Rescue Mission

Former Gov. Pete Wilson once called it America’s Acropolis. Many local residents think of it as Orange County’s birthplace.

But the historic Mission San Juan Capistrano’s Great Stone Church is in danger of crumbling away if preservationists cannot raise $5 million to complete the job of freezing it in time, mission officials said this week.

To date, $2.2 million has been raised and spent on shoring up part of the church, which is falling in on itself. Other areas are braced with scaffolding to prevent further collapse.

The project is important to preservationists because the church, like the other 20 California’s missions, is a significant chapter in the state’s early history.

“Ruins say a lot of things to us,” said Jerry Miller,

mission administrator. The church, he said, “is a tale of tragedy and survival.”

Completed by Spanish padres and Juaneno Indians in 1806, the Greco-Roman-style church was not only a tremendous architectural feat but a landmark--its sanctuary, soaring five stories high, was visible for miles.

It was built of stone and might have stood for centuries. But just six years after its completion, an earthquake toppled the church’s 120-foot-tall bell tower, which crashed into the sanctuary during a service and killed 40 people worshiping inside.

The church was never rebuilt, though the rest of the mission continued to operate and became a popular tourist attraction.

After borrowing $3 million for earthquake retrofitting in the early 1990s, mission officials began the preservation campaign in 1995. But the effort is now stalled for lack of funds.

“I’m lighting a lot of candles,” Miller said. “I have my tin cup out everywhere.”

Miller said the preservation project has been financed mostly by admission fees and donations from the estimated 550,000 people who visit the mission annually.

“Public support is crucial to passing the mission on to future generations,” mission spokesman Jim Graves said. “We need money for preservation if we’re going to have this historical jewel for years to come.”

Today is an opportunity for mission officials to appeal for help from the thousands of people expected for La Fiesta de Las Golondrinas--the annual festival of the swallows, which celebrates the return of the famous birds and the unofficial arrival of spring.

Some people strolling the grounds Friday expressed dismay at the church’s disrepair.

“In a day where ballplayers are getting millions of dollars, you’d think [the mission] could get the money easily,” said Dominic Barilar, 66, a visitor from Pennsylvania.

Clarissa Ocampo, a fourth-grader from West Covina, cited the spiritual significance of the site. “It’s important they rebuild the church,” she said, “because it’s God’s house.”

The situation might even be upsetting the famed swallows, who legend says arrive every year on St. Joseph’s Day, March 19, on their migration from Argentina.

In 1989, when workers were putting up scaffolding, some nests were destroyed, and many of the birds moved to nearby freeway overpasses and the Mission Viejo Mall.

Mission officials hope to entice the birds this year with ladybugs--the swallow’s favorite food--and with strategically placed mud puddles for nest building.

Miller is hopeful that the mission can coax the swallows back and find the money to finish the preservation project.

“It’s been a real challenge,” he said. “You fix one side [of the church], and then a new problem arises somewhere else. . . . I feel like I have my fingers in a lot of holes in the dike.”

“The stones seem to be held up by faith right now,” he said. But “one way or another, I’m going to get this done.”

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Bird Bash

Friday is St. Joseph’s Day, when tradition has it that San Juan Capistrano’s famous swallows return to the old mission. This year’s swallows festivities:

* When: Today and Friday

* Time: 7 a.m.-5 p.m.

* What: Opening ceremony today, followed by ringing of the bells at the first swallow sighting. Activities both days include performances, crafts, mining for gold, tours.

* Admission: Adults, $5; seniors and children 3 and over, $4.

* Where: 31522 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano

* Information: (949) 248-2048