Maritime fortresses typically reserved space for worship. These chapels, like churches, were dedicated to celestial figures.

The chapel at the Fort of San Diego was dedicated to the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception, who also lent her name to one of the fort’s outer bastions. The Spanish Crown actively sought to spread the Catholic faith in its territories, and every military enterprise also served as an instrument of evangelization.

This exhibit seeks to recreate the appearance and objects of the chapel as it would have been in the early 19th century, near the end of the colonial era. The arrangement reflects the way ritual items were placed in this sacred space.