Mission Basilica San Juan Capistrano

The 85-foot (26 m) high main rotunda and 104-foot (32 m) bell tower make Mission Basilica San Juan Capistrano the tallest building in town. Designed "in the spirit and likeness" of the "Great Stone Church," ground was broken on January 31, 1982. Officially opened on October 23, 1986, the facility was dedicated on February 8, 1987; Pope John Paul II conferred the rank of Minor Basilica to this facility on February 14, 2000.

Mission Basilica San Juan Capistrano is Catholic a minor basilica church and National Shrine in the city of San Juan Capistrano, California, in the Diocese of Orange. Built in 1984, just north and west of historical Mission San Juan Capistrano, the church's design is patterned after the Mission's old stone church which was begun in 1797 and collapsed in 1812, but is twenty percent larger. The church was designed by architect John Bartlett and built by Joseph Byron Jr of Alex Sutherland Construction. The interior was designed by historian Norman Neuerberg, who painted much of decorative and sacred art which adorns the walls.

In 2000, Pope John Paul II conferred the title of minor basilica on the church, a status granted to a church of particular religious, historic, and cultural significance.

The "Grand Retablo" with the Trinity at top center, Bl. Junipero Serra top left , Bl. Kateri Tekakwitha top right, St. Francis bottom right, St. Joseph bottom left and Our Lady of Guadalupe bottom center.

A prominent feature of the basilica is the Grand Retablo, a 42-foot-high (13 m), 30-foot-wide (9.1 m), 16-ton altar-backing carved in cedar and covered in gold leaf which is stylistically reminiscent of 17th- and 18th-century Spanish colonial and Mexican colonial retablos. ^[1][2][3] The retablo's focal point is the Trinity, composed of the crucifix, God the Father depicted as an ancient partriarch, and the Holy Spirit depicted as a dove. Beneath the Trinity is Our Lady of Guadalupe. Four saints included on the retablo are Saint Francis of Assisi - patron of the mission's founding order, Saint Joseph, Blessed Junipero Serra - the mission's founder, and Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha - significant for the area's Indian population.^[2] The Retablo was designed and created by 84 artisans in numerous parts at the Talleres de Arte Granda in Madrid, Spain.

References

1. ^ IGNATIN, HEATHER Retablo draws crowds at Mission Basilica Orange County Register, April 19, 2007
2. ^ ^{a b} [www.missionsjc.com/pdf/press/Press2007Retablo.pdf Mission’s Grand Retablo en Route to San Juan Capistrano] Mission San Juan Capistrano press release, Feb. 9, 2007
3. ^ EMERY, SEAN and HEATHER IGNATIN Altarpiece debuts at mission Orange County Register March 20, 2007