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The statue of King Louis IX of France is positioned high above the entrance to the mission chapel.
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Entrance doors to Mission San Luis Rey de Francia. The design is called the "River of Happiness."
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The church was built in the form of a cruciform with a long nave crossed by a transept which contains two side altars. The "reredos" and the altar are part orginal and part reconstruction. Its Classical and Baroque flare are typical of the California mission style.
A feature shared by no other mission was an octagonal lantern which topped a dome at the crossing. In 1829 the lantern had eight colums and was let by 144 panes of glass. In the 1890's the design of the lantern was changed when it was enlarged. It was altered from octagonal to a round shape.
On the left side is the orginal pulpit used by the padres to speak to the members of the congregation. The pulpit, based on elements of Moorish design is completely original except the top which was added later. A small spiral staircase around the corner of the wall was used to enter the pulpit.
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The motuary chapel is entered from the nave. Facing the entrance, it is a small room with an elaborate altar. A stairway behind the altar once led to a small balcony overlooking the chapel. Here relatives of the deceased could watch over the body during the night before the funeral services.
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The orginal baptismal font is located inside the mission chapel directly left of the entrance doors in a small alcove. The font was made by the mission's Indians of hand-hammered copper.
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Statues of saints adorning the area to the right of the mail altar. They are dressed in fabric clothing imported from Spain.
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The mission's arched portico is nearly two centuries old, restored and reconstructed by Franciscans from Zacatecas nearly a century ago. The quad angle measured five hundred feet each way, and was designed so that all rooms opened to thus outside hallway.
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Mission bell hanging in the portico.
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A statue located in the mission cementery to honor Father Fermin de Lasuen. Father Lasuen took Father Sierra's place after he died. Father Lasuen founded the next nine missions; Mission San Luis Rey de Francia was the last of the group.
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A plaque in the mission cemetery honors the memory of Fray Junipero Serra, the founder of the Mission system in California.
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A statue of Christ adorns the cementery adjoining the mission.
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San Luis Rey cemetery is surrounded by thick adobe walls that repeat the form of the facade of the church. The cemetery is the oldest one in North San Diego Country. It contains simple stone posts, crosses, and mausoleums dating back to 1798.
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Located across from the arched portico are the ruines of the Spanish soldiers' barracks. These soldiers guarded the region between San Diego and San Juan Capistrano.
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An ornate arch and tiled stairway leads down to a sunken garden and lavandaria, or laundry area. Warm springs on each side provided the Indian women with water to wash clothes on bricks. There was morewater at the Mission San Luis Rey than at any other mission. Indians had water available for bathing and waste water flowed into the garden area.
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Steps leading down from the ornate archway to the lavandaria and sunken gardens open to a small valley across from the mission. Slopes once were covered with fruit trees that were fed with water from springs.
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In the industrial area, a lime kiln was used to bake pottery and tiles for the mission.