Signed by the Author “An Uncommon Mission” Book

California's 21 missions have long fascinated scholars and tourists alike. Their role in California history and their striking similarities and colorful contrasts have inspired artists and historians throughout the ages. Father Jerome Tupa is not the first to paint these missions, and he won't be the last. But his vision is unique. Through his eyes - those of both an artist and a Benedictine monk - we can see the missions as spiritual icons left standing from the 18th- and 19th-century efforts of Franciscan missionaries to spread Catholicism to the New World. An Uncommon Mission presents for the first time the results of Father Tupa's physical and spiritual pilgrimage these historic and religious sites. In the 61 vibrant works from this stunningly talented priest, in Ruscin's 21 beautiful black-and-white photographs, and in Holly Witchey's considered text, California's past is brought back to life.