<P> Mission San Carlos Borromeo del río Carmelo, also known as the Carmel Mission or Mission Carmel, is a Roman Catholic mission church in Carmel - by - the - Sea, California . It is on the National Register of Historic Places and a U.S. National Historic Landmark . The mission was the headquarters of the Alta California missions headed by Saint Junípero Serra from 1770 until his death in 1784 . It was also the seat of the second presidente, Father Fermin Francisco de Lasuen . </P> <P> The mission buildings and lands were secularized by the Mexican government in 1833, and had fallen into disrepair by the mid-19th century . They were partially restored beginning in 1884 . In 1886 it was transferred from the Franciscans to the local diocese and has continued as a parish church since then . It is the only one of the California Missions to have its original bell tower dome . </P> <P> Mission Carmel is the second mission built by Franciscan missionaries in Upper California . It was first established as Mission San Carlos Borromeo in Monterey, California near the native village of Tamo on June 3, 1770 . It was named for Carlo Borromeo, Archbishop of Milan, Italy . It was the site of the first Christian confirmation in Alta California . When the mission moved, the original building continued to operate as the Royal Presidio chapel and later became the current Cathedral of San Carlos Borromeo . </P> <P> Pedro Fages, who served as military governor of Alta California between 1770 and 1774, kept his headquarters at the Presidio of Monterey, the capital of Alta California . He worked his men very harshly and was seen as a tyrant . Serra intervened on behalf of Fages' soldiers, and the two men did not get along . The soldiers raped the Indian woman and kept them as concubines . Serra wanted to put some distance between the missions neophytes and Fages' soldiers . </P>

When was san carlos borromeo de carmelo built