USD Magazine, Winter/Spring 1997

Whitcomb '53, former USO director of institutional design and professor emeritus of art history, to spiff up the interior. Whitcomb's intimate knowledge of Spanish architecture and local use of color compelled her to repaint the walls and ceiling, redesign the sanctu– ary and replace works of art appropriate to the historic church. There is a peacefulness to the mission grounds not unlike that felt at USD, no doubt due in large part to the atmosphere created by Whitcomb and Whelan. As protector of the art collection,

territory for Lowry, who calls the mission her parish and spends many hours on the grounds, which now includes a retreat center and parish complex in addition to the historic mission. She regards the historic landmark as a place still functioning in many of the same ways it did for the settlers of California and visitors to the frontier. In their heyday, the missions, all established a day's journey from the next, served as religious centers and community gathering places, and provided food and shelter for travelers. San Luis Rey's

Whelan maintains the mission muse– um and often serves as adviser for restoration work that continues today. Her handiwork includes hand-painted lettering that marks doorways throughout the grounds. In a sense, the entire mission complex is a work of art to be pre– served and admired for generations to come. The care Brandes, Moriarty, Monsignor Eagen, Whitcomb, Whelan and countless students have taken to restore the mission is a testament to their love for the past as well as the future. King of the Missions l;'atricia Lowry keeps future genera– tions in mind when she spends sum– mers researching the restoration of Mission San Luis Rey, San Diego County's second mission, which was founded June 13, 1798, six miles east of Oceanside.

sizable cemetery adjacent to the church is a walk through history itself, the names of folks buried there representing all the different nationalities of the people who set– tled the California frontier. "They weren't just Indians.

They weren't just Spaniards or Mex– ican nationals," Lowry says. "This is a microcosm of what was on the fron– tier and we're still that microcosm of the people who are here.'' Art is History The cemetery isn't the only place to feel the presence of bygone days. The seven-room San Luis Rey museum, cared for by Whelan, boasts tools and furniture used by the founders of the mission, vestments used in church ceremonies and photographs taken since the restoration. Franciscan friars wan– der among the visitors, bringing the past vividly to life and reminding them the mission is still serving its commu– nity.

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As a part-time employee of the mission, Whelan spends three days a week attending to the museum exhibits, conserving the older artifacts and acting as his–

The USD associate profes– sor of education is writing a book on the period beginning in 1893, when the mission was restored to the Franciscans

toric adviser when repair work is done on the complex. Much of her knowledge is derived from on-the-job experience, something she's had 10 years to accumulate. Whitcomb recommended the USD alumna for the job of main– taining the museums of both missions soon after Whelan graduated in 1986. As a student of Whitcomb's and now as a colleague, Whelan has absorbed much of the acute understanding of Spanish and Californian art and design for which Whitcomb is recognized throughout the state. The duo are responsible for recreating the original beauty of the mission at San Luis Rey, with Whelan restor– ing works of art, including the stations of the cross, and Whitcomb researching and interpreting the design elements of both the interior and exterior. Mission San Luis Rey's collection of artifacts is quite extensive, considering that most of them were looted when the mission was abandoned in 1846. The return of the Franciscans later that century

and a rebuilding of the church began. Once the most prosperous of the 21 California missions, Mission San Luis Rey fell into terrible disrepair after being abandoned for nearly half a century when the U.S. government took control of the land in 1846. Lowry recalls watching a young school-age visitor as he stood in front of the imposing wooden doors of the restored church, his hand on his hip, asking, "I wonder if this place really looked like this?" Not exactly, Lowry has come to find out. The 12 arches across the front promenade originally numbered 32. Only one of the half– dozen pepper trees shading the front walkway still exists and the land area inside the rebuilt mission walls is much smaller than the

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