1812 San Juan Capistrano earthquake

Background. Mission San Juan Capistrano was founded on November 1, 1776 in colonial Las Californias by Franciscan missionaries and named for Saint John of Capistrano. Its Spanish Colonial Baroque church stood in the Alta California province of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. Father Aguílar directed the church's construction, incorporating a stone domed roof structure unlike the flat wood roofs typical of other California missions.

The Earthquake Sequence. On the morning of December 8, 1812, the Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception, a series of large earthquakes shook Southern California during the first Sunday service. The event, also called the Wrightwood earthquake, occurred at 15:00 UTC (7:00 a.m. local time). Damage extended to several missions in the region of Pueblo de Los Ángeles, including Mission San Gabriel Arcángel as well as San Juan Capistrano.

Collapse and Aftermath. The shock racked the doors of the church, pinning them shut, and 40 parishioners died in the collapse during the early morning service. The Great Stone Church was all but leveled. In the aftermath, the two largest bells cracked and split open, though an 1850 sketch shows the transept domes and the main dome and cupola above the sanctuary survived the earthquake.