Mission San José Church Page 2

If you’ve been following the tour you just left the Church page which showed the three altars in the Mission Church along with all of their decorations. But, that’s only part of the beauty that makes up the interior of the Church. Here is the rest of the art and things you should see…

The painted walls in the Church were recreated by Richard Menn of Carmel and his assistants and they followed the design of the original baptismal font. Made of hammered copper with a wooden pedestal. Installed in the 1830’s. Augustin Davila painted the font and all of the redecorated Church interior at that time.

Picture taken 12:07pm 22 Feb 2012

Near-by, just across the width of the Church, is the grave of Robert Livermore. Robert Thomas Livermore (1799-1858) was a rancher and landowner in the early days of California, whose holdings eventually formed the basis of the city that bears his name: Livermore, California. [See more at Wikipedia. Side note: Wikipedia and other sources list the date of death as 14 Feb 1858; the headstone clearly says 14 March 1858.] There are other Spaniards buried within the floor of the 1809 Church but none had markers.

Picture taken 12:51pm 22 Feb 2012

On the museum pages you read about Father Durán’s love of music and how he attempted to get an organ for the Church. While he never did, an organ that closely matches the specifications he desired now sits in the choir loft in the Church.

Picture taken 12:52pm 22 Feb 2012

Doors

It seems odd to call doors art but in this Church they certainly measure up with the various decorations around them. There are three doors that qualify. See if you agree.

• Exit door at the front right side (facing the altar) of the Church.

Found this door to be interesting both in design and in the statue over the door. As you zoom in on the statue see if you agree that it appears the person (St. Francis?) is juggling the baby. 🙂

Picture taken 12:04pm 22 Feb 2012	Picture taken 12:04pm 22 Feb 2012
Picture taken 12:05pm 22 Feb 2012	Picture taken 12:05pm 22 Feb 2012

• Closed off door toward the back right of the Church.

This door has been closed off and is the location of the baptismal font seen above.

Picture taken 12:06pm 22 Feb 2012

Picture taken 12:07pm 22 Feb 2012

• The door to the cemetery is on the left side facing the altar.

Use this door to exit to the cemetery and you’ll have to return back through this door in order to continue your tour.

Picture taken 12:12pm 22 Feb 2012

Picture taken 12:12pm 22 Feb 2012

Other Statues and Paintings

This statue of Saint Joachim is the only free-standing statue in the Church not associated with an altar. Saint Joachim is honored in the Catholic Church as the father of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Picture taken 12:03pm 22 Feb 2012

The remaining artworks are various paintings. They are presented here without description as I saw no plaques by the paintings and the tour brochure did not provide any detail for the paintings. Enjoy…

Picture taken 12:04pm 22 Feb 2012	Picture taken 12:05pm 22 Feb 2012
Picture taken 12:06pm 22 Feb 2012	Picture taken 12:14pm 22 Feb 2012
Picture taken 12:11pm 22 Feb 2012	Picture taken 12:12pm 22 Feb 2012

Near the statue of Saint Joachim is a plaque that celebrates the re-building of the Church.

Picture taken 12:03pm 22 Feb 2012

Stations of the Cross

The Stations of the Cross in this Church are bright pictures similar to those that often come from Mexico. The gallery below shows all fourteen of the Stations. Click on a thumbnail to show the full image and then navigate between them in the lightbox or just click on the play button and watch the slide show.

I	II	III	IV	V	VI	VII
VIII	IX	X	XI	XII	XIII	XIV