The Ventura Mission, one
in a chain of 21 California missions, is perched on a hill above the Pacific
Ocean. You can stand on the mission stairs and view a plaza with a water
fountain surrounded by beautiful brickwork next to an historic building with
a restaurant and some outdoor tables with umbrellas. Further In the distance
you can see the blue ocean waters of Ventura California beaches. Mission San
Buenaventura (good fortune), is utilized as a church, with an active parish.
Ventura County is one of Southern California's great agricultural regions
featuring more microclimates than nearly any other place. But at
Ventura, the soil is rich and farm laborers live nearby, finding this
historic mission and gathering place for weekend mass where there's standing
room only.
Immortalized in front of
the beautiful building is a statue of Fray Junipero Serra, considered the
father of the California missions. Planned as the third mission, many
problems such as a fire that would destroy the first effort caused great
delays. Finally the church was completed in 1809 as the ninth and last
mission founded during Serra's lifetime. It was one of six he personally
dedicated.
With others assigned to carry on the duties of operating the new mission, a
seven-mile-long aqueduct was constructed (listed in historic landmarks) to
bring Ventura River water to the Mission. Plentiful water produced orchards
and gardens described by English navigator George Vancouver as the finest
ever seen.
Though we don't hear much
about this, 1812 was a year filled with earthquakes and a tidal wave that
forced inhabitants of the mission to flee to higher ground. If you view the
mission's hilltop location, you have to imagine that the tidal wave must
have been tremendous in size. For nearly 50 years the mission went through
disrepair, pillaging and even a sell-off during the era of Mexican control
of California. After California became a state in 1850, Bishop Joseph Sadoc
Alemany petitioned the United States government to return Mission holdings
to the Catholic Church. The request was granted in the form of a
Proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln on May 23, 1862.
Because of severe earthquake damage in 1857 the Mission’s tile roof was
replaced by a shingle roof. Some years later, in an effort to "modernize"
the church, the windows were lengthened, the beamed ceiling and tile floor
were covered, and the remnants of the quadrangle were razed. The west
sacristy was removed to provide room for a school, which was not actually
built until 1921.
In a major restoration under the supervision of Father Aubrey J. O’Reilly in
1956-1957, the windows were reconstructed to their original size, and the
ceiling and floor were uncovered. A long-time parishioner commissioned the
casting of a bell with an automatic angelus device and donated it to the
Mission; it hangs in the belltower above the four ancient hand-operated
bells. The entire roof of the church was removed and replaced in 1976.
