Different Trails

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO (Day 14 - part 6)

At one end of the basilica is the Grand retablo, a 42-foot-high, 30-foot-wide, 16-ton altar, carved from cedar and covered in gold leaf.

The retablo ... and umbraculum ("big umbrella")

The umbraculum was originally used on a daily basis to provide shade for the pope. It's now just a symbol of the Catholic Church and of the pope's authority over it. A church gets one when it is elevated to the rank of basilica; the umbraculum of a major basilica is made of gold and red velvet, while that of a minor basilica (such as this one) is made of yellow and red silk. Whenever the pope visits a basilica, its umbraculum is opened.

The retablo ... and tintinnabulum ("little bell")

The four saints on the retablo (which was built in Madrid, Spain) are Saint Francis of Assisi (patron of the mission's founding order), Saint Joseph, Saint Junipero Serra (the mission's founder) and Saint Kateri Tekakwitha.

The tintinnabulum is another indication that a church is a lesser basilica. It is mounted on a pole and carried at the beginning of special processions to announce to people that the pope is about to pass by.

Our Lady of Guadalupe ... St. Joseph

Saint Junipero Serra ... and Saint Kateri Tekakwitha

Kateri Tekakwitha (1656–1680) is the first native North American to be beatified (blessed by the Catholic church). She was an Algonquian-Mohawk from New York State who converted to Christianity at age 19. She became known as Catherine, or Lily of the Mohawks. She died at age 24.

A side shrine

The mission ... Hortus conclusus means "enclosed garden."

Saint Peregrine Laziosi (c. 1260 - 1345) is an Italian saint of the Servite Order. He is the patron saint for persons suffering from cancer or any incurable disease. At the age of sixty, he developed cancer on his leg. The surgeon said it needed to be amputated. The night before the operation, Peregrine spent time praying, and in the morning his leg was completely healed.

The rest of the day was spent visiting breweries, starting with The Bruery.

Among our samples was a spectacular cranberry & orange sour, a barley wine with chocolate & coffee, and a 19.7% imperial stout with chocolate & vanilla.

A video on a tv screen hung on the wall took us through the different stages of the brewing and kegging process.

At Bottle Logic Brewing, we had a dark lager, a baltic porter, a rice lager, plus a bourbon barrel aged spiced pumpkin ale and guava & dragonfruit sour.