California Travel

California Mission Glossary

By Betsy Malloy, About.com

Adobe - bricks made of compressed mud and straw, dried in the sun.
Buttress - a structure made of stone or wood, built against a wall to strengthen it
Campanario - A wall which holds bells
Cloister - an enclosed area
Convento - a group of monks or nuns, or the place where they gather
El Camino Real - Spanish for "the King's Highway", the name of the road that connected the California mission chain
Facade - the face or front of a building
Font - a large, decorated bowl holding Holy Water for baptizing people
Friar - a member of the Franciscan order
Franciscan - a member of a Catholic church religious order, named for St. Francis of Assisi
Fresco - paintings done directly on wet plaster
Neophyte - new convert
Padre - Spanish word for father, used for a priest or pastor
Presidio - a camp or fort
Quadrangle - an enclosed courtyard or patio, having four sides
Reredos - the wall behind the main altar in a church
Restoration- to repair or return something to its original condition
Sanctuary- the area inside a church where the main altar is found
Secular- not religious
Secularization- to change from religious to not religious, in mission days it meant taking the California mission buildings away from the church and placing them under government rule

Guide since 1998

Betsy Malloy
California Travel Guide

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