21 California missions were founded. They cover 650 miles along the El Camino Real (King’s Highway) between San Diego and Sonoma.
Mission Santa Cruz WHO: Mission Santa Cruz was founded by Father Fermin Lasuen. WHAT: The mission was named after the Holy Cross, not after a Saint like most of the other missions. It was nicknamed “The Hard Luck Mission”. WHERE: Mission Santa Cruz is located at 130 Emmett Street, Santa Cruz, California. The city of […]
Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana WHO: Mission San Fernando was founded by Father Fermin Lasuen. WHAT: The mission was named after Saint Ferdinand; King of Spain; and was nicknamed “Mission of the Valley”. WHERE: The mission is located at 15151 San Fernando Mission Blvd in San Fernando, California. The city of San Fernando is […]
Mission Santa Barbara WHO: Mission Santa Barbara was founded by Father Fermín Lasuén, the first mission he founded after taking over from Father Serra. WHAT: The mission was named after Senora Barbara, patron saint of Greece, and is called the “Queen of the Missions”. WHERE: The mission is located at 2201 Laguna Street in Santa […]
Mission San Gabriel Arcangel WHO: Mission San Gabriel was founded by Fray Angel Francisco de Sonera and Fray Pedro Benito Cambon. WHAT: The mission was named after the Archangel Gabriel, and is nicknamed the ‘Godmother of the Pueblo of Los Angeles’. WHERE: The mission is located at 428 South Mission Drive in San Gabriel, California. […]
Mission San Miguel Arcangel WHO: The founding priest of Mission San Miguel was Father Fermin Lasuen. WHAT: The mission was named after the Archangel Michael, and was nicknamed “The Unretouched Mission” and “Mission of the Highway” WHERE: The mission is located at 775 Mission St. in San Miguel, California. WHEN: The mission was founded on […]
Mission La Purísima Concepción de María Santísima WHO: Mission La Purisima was founded by Father Fermin Lasuen. WHAT: The mission was named after the immaculate conception of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary and nicknamed “The Linear Mission”. WHERE: The mission is located at 2295 Purisima Road, Lompoc, California. WHEN: The mission was founded on December […]
Mission San Francisco Solano WHO: Mission San Francisco Solano was founded by Father Jose Altimira. WHAT: The mission is nicknamed “Sonoma Mission”. WHERE: The mission is located at 114 East Spain in Sonoma, California. WHEN: The mission was founded on July 4, 1823. It was the twenty-first and last of California’s twenty-one missions. WHY: It […]
Mission San Carlos Borromeo del Rio Carmelo WHO: Mission Carmel was founded by Father Junipero Serra. It is the site of his shrine and final resting place. WHAT: The mission was named after Saint Charles Barromeo, a 16th century cardinal and archbishop of Milan, Italy. It is the most authentically restored of all the California […]
Mission San Buenaventura WHO: Mission San Buenaventura was founded by Father Junipero Serra, and was the last one he founded. WHAT: The mission was named after Saint Bonaventure and nicknamed “Mission by the Sea”. WHERE: The mission is located at 211 East Main Street, Ventura, California. The city of Ventura is named after the mission. […]
Mission Nuesta Senora de la Soledad WHO: Mission Nuestra Senora de la Soledad was founded by Father Fermin Francisco de Lasuen. WHAT: The mission was named the Our Lady of Solitude and is also called Soledad mission. WHERE: The mission is located about 75 miles south of San Francisco near the opening of the San […]
