SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO

city, Orange County, southern California, U.S., near the Pacific coast, halfway between San Diego and Los Angeles. Settlement developed around the Mission San Juan Capistrano, the seventh in the California chain of 21 Franciscan missions, founded in 1776 by Father Junpero Serra, and named for St. John (San Juan) of Capistrano, the crusader. The mission, constructed 17971806, was badly damaged by an earthquake of 1812 which wrecked its cruciform church and killed 29 people. The church remains a crumbled ruin with arches, quadrangle, and garden; there has, however, been some restoration of the mission buildings including the adobe Serra Chapel (still in use). The mission has gained fame through its swallows which reputedly fly off on St. John's Day (October 23) and return miraculously to their mission nests on St. Joseph's Day (March 19). Their departure and return are celebrated by fiestas. The city (Inc. 1961) is populated in part by descendants of early Spanish-Mexican-Indian settlers, and there has been some modern residential development. Pop. (1990) 26,183.