Spanish Missions (still) open after Mexican Independence

Mexico won its war of independence from Spain in 1821. The Californias (Baja & Alta) learned the news and pledged loyalty to the new Mexican Empire in 1822. Many of the Spanish missionaries in Baja (Dominicans since 1773) left the peninsula (and Mexico) with the end of Spanish control.

After all, the missions were a tool of Spanish colonialism and Mexico was no longer a Spanish colony. Missions served to teach the inhabitants about how to live like a Spaniard, be a good Catholic, use farming and ranching to make food, etc.

After independence, the Missionaries that remained and pledged loyalty to Mexico's emperor, convinced the new government that the Natives still needed instruction to assimilate and become independent.

The missions were permitted to remain open, but only until the attending priest died or abandoned his post.

The last mission to remain open, in service to the Native Indians, was Santo Tomás, closed in 1849. The last two Dominicans in Baja left from La Paz in 1855.

Spanish founded Missions operating after 1822:

Loreto (to 1829)
Santa Rosalía de Mulegé (to 1828)
San José de Comondú (to 1827)
La Purísima (to 1826)
Pilar de la Paz/ Todos Santos (to 1840)
San Ignacio (to 1840)
San José del Cabo (to 1840)
San Vicente (to 1829)
San Miguel (to 1834)
Santo Tomás (to 1849)
Santa Catalina (to 1839)
*
Some mission churches remained open following these dates and served mainland immigrants to the peninsula as their parish Catholic church.

*Two missions were founded after Mexican independence by a rogue Dominican, Félix Caballero: El Descanso (1830-1834) and Guadalupe (1834-1840). I wrote about him: https://www.bajabound.com/bajaadventures/bajatravel/the_cont...

Eight original mission churches are open and intact. Some have had repairs made. The Loreto church had no roof or bell tower prior to 1955. The Comondú church (largest of all the California mission churches) was torn down in 1936 because it was in a dangerous state of ruin. A side chapel was preserved and is what is called the 'mission' today.

Loreto
San Javier
Mulegé
Comondú
San Ignacio
San Luis Gonzaga
Santa Gertrudis
San Borja

Other (vanished) mission locations have modern churches built on the site or next to the site of the original mission church.

Santiago
San José del Cabo
Santa Rosa
Pilar de la Paz/ Todos Santos

The Pilar de la Paz mission site, by the Bay of La Paz, is lost, under a modern building or street. The church in la Paz is sometimes identified as the mission, but it was several blocks north of the probable location.

Do you find this interesting? Want to see more on this period of Baja's history? You might find my book 'Baja California Land of Missions' of some value, updated in 2021 (link below).

I maintain a Facebook 'Baja Missions' group page... over 3,700 members. We share photos and discussion on all Baja history topics and traveling to those sites (link below, in my signature)

Happy Holidays!

The 8 Original Missions (all photos from 2017)

LORETO


SAN FRANCISCO JAVIER


SANTA ROSALIA DE MULEGE


SAN JOSE DE COMONDU


SAN IGNACIO


SAN LUIS GONZAGA


SANTA GERTRUDIS


SAN FRANCISCO BORJA

INSIDE the EIGHT MISSIONS (year of photo)

LORETO (2017)


SAN JAVIER (2009)


MULEGE (2016)


COMONDU (2017)


SAN IGNACIO (2016)


SAN LUIS GONZAGA (2017)


SANTA GERTRUDIS (2017)


SAN BORJA (2016)

Quote: Originally posted by David K

The missions were permitted to remain open, but only until the attending priest died or abandoned his post. Happy Holidays!

Quote: Originally posted by David K

Priests are not always missionaries... After 1849, there were no longer any missions operating in Baja. What did continue were Catholic church services led by priests. A mission is not just a church or a church building, even though we call those buildings "missions" today. A mission was a Spanish colonial program. It included water works (reservoirs, aqueducts), croplands, livestock enclosures, hospitals, a military presence, and quarters for the personal and neophytes (Natives who joined the mission and are converting to Catholicism). Crafts and tradesmen from the mainland were also present during construction. You might get some enlightenment from my book?