Roman Catholic cathedral is the oldest continuously operating parish and the oldest stone building in California

How to Get There

Overview

The Cathedral of San Carlos Borromeo (Spanish: Catedral de San Carlos Borromeo), also known as the Royal Presidio Chapel, is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in Monterey, California. The cathedral is the oldest continuously operating parish and the oldest stone building in California. It was built in 1791-94 making it the oldest (and smallest) serving cathedral in the United States, along with St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the only existing presidio chapel in California and the only existing building in the original Monterey Presidio.

Hoover marriage

Future President of the United States Herbert Hoover and Lou Henry were married February 10, 1899 by Father Ramon Mestres who was serving at the chapel; Hoover was the first President to be married by a Catholic priest. The wedding took place not at the chapel, but in the Henry home. Father Mestres had received special dispensation from the bishop to perform the civil ceremony because there was no Protestant minister in town at the time.

Architecture

The Royal Presidio Chapel is the first stone building in California and reflects the exquisite Spanish Colonial style of the late 18th century. The Moorish architecture influence is also evident in the fine architecture. The ornamental arches and portals carved in sandstone make the church unique and arguably the most beautiful of all the Missions. A garden surrounds the gated Mission, with a path leading all the way round and to both San Carlos School and the Rectory of San Carlos Cathedral. To the right of the Cathedral lies a statue of the Virgin Mary with an arch beneath. At the rear of the building is the Junipero Oak, a California landmark. There is a bell tower to announce Mass and in the niche at the very top of the façade there is a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the oldest non-indigenous sculpture in the state.

Associated landmarks and buildings

The Vizcaíno-Serra Oak. The preserved remains of the tree which is closely associated with the early history of Monterey once stood in the grounds of the cathedral.

San Carlos School. The school is located on the grounds of the cathedral and was established in 1898 by the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Carondolet. It was later run the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception. Since 2001, it has been run as a ministry of San Carlos Cathedral with a lay principal and faculty.

Historic designations

In 1960, the chapel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service. The chapel again became the cathedral of the Diocese of Monterey when the Diocese of Monterey-Fresno was split in 1967 to form the Monterey and Fresno dioceses. The cathedral is the smallest in the contiguous United States, and one of the two oldest buildings serving as a cathedral in the United States (St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans, Louisiana was also completed in 1794).

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Cathedral of San Carlos Borromeo (Monterey, California)", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0