After Mut's departure in 1886 the parish found itself without a permanent pastor, and the Mission languished during this period.
St. John O'Sullivan arrived in San Juan Capistrano in 1910 to recuperate from a recent stroke, and to seek relief from chronic tuberculosis.
He became fascinated by the scope of the Mission and soon set to work on rebuilding it a section at a time.
O'Sullivan's first task was to repair the roof of the Serra Chapel (which was being employed as a granary and storeroom) using sycamore logs to match those that were used in the original work; in the process, the roof of the apse was raised to allow for the inclusion of a window so that natural light could be brought into the space.
Other refurbishments were made as time and funds permitted.
Arthur B. Benton, a Los Angeles architect, strengthened the chapel walls through the addition of heavy masonry buttresses.
The centerpiece of the chapel is its spectacular retablo which serves as the backdrop for the altar.
A masterpiece of Baroque art, the altarpiece was hand-carved of 396 individual pieces of cherry wood and overlaid in gold leaf in Barcelona and is estimated to be 400 years old.
It was originally imported from Barcelona in 1806 for the Los Angeles cathedral but was never used.
It was later donated by Archbishop John Joseph Cantwell of Los Angeles and installed sometime between 1922 and 1924 (the north end of the building had to be enlarged to accommodate this piece due to its height).
Although the retablo had been relayered over the centuries, most of the original gilding remains underneath the modern materials (extensive restoration was begun in June 2006).

The first of many Hollywood productions to use San Juan Capistrano as a backdrop was D.W. Griffith's 1910 western film The Two Brothers (the first film ever shot in Orange County).
On January 7, 1911, the film's leading lady, silent film star Mary Pickford, secretly wed fellow actor Owen Moore in the Mission chapel.
Artist Charles Percy Austin often stayed in San Juan Capistrano and donated several of his works, the most notable being his memorialization of Pickford's wedding ceremony, appropriately entitled Mary Pickford's Wedding, which he painted after O'Sullivan performed the marriage rites.
Noted portraitist Joseph Kleitsch also resided at the Mission for a time, and painted a portrait of O'Sullivan in 1924 (among other works).
The third and final act of John Steven McGroarty's The Mission Play (1911) is set "...amid the broken and deserted walls of Mission San Juan Capistrano (the Mission of the Swallow), in 1847."

Severe flooding destroyed a portion of the Mission's front arcade in 1915, and heavy storms a year later washed away one end of the barracks building (which O'Sullivan rebuilt in 1917), incorporating minor modifications such as an ornamental archway in order to make the edifice more closely resemble a church.
The Mission grounds were enclosed with a wood picket fence, and beginning on May 9, 1916, a ten-cent admission fee was charged to help defray preservation costs.
In 1918, the Mission was given parochial status, with O'Sullivan serving as its first modern pastor.
It was on April 21 of that year that the San Jacinto Earthquake caused moderate structural damage to some of the buildings.
In 1919, author Johnston McCulley created the character "Zorro" and chose Mission San Juan Capistrano as the setting for the first novella, The Curse of Capistrano.
In 1920, the "Sacred Garden" was created in the courtyard adjacent to the stone church, and in 1925 the full restoration of the Serra Chapel was completed.
O'Sullivan died in 1933 and was interred in the Mission cemetery (campo santo) amongst more than 2,000 former inhabitants (mostly Juaneño Indians), who are buried in unmarked graves.
O'Sullivan's tomb lies at the foot of a Celtic cross that O'Sullivan himself erected as a memorial to the Mission's builders.

After O'Sullivan's death, Arthur J. Hutchinson (another pastor with a love of California history) assumed leadership of the Mission, and played a central role in raising
After Mut's departure in 1886 the parish found itself without a permanent pastor, and the Mission languished during this period. St. John O'Sullivan arrived in San Juan Capistrano in 1910 to recuperate from a recent stroke, and to seek relief from chronic tuberculosis. He became fascinated by the scope of the Mission and soon set to work on rebuilding it a section at a time. O'Sullivan's first task was to repair the roof of the Serra Chapel (which was being employed as a granary and storeroom) using sycamore logs to match those that were used in the original work; in the process, the roof of the apse was raised to allow for the inclusion of a window so that natural light could be brought into the space. Other refurbishments were made as time and funds permitted. Arthur B. Benton, a Los Angeles architect, strengthened the chapel walls through the addition of heavy masonry buttresses. The centerpiece of the chapel is its spectacular retablo which serves as the backdrop for the altar. A masterpiece of Baroque art, the altarpiece was hand-carved of 396 individual pieces of cherry wood and overlaid in gold leaf in Barcelona and is estimated to be 400 years old. It was originally imported from Barcelona in 1806 for the Los Angeles cathedral but was never used. It was later donated by Archbishop John Joseph Cantwell of Los Angeles and installed sometime between 1922 and 1924 (the north end of the building had to be enlarged to accommodate this piece due to its height). Although the retablo had been relayered over the centuries, most of the original gilding remains underneath the modern materials (extensive restoration was begun in June 2006).
The first of many Hollywood productions to use San Juan Capistrano as a backdrop was D.W. Griffith's 1910 western film The Two Brothers (the first film ever shot in Orange County). On January 7, 1911, the film's leading lady, silent film star Mary Pickford, secretly wed fellow actor Owen Moore in the Mission chapel. Artist Charles Percy Austin often stayed in San Juan Capistrano and donated several of his works, the most notable being his memorialization of Pickford's wedding ceremony, appropriately entitled Mary Pickford's Wedding, which he painted after O'Sullivan performed the marriage rites. Noted portraitist Joseph Kleitsch also resided at the Mission for a time, and painted a portrait of O'Sullivan in 1924 (among other works). The third and final act of John Steven McGroarty's The Mission Play (1911) is set "...amid the broken and deserted walls of Mission San Juan Capistrano (the Mission of the Swallow), in 1847."
Severe flooding destroyed a portion of the Mission's front arcade in 1915, and heavy storms a year later washed away one end of the barracks building (which O'Sullivan rebuilt in 1917), incorporating minor modifications such as an ornamental archway in order to make the edifice more closely resemble a church. The Mission grounds were enclosed with a wood picket fence, and beginning on May 9, 1916, a ten-cent admission fee was charged to help defray preservation costs. In 1918, the Mission was given parochial status, with O'Sullivan serving as its first modern pastor. It was on April 21 of that year that the San Jacinto Earthquake caused moderate structural damage to some of the buildings. In 1919, author Johnston McCulley created the character "Zorro" and chose Mission San Juan Capistrano as the setting for the first novella, The Curse of Capistrano. In 1920, the "Sacred Garden" was created in the courtyard adjacent to the stone church, and in 1925 the full restoration of the Serra Chapel was completed. O'Sullivan died in 1933 and was interred in the Mission cemetery (campo santo) amongst more than 2,000 former inhabitants (mostly Juaneño Indians), who are buried in unmarked graves. O'Sullivan's tomb lies at the foot of a Celtic cross that O'Sullivan himself erected as a memorial to the Mission's builders.
After O'Sullivan's death, Arthur J. Hutchinson (another pastor with a love of California history) assumed leadership of the Mission, and played a central role in raising
Mission San Juan Capistrano