WHAT HAPPENED TO MISSION SANTA CRUZ?

You remember that the first Mission that the Padres built at Santa Cruz was washed away in a flood. They started rebuilding it right away, this time on top of a hill, so that it would never be flooded again. They built a bell tower on the Mission and they put nine beautiful bells into the tower. Can you imagine how wonderful it must have been to hear those bells ringing out over the peaceful valley?

They did everything that they could to be sure that the new Mission was safe, but there are some things that you can never prepare for. If you live in California, you know about earthquakes. They happen every once in a while, usually when you don't expect them. Most of them are just like being on a roller coaster for a few seconds, aren't they?

Sometimes, though, the earthquakes are strong enough to make buildings fall down. We don't have to worry about that so much today, because we make our buildings so that earthquakes usually won't knock them down. They didn't know how to do that when the second Mission was built, though, and that's just what happened.

In 1840, there was an earthquake that was strong enough to make the bell tower on the Mission fall over. You can imagine what a noise that must have made, as all of the nine beautiful bells fell to the ground. They say that it woke up most of the town of Santa Cruz! Not only did it knock down the bell tower, but it weakened the rest of the buildings of the Mission.

Then, in 1857, there was another strong earthquake. The poor old Mission was already hurt, and this earthquake finished it. It lay in ruins for years. How sad the priests must have been, to see their beautiful Mission destroyed.

Maybe you've heard that old saying: "It doesn't matter how many times you get knocked down; what matters is how many times you get back up." Well, that's how the priests felt, too. After all, they had a Parish to take care of, and the people had to have some place to go to church.

So, in 1858, just one year after the earthquake, the priests built a new church. This one wasn't as beautiful as the old Mission had been. It was made out of wood, instead of adobe, but it was still a good church. That's where the Catholics in Santa Cruz went to church for almost 30 years.

Then, in 1889, they built the church that is still there today. It's the church that the Holy Cross Parish in Santa Cruz uses. If you click on it,you can see it's very large and it's made out of stone. It's built in a style that's called, "gothic."

What happened to all of the things that were in the second Mission? Well, some of the things were used in the new church, of course. Some of the most beautiful santos were taken to the Mission at Carmel, where they remain to this day. The nine beautiful bells were sent to the Mission at San Francisco, and they are still in use. So, if you ever hear church bells ringing out in San Francisco, think of our little Mission in Santa Cruz, and how hard the priests worked to keep it going.

You might be wondering, though: if the Mission was knocked down in an earthquake, where did today's Mission come from? Well, if you'll click on the bell, we'll tell you all about it.

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