Mission San Luis Rey Parish

My review is strictly on the tour.
My Son had a report to do for school and we took the tour. It was very informative and they provided us a folder of information he could use. There was so much information in packet that we were so thankful.
We weren’t able to see in the church but the grounds were well kept.

This was the first parish we went to when we first moved here to Oceanside in 1988. I have been coming here since. I had left for 10 years from 95 to 05 and came back here again. My two youngest were baptized here as well. Love the pastors and everyone who is here. Great atmosphere and Great people!

Nope. Wasn’t a fan. I had high, high hopes going in since it’s one of the larger missions, but I ended up thoroughly disappointed.
The museum itself was pretty small (in comparison to other missions I’ve seen) and the grounds were closed off in a number of areas for retreats and private events. I did make it down to the ruins and observed graffiti scrawled on the fenceposts and whatnot. Also, there was very limited signage throughout the grounds, so I really didn’t know exactly what I was looking half the time. What a bummer.

I remember when I was younger, learning about all of these missions. Just recently, I was driving along the 5 south freeway, heading home from a vacation when I saw signs for this mission. I decided to just check it out on a whim, because it was a beautiful day.
I don’t regret going. It definitely cleared my head; it was so beautiful. You can feel the history seeping through the walls, and everywhere you look, you can just imagine what life must have been. They did really well with preserving artifacts, and creating a little museum walkthrough. It ends with a very educational video for those people who would want to know more.
Very well kept ground and beautiful gardens. It’s a great place to go to alone, because it’s not crowded (well, it wasn’t on the weekday I was there), and it’s a great place to explore. Amazing place to bring your children to, if you would like to educate them more on the happenings of the mission era.

Ok

There are so many reasons to love this parish! The history and the buildings are amazing, but since this review is for the parish, I’ll hold my thoughts on those separately.
The priests and brothers here are very knowledgeable, the sermons are realistic and personalized (not the same ones year after year), and the parish always tries to get everyone involved, and not in a pushy way.
This is a parish that makes you’d like to belong and help out, however you can, and I’m definitely proud to!

Chances are that if you live in Southern California you have heard of the Mission San Luis Rey. They teach about it in school when you learn about Spanish influence. It is an amazing exerpience to go to mass early morning in the old Mission parish, even if you gave another home parish. This history pours from the walls with precious artwork and paintings.
The parish has grown fairly large with only small morning mass and special masses held in the old mission. All regular and later day masses are held in the Serra Center just East of the old Mission. I prefer the old mission because I am condition to the pews and kneelers.
The services are very welcoming, spread across many cultures and are still held fairly traditional. I love the homilies from both priests as they have quite the sense of humor. They constantly pull the history out of all readings and bring it back to a point where even the youngest of parishioners understand the message.
Great parish, historical location and interesting homilies. I sure will miss the Mission San Luis Rey (Oceanside) and St. Francis of Assisi (Vista) when I leave. Such great communities.