On Sunday, November 1, 2026, Mission San Juan Capistrano will mark its 250th anniversary. This remarkable milestone offers an opportunity to reflect on the Mission’s enduring legacy of tradition, faith and its far-reaching historical significance in California and beyond.<\/p>\n
In celebration of this historic anniversary, the Mission Preservation Foundation is proud to present a special, yearlong Artifact of the Month program. Throughout 2026, the Mission will showcase a different artifact from its extensive archives each month, offering visitors a rare opportunity to encounter objects that tell the story of the Mission across centuries.<\/p>\n
Many of these artifacts are seldom seen by the public. This rotating exhibition will include an original 19th-century confessional booth, the historic 1865 Lincoln Document, rare books and many more significant pieces that illuminate the Mission\u2019s enduring legacy.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
January 2026<\/strong> February 2026<\/strong> March 2026<\/strong> April 2026<\/strong> May 2026<\/strong> June 2026<\/strong> July 2026 August 2026\u00a0<\/strong> September 2026\u00a0<\/strong> October 2026<\/strong> November 2026<\/strong> December 2026<\/strong>
\n\u2013 Artifact of the Month (Jan. 5 \u2013 Feb. 2): Mary Pickford\u2019s Wedding painting from 1924 (Location: Mission Treasures Exhibit)<\/p>\n
\n\u2013 Artifact of the Month (Feb. 2 \u2013 March 2): The Lincoln Document signed on March 18, 1865, on limited display (Location: Mission Treasures Exhibit)<\/p>\n
\n\u2013 Artifact of the Month (March 2 \u2013 April 6): The Leon Rene Piano from 1930 (Location: Leon Rene Exhibit)<\/p>\n
\n\u2013 Artifact of the Month (April 6 \u2013 May 4): Confessional Booth from the early 1800s (Location: Sala)<\/p>\n
\n\u2013 Artifact of the Month (May 4 \u2013 June 1): Baptismal Font from the early 1800s (Location: Serra Chapel)<\/p>\n
\n\u2013 Artifact of the Month (June 1 \u2013 July 6): Forster Saddle from the 1830s (Location: Mission Treasures Exhibit)<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>\u2013 Artifact of the Month (July 6 \u2013 August 3): Mission Inventories written from 1791-1834 (Location: Sala)<\/p>\n
\n\u2013 Artifact of the Month (Aug. 3 \u2013 Sept. 4): Historic Photograph Collection from the early – late 1800s (Location: Mission Treasures Exhibit<\/em>)<\/p>\n
\n\u2013 Artifact of the Month (Sept. 4 \u2013 Oct. 5): Books written about the Mission from the early 1900s; Chinigchinich, Capistrano Nights and Little Chapters (Location: Mission Treasures Exhibit<\/em>)<\/p>\n
\n\u2013 Artifact of the Month (Oct. 5 \u2013 Nov. 2): Acjachemen Baskets from the early 1900s (Location: Acjachemen Exhibit<\/em>)<\/p>\n
\n\u2013 Artifact of the Month (Nov. 2 \u2013 Dec. 7): Sacramental Registers written in 1776 (Location: Mission Treasures Exhibit<\/em>)<\/p>\n
\n\u2013 Artifact of the Month (Dec. 7 \u2013 Jan. 4, 2027): Station XII of the Stations of the Cross painting from 1800 (Location: Serra Chapel<\/em>)<\/p>","excerpt":"","slug":"artifact-of-the-month-forster-saddle-1830s","image":{"url":"https:\/\/www.missionsjc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/05.500-scaled.jpg","id":7383,"extension":"jpg","width":1647,"height":2560,"filesize":392133,"sizes":{"medium":{"width":193,"height":300,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":10238,"url":"https:\/\/www.missionsjc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/05.500-193x300.jpg"},"large":{"width":659,"height":1024,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":80743,"url":"https:\/\/www.missionsjc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/05.500-659x1024.jpg"},"thumbnail":{"width":150,"height":150,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":4975,"url":"https:\/\/www.missionsjc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/05.500-150x150.jpg"},"medium_large":{"width":768,"height":1193,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":105075,"url":"https:\/\/www.missionsjc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/05.500-768x1193.jpg"},"1536x1536":{"width":988,"height":1536,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":162841,"url":"https:\/\/www.missionsjc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/05.500-988x1536.jpg"},"2048x2048":{"width":1318,"height":2048,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":268308,"url":"https:\/\/www.missionsjc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/05.500-1318x2048.jpg"}},"original_image":"05.500.jpg"},"all_day":true,"start_date":"2026-06-10 00:00:00","start_date_details":{"year":"2026","month":"06","day":"10","hour":"00","minutes":"00","seconds":"00"},"end_date":"2026-06-10 23:59:59","end_date_details":{"year":"2026","month":"06","day":"10","hour":"23","minutes":"59","seconds":"59"},"utc_start_date":"2026-06-10 07:00:00","utc_start_date_details":{"year":"2026","month":"06","day":"10","hour":"07","minutes":"00","seconds":"00"},"utc_end_date":"2026-06-11 06:59:59","utc_end_date_details":{"year":"2026","month":"06","day":"11","hour":"06","minutes":"59","seconds":"59"},"timezone":"America\/Los_Angeles","timezone_abbr":"PDT","cost":"","cost_details":{"currency_symbol":"$","currency_code":"USD","currency_position":"prefix","values":[]},"website":"","show_map":true,"show_map_link":true,"hide_from_listings":false,"sticky":true,"featured":true,"categories":[{"name":"Special Events","slug":"special-events","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":4,"taxonomy":"tribe_events_cat","description":"","parent":0,"count":52,"filter":"raw","id":4,"urls":{"self":"https:\/\/www.missionsjc.com\/wp-json\/tribe\/events\/v1\/categories\/4","collection":"https:\/\/www.missionsjc.com\/wp-json\/tribe\/events\/v1\/categories"}}],"tags":[],"venue":[],"organizer":[],"custom_fields":[],"json_ld":{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Event","name":"Artifact of the Month: Forster Saddle (1830s)","description":"<p>On Sunday, November 1, 2026, Mission San Juan Capistrano will mark its 250th anniversary. This remarkable milestone offers an opportunity to reflect on the Mission\\'s enduring legacy of tradition, faith … <a href="https:\/\/www.missionsjc.com\/event\/artifact-of-the-month-forster-saddle-1830s\/2026-06-10\/">Continued<\/a><\/p>\\n","image":"https:\/\/www.missionsjc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/05.500-scaled.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.missionsjc.com\/event\/artifact-of-the-month-forster-saddle-1830s\/2026-06-10\/","eventAttendanceMode":"https:\/\/schema.org\/OfflineEventAttendanceMode","eventStatus":"https:\/\/schema.org\/EventScheduled","startDate":"2026-06-10T00:00:00-07:00","endDate":"2026-06-10T23:59:59-07:00","performer":"Organization"},"is_virtual":false,"virtual_url":null,"virtual_video_source":""}