Before we get going, I want to say that it is important to remember that the California missions have complicated histories. For some, they were and remain a place of peace, with memories of weddings and other life events, however, they also have a history of violence, slavery, and forced religious conversion, which aided in the destruction and erasure of Native culture.

One of my favorite television shows is Disney’s Zorro, while the show originally aired from 1957 to 1959, I watched it at midnight on the late night programming known as Vault Disney on the Disney Channel, and thankfully it has recently been added to Disney+. While most of the show was filmed on a backlot set built specifically for the series at the Disney Studio (demolished in the 90s, the site is currently home to the aptly named Zorro Parking Structure) it filmed on location at a few notable places, including Mission San Luis Rey, which turns 225 this year.

Founded in 1798, Mission San Luis Rey is the 18th of the 21 original missions commissioned by the Spanish Catholic Church. The current church you see today is actually the third built on the site, with construction starting in 1811, and completed in 1815. Because of its extensive size and tens of of thousands of livestock that once roamed here the mission received the nickname “King of the Missions.”

In 1821 Mexico won its independence from Spain, and with it the arrival of secularization, disbanding the missions. Left more or less abandoned, locals chipped away at the religious center, taking materials for construction elsewhere. Eventually the United States military used the mission as a military base from 1847 to 1857, and it is said that even livestock resided within the mission walls, doing further damage to the once elegant church. During the military’s residency California became a state, and shortly after, on May 18, 1867, President Abraham Lincoln returned Mission San Luis Rey to the Catholic Church.

Despite the change in ownership the mission remained dilapidated and abandoned until 1892 when a group of Mexican Franciscans took it over to begin restoring it. Today, the restored mission is still an active church and a school of theology, with regular church service and friars living on site. Those interested in the history of the mission can visit the museum showcasing artifacts, including the Lincoln document which is an item of pride for the mission and the last known remaining padre walking staff. Another artifact I was happy to see was the set of doors that the Disney Studio created for the entrance to the cemetery. Another beloved item at the mission is a massive pepper tree, said to be the oldest in California, planted with seeds from Peru in 1830, located within the private retreat garden, however visitors are able to view it from a special area as well as the patio of the coffee shop.

For Zorro, Mission San Luis Rey, located in Oceanside, stood in for Mission San Gabriel (we visited the church awhile back, however it suffered a fire in July of 2020) and was used in three of the first four episodes of the first season. Don Ignacio “Nacho” Torres, wrongly accused of treason, is freed from jail by Zorro, and seeks sanctuary at the mission. Eventually the evil and selfish Captain Monastario usurps the mission’s Native Americans, and violently forces them into redundant manual labor in an attempt to guilt Torres out of sanctuary, saying he will end the violence when Torres surrenders. When this plan fails, Monastario comes up with a story that Native Americans are planning to kill the padre and burn the mission, and he therefore places the mission under marshal law, demanding food and shelter for the soldiers, while also cutting Torres off from food and water.

Don Diego (aka Zorro) intermittently visits with Torres, and later returns under the pretense of giving a manuscript to the padre, but it’s all a clever ruse.  Don Diego tells the lovable but oafish Sgt. Garcia that the manuscript contains a story of a monk who was tied to the pepper tree, went mad, and returns at night as a ghost known as “The Mad Monk.” Don Diego goes on to say that the author was found dead under the same tree. That night Diego, as Zorro, and his faithful man servant, Bernardo, return to recreate the story and frighten away the soldiers, leaving Torres free to ride to Monterey (California’s capital at the time) to tell the governor of Monastario’s monstrous acts.

The mission showed up again, in episode 12, “The Luckiest Swordsman Alive” when Monastario concocted a scheme to have a fake Zorro steal jewels from the mission, in an attempt to sully Zorro’s good name.

I’ve intermixed screencaps from the three episodes of Zorro to showcase how much remains the same. While the cemetery also appears in the show, it has changed dramatically in the 65 years since filming, as it is still an active cemetery.

Walk along the same pathways as Zorro’s Guy Williams at Mission San Luis Rey at 4050 Mission Avenue in Oceanside. While the museum costs an admission fee ($8 per adult during our visit) the church itself, cemetery, and pepper tree viewing area are free to visit. Learn more via the mission’s website.

Outfit
Hat, Purse, and Boots: Buffalo Exchange
Mexican Tourist Jacket: I think this one came from Elsewhere Vintage, Orange, California.
Peasant Top: I can’t remember!
Brooch: Match Accessories, however it has been discontinued.
Jeans: Lee

Sources
“History” Mission San Luis Rey. Accessed 22 January 2023.
Information on site.
“San Luis Rey Mission Church” National Park Service. Accessed 22 January 2023.