Missions / Discover Baja California

Missions

Path of the missions: Feat of faith

The accomplishments of Jesuit, Franciscan and Dominican priests between the 17TH and 19th centuries undertook the evangelization of Baja California, lives on in the crumbling walls mission stone and Adobe, still scattered between the barren desert lands. The reason for these institutions was the of colonize new territory discovered by the Crown of Spain, both of integrating indigenous peoples, by means of the catechism and the teaching of the work of the land, in the new religious and economic system. Located in the middle of Camino Real of the Californias, which linked the southern end of the peninsula until the Napa Valley in the current state of California, USA., their establishments were keys to the expansion of the Spanish Empire Today, many villages, cave paintings and museums of history sites join the path that make up these invaluable cultural heritages of Baja California.

The State instituted a total of 18 missions: 4 of them Jesuit, 1 franciscan and 13 dominican. The oldest of all and at the same time the best preserved are of Jesuits construction located in the southern most part of Baja California San Francisco de Borja Adac (1762-1823) and Santa Gertrudis (1752-1822), The first is 93 km from Guerrero Negro, by the federal 1 highway from which you must continue along a secondary path 35 km to the Northwest . To get to Santa Gertrudis it is necessary to follow dirt road from Guerrero Negro to the El Arco and then continue 36 km northwest. In any of the two, the finding of the best missionary art will be waiting.

Because of its history and being 600 metres from an important site of cave paintings, San Fernando of Velicatá (1769-1818) Franciscan mission is another significant historic site. It sits 57 km from El Rosario, by the federal 1, then proceeds to the El Progreso Ranch and continue 8.5 km West. Among the most important Dominican missions are of San Vicente Ferrer (1780-1834), which was the largest of all, located 90 km south of Ensenada by the federal 1; and San Miguel Archangel de la Frontera (1775-1839), 55 km south of Rosarito by federal 1. The latter was located in the historic boundary between the Alta and Baja California, established in 1773 by Franciscans and Dominicans.

The Missions

The structure consisted of a temple, cloisters for religious activities, workshops, a cemetery and in some cases also prisons. They were the first novohispanic institutions with political, economic and social structure in Baja California.