Mission San Diego de Alcalá

Welcome to Mission San Diego de Alcalá. California’s first mission was founded on July 16, 1769 by Saint Junípero Serra, a Franciscan priest. The Mission was relocated to the present site in 1774 in order to be closer to the American Indian (Kumeyaay) villages, a reliable source of water and good land for farming.

The first of a chain of 21 missions that stretch northward along the coast of California, Mission San Diego became known as the Mother of the Missions. In 1775, just one year after the first adobe church was completed, the mission was raided by Indians and an open fire ensued and the mission suffered substantial damage.  Padre   Luis Jayme was killed in this attack when he tried to calm the Indians.  Padre Jayme became the first Christian Martyr in California and is buried in the Mission Sanctuary.

Padre Serra returned to the gutted site in 1776 and began to restore the church and mission buildings.  This time, however, the Padres built an outer defense wall around the complex to protect the mission in the event from any future attacks.  By 1790, most to the reconstruction we completed.  The church and other buildings were arranged in a quadrangle around a courtyard.

The year 1797 opened another chapter in the growth of the San Diego Mission. Five hundred and sixty-five Indians received baptism, which brought the number of converts to 1405. The land area grew to 55,000 acres. Vineyards, orchards, and vegetable gardens began to thrive and wheat, barley, corn and beans were harvested.

It is recorded the mission owned 20,000 sheep, 10,000 cattle and 1250 horses. During an 1813 construction to enlarge the church, buttress wings were added to give earthquake stability to the façade and to provide a more welcoming appearance.

In 1821, when Mexico gained its independence from Spain, Mission San Diego was given to Santiago Arguello. After the U.S. - Mexican War and the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, the United States Cavalry used the mission as a military presence from 1850-1857. The soldiers made some temporary repairs to the decayed buildings in order make them habitable. In 1862, the Mission lands were restored to the Church by order of President Abraham Lincoln.

The present mission church was named  a minor  basilica by Pope Paul VI in the bicentennial year of 1976. Today, it serves as an active parish for the Catholic community and as a cultural center for people of all faiths who are most welcome to visit the mission.

 

Name of Mission

THE NAME SAN DIEGO DE ALCALÁ, or Saint Didacus of Alcalá was given to the locality by Captain Sebastian Viscaino upon his arrival from New Spain in November 1602, in the custom of Spanish explorers, who name the bay and the region in honor of the Saint whose feast day was near. 

Didacus, or Diego, was born in 1400, a native of the town of San Nicholas del Puerto, in the diocese of Seville in the Spanish Province of Andalusia. Born to poor but religious parents, Didacus joined a hermit priest who for several years tutored him in devotional exercises.  He returned home for a short period of time and soon afterward became a member of the Franciscan Order of Airizafa and there took the habit of a lay brother. The young Franciscan brother taught Christianity and converted the natives to the Faith in the Canary Islands.

In 1450, Didacus journeyed to Rome with Padre Alonso de Castro to attend the canonization of St. Bernardine of Siena and to join in a celebration proclaimed by Pope Nicholas V. Remaining in Rome for some months, Didacus took charge of the infirmary of the Friary of Ara Caeli, where he was engaged in nursing many sick friars, some of whom were said to have miraculously recovered through his care. He returned to Spain and lived at Alcalá in Castile. At Alcalá, Didacus was taken ill and died on November 12, 1463. King Phillip II of Spain solicited the Saint’s canonization which was decreed in 1588 for the many miracles attributed to him.

Alcalá, Spain, has been the seat of a university and a center of learning for centuries. For this reason, the University of San Diego, the Catholic University of the West is located in an area known as Alcalá Park.