Dolores. Fairly close to the
geographic center of the spectacular landscape where the City and metro
area of San Francisco began, the church moved two inward to the base
of Liberty Hill 15 years later.
Earlier that year the Commander Anza had said that
while the fort shall be built where the entrance to the port is narrowest
the town on the mesa behind it, and the mission in this quiet beautiful
valley, sufficiently near the fort to be under its protection, but far
enough away to insure its peaceful serenity
The 114 by 22 foot Mission Dolores building is the
San Francisco Bay Area's oldest surviving structure, even the 1906
earthquake which took down the neighboring basilica did not harm the Adobe
building built by Christianized Ohlone Indians. Constructed of thousands
of adobe bricks arranged in a block 10 feet thick and set on a foundation
of rock four feet below the surface the building is most distinguished by
its brilliant facade of whitewashed adobe bricks.
The sixth of 21 Spanish mission churches ordered
built by King Carlos III of Spain to better lay claim to the
mythical land of California. The first mission was established in 1769 in
San Diego and the last built in Sonoma in 1823. The two entrusted with the
ambitious project of bringing civilization to California were Father
Juniper Serra and Lieutenant Juan
Bautista de Anza. The missions were each a day's journey apart and
were linked by El Camino Real or King's Highway. In the grassy
median strip center of Dolores Street, just outside the main entry
where authorities wish to erect statues commemorating the birth of the Bay
Area, is a Mission Bell which at one time could be found all along the historic
El Camino Real.
The nearby pueblo was named Yerba Buena but eventually
took the name of the Mission San Francisco and the surrounding
neighborhood became known simply as The Mission. The Mission Dolores
Basilica was visited by Pope John Paul As time went by the town took the
name of Saint Francis, while the mission more popularly became known as
Mission Dolores. The Mission is still known
SORROWFUL MEETING of Two cultures
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For thousands of years, the native Ohlone
had hunted the Bay's local wildlife and, from their nearby encampments,
gathered tule reeds and other creekside plants to build boats, roofs, mat
and baskets. Overnight the people were asked and then required to leave
their way of life for a repressive agricultural labor system.
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Olhones on the Bay
as sketched by Russian sailor.
Proof that the Olhone invented the double headed paddle |
The coastal area stretching from San Francisco to Monterey Bay was home
to forty or so culturally diverse native tribes now known collectively as
the Ohlone This name was given by the the Miwok Indians who lived
in North and East Bay and it has in recent years replaced the Costeños
name originally given by the Spaniards The Olhone enjoyed
an easy life as a mobile society of hunter-gatherers since the region
provided abundant game, waterfowl, shellfish, native plants, and fish. The
are said to have invented the double headed paddle.
Mission Dolores never met the expectations of its founders: A total of
6,536 Indians and 448 Mexicans were baptized there, while 5,187 Indians
and 150 Mexicans were buried in the cemetery next door. The coastal fog
made agricultural crops marginally successful and the Indians were
frequent deserters. How the Jesuit priests coped with this problem is the
source of continuing controversy.
As
through most of the Americas, it was the European diseases, which
was responsible for the elimination of most of the native
population. In the 77 years of Spanish and Mexican control of California,
the native population declined from about 300,000 to 150,000. There were considerable problems with disease at Mission Dolores.
In 1817, the future Mission San Rafael Archangela was opened in San Rafael
as a hospital mission where the Mission Dolores inhabitants could enjoy
the recuperative elements of sunshine.
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Manuel Valencia (1856-1935). Mission Dolores, n.d. Oil on canvas.
Gift of M. Calder. California Historical Society, Fine Arts
collection, FN-31963. |
Still only a relatively small percentage of Indians in California had
become "civilized" by the mid 19th century but all knew that
there was no returning to the idyllic existence they had known before the
Missionaries arrived
The California missions were taken over by an
anti-clerical Mexican government in 1833 and soon fell into ruin by
the government which could not afford their upkeep. In 1834, Mexico
decided to end the mission system and sell all of the lands. Sergeant
Francisco DeHaro received 2,000 acres of wetlands and pasture around
Mission Dolores from the Mexican government
San Francisco boasted a mere 459 residents in June of
1847. By December of 1849 that number had swelled to nearly 30,000 The
Gold Rush would mark the point where innocence of the Olhone way of life
was forever lost. Even Mission Dolores hosted saloons, two race tracks
and bear & bull fights on its property
The Mission was returned to the Catholic Church in 1857. In
1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed an Act declaring that all of the 21
missions in the California mission chain would become the property of the
Catholic Church and have remained so since that time.
Today the Mission greets 200,000 and
15,000 school children each year. The striking designs in the unusual
ceiling are the original Indian designs in stripes of mustard yellow,
gray, white, and red. The redwood ceiling beams are lashed together with
rawhide thong. The church is decorated with many icons some which came
from Mexico but others made of redwood must have been made at Mission Dolores.
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Lady of Sorrows||TOP
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The Mission still retains it's official name as Mission San
Francisco de Asis however from the very beginning everyone has
referred to it as Mission Dolores. One reason for this popular adoption
would have been the small lagoon the Mission was built beside named
for Nuestra Senora de los Dolores or Our Lady of Sorrows
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At the Cross her station
keeping,
Stood the mournful Mother weeping,
Close to Jesus to the last.
Stabat Mater well known medieval hymn
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Mary the mother of God can
also be experienced as the Lady of Sorrows Through her own experience
of sorrow she was taught the sympathy which enables her to comfort
us her children in all our afflictions. God has gaven her a mighty
and a sympathetic heart for this great task.
Another reason why the Mission neighborhood refers to itself as the
Heart of the City and along with surrounding neighborhoods is proud
to count as residents some of the most the most liberal and
progressive thinkers and voters in the state.
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O Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary,
pray for us
"Those who implore her aid in virtue of her sufferings
may confidently expect her assistance." |
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| Our Lady of Sorrows is traditionally depicted in
art dressed in black with seven swords piercing her heart. |
- Our
Lady of Sorrows by John O’Connell
"On Calvary we can contemplate two altars: one in the body
of Jesus, the other in the heart of Mary. Jesus immolated his
own flesh: Mary immolated her own soul."
Our
Lady Of Sorrows Novena
For the nine days between September 7 (the vigil of the
feast of the Birth of Mary) and September 15 (the feast of Our
Lady of Sorrows), we pray for the intercession of Mary, the
Mother of our Life, our Faith and our Hope
- Our
Lady of Sorrows by Saint
Benedict Center Slaves of the The Immaculate Heart of Mary Many beleivers will say seven Hail Mary Mother of God and you may
believe that the Blessed Virgin will not leave your petition
unanswered. In mysteries of the Rosary there are seven of her
sorrows that have been chosen for special veneration.
Lenten
Meditation II - Mary Page presents the second of five Lenten meditations. This
devotional traditions that have evolved over the centuries which
link Mary to the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Our Lord
Jesus Christ.
(at left) The Sorrowful Mother
II Sassoferrato, 1609-1685
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Mission Dolores in our afourm 
www.CaliforniaMissions.com 
California
Missions On-Line Project
California
Missions || 
