[3] The church was founded by the Franciscan Saint Junípero Serra as the chapel of Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo on June 3, 1770.

Father Serra first established the original mission in Monterey at this location on June 3, 1770, near the native village of Tamo.

[5] When the mission was moved, the existing wood and adobe building became the San Jose Chapel for the Presidio of Monterey.

The original 1770-71 church along with other buildings in the presido were destroyed by fire caused by a salute gun in 1789 and was replaced by the present sandstone structure built between 1791 and 1795.

After Alemany became Archbishop of San Francisco, his successor Thaddeus Amat y Brusi moved the cathedral to Mission Santa Barbara, to be closer to the population in Los Angeles.

Father Mestres had received special dispensation from the bishop to perform the civil ceremony because there was no Protestant minister in town at the time.

The Royal Presidio Chapel is the first stone building in California and reflects the exquisite Spanish Colonial style of the late 18th century.

There is a bell tower to announce Mass and in the niche at the very top of the façade there is a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the oldest non-indigenous sculpture in the state.