" Then Junipero
Serra planted a Mission Cross and blessed the Spanish flag which Portola
hoisted, taking possession of the land in the name of "His Most Catholic
Majesty King Carlos III, by right of discovery."[1] Junipero Serra also
blessed the sea and land.
As Monterey was from the first established as the civil, military and
religious headquarters of the Spanish kingdom in California, her
Presidio was known as el Presidio Real (the Royal Presidio), and the
present parish church of Monterey, which was built as a chapel for the
Presidio was la Capilla Real de San Carlos (the Royal Chapel of Saint
Charles).
Junipero Serra found the Indians of Monterey and the surrounding country
very docile, while the Indians from Lower California soon learned their
dialect and acted as interpreters of the missionaries. The Cross which
Vizcaino had planted in 1602 was found decked with skins and shells. On
inquiry the Missionaries were told by the Indians that they had often
seen mysterious rays of light around it, and thinking that some god was
angry they were trying to propitiate him by means of those offerings.
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