From Kitsch to Authentic Pieces, Site Yields Hidden Treasures
The Convento wing of the San Fernando Mission is a highlight with its mishmash of furniture, art and artifacts, ranging from authentic to pure kitsch
Who’d have known – the San Fernando Mission is full of hidden treasures and surprises! San Fernando is hardly the most glamorous or most visited of the 21 California missions, but trust me, it’s like none of its “sisters” and is well worth a visit – thanks in large part to its monsignor, Francis J. Weber.
I’ve been to about a dozen of the California missions up and down the state, but it wasn’t until recently that I headed up to Mission Hills to venture into Mission San Fernando Rey de España. (The history of the missions is fascinating, but rather than get into it here, I urge you to read up on it.)
At first blush, the mission is elegant but architecturally rather plain, not as grand as Santa Barbara or as charming as San Juan Capistrano. Built in fairly typical mission style, San Fernando has lovely courtyards and gardens, fountains, a sweet chapel, colonnades to provide shade, thick adobe walls for cooling in summer and warmth in winter, and the use of heavy wood, tile and iron work. But it’s all wrapped in an undistinguished architectural skin.
The Bishop’s Room
It’s larger than many missions, partly because it also housed a seminary as well as a working farm. It also has some unique features, including the Bob Hope Memorial Garden (the famed entertainer and his wife are buried there). And it had to be rebuilt from the ground up because it was destroyed in the devastating 1971 Sylmar earthquake.
But what really distinguishes this mission from others, in my view, is the Convento and the Madonna Room. These two areas house such a mishmash of furniture, art and artifacts – ranging from authentic to pure kitsch – that it sometimes feels like you’ve fallen down Alice’s rabbit hole, never knowing what you’ll stumble on next but enjoying the adventure.
During the days of the Mission, the Convento was used as a residential building for the missionaries, including temporary accommodations for the missionaries as they traveled between the missions along the Camino Real. California’s first bishop, Francisco García Diego y Moreno, lived at the Convento from 1820 to 1835.
The kitschy but charming Madonna of Baseball was a surprise
In addition to the authentically refurbished rooms, there is a theater for viewing historical films and the recently opened wine cellar. Completed in the 1820s, the wing of the mission includes a famous corridor with 21 Roman arches, four-foot adobe walls and the original iron grilles.
But as mentioned previously, it’s the interesting variety of art, furniture and artifacts that makes it stand out. The Bishop’s Room feels fairly authentic, with its 18th and 19th-century Spanish and Mexican furnishings. The Convento houses the oldest organ in North America, and a wonderful bulto (a kind of doll) of The Holy Child of Atocha can be found there.
But then, you’ll come across cabinets that are clearly Italian-influenced, as well as objects from the 1920s Spanish Colonia Revival era. And the mixture all fits together beautifully.
Meanwhile, in the Madonna Room, housed in the same wing and which had likely been a prison originally, are gathered several hundred statues, plaques, paintings and depictions of the Blessed Mother.
The Bob Hope Memorial Garden
But you have never seen Madonnas like these. Many are so wonderfully kitschy and funny – like the Alaska Madonna and child in the shape of Eskimos or Our Lady of Chavez (as in Ravine), Madonna of Baseball, holding a baby but with four Little Leaguers at her feet. A must for Dodger fans everywhere!
Why this eclectic mix of furnishings? Very simply, the mission’s Msgr. Francis J. Weber, according to a helpful staff person, fills the rooms with items that interest him. And why not?
The chapel altar at San Fernando Mission
By all means, visit the mission’s museum, chapel and gardens. But don’t skip the Convento and Madonna Room – taken together or separately, there’s nothing like it in the Los Angeles area.
Or, even better, come with me because I’m planning a tour of the mission in the near future!
