Mission Santa Clara de Asís (originally La Misión Santa Clara de Asís) was founded on January 12, 1777 by Father Junípero Serra, the eighth in the California mission chain. It was named for Saint Clare of Assisi, the founder of the order of the Poor Clares, making it the first California mission to be named for a woman. It is located in the City of Santa Clara, California, on the campus of Santa Clara University, (within what was the Third Military District). The Mission in its heyday boasted the largest Indian population of any in California.

A secondary mission site, Mission Santa Clara de Thamien, was established at the Indian village of So-co-is-u-ka by Franciscan Padres Tomás de la Peña and Joseph Antonio Marguia on January 17, 1777. There they erected a cross and shelter for worship to bring Christianity to the Costanoan tribe. Floods and earthquakes damaged many of the early structures and forced relocation to higher ground. The current site dates to 1828.

Initially, there was tension between the people of the Mission and those in the nearby Pueblo de San Jose over disputed ownership rights of land and water. The tension was relieved when a road, the Alameda, was built by two hundred Indians to link the communities together. On Sundays, people from San Jose would come to the Mission for services, until the building of St. Joseph's Church in 1803.

In 1850, California became a U.S. state, and the Jesuit order of priests took over the Mission Santa Clara de Asís. Father John Nobili, S.J., was put in charge of the Mission. He began a college on the Mission site in 1851, which grew into Santa Clara University. It is the only mission to become part of a university, and it is also the oldest university in California. Throughout the history of the Mission, the bells have rung faithfully every evening, a promise made to King Charles IV of Spain when he sent the original bells to the Mission in 1777. He asked that the bells be rung each evening at 8:30 in memory of those who had died.

Mission Santa Clara de Asís sits on the campus of the Santa Clara University. After a 1925 fire destroyed the 1828 mission structure, the church's parochial functions were transferred to St. Clare Parish Church, on Lexington Street west of the campus. A rebuilt and restored Mission Santa Clara was consecrated in 1929, when it assumed its primary modern function as chapel and centerpiece of the university campus. It is open to visitors every day; the mission museum is located in the university's De Saisset Museum. Besides daily and Sunday liturgies, Mission Santa Clara is a favorite wedding location for the university's alumni. Neighboring St. Clare Church continues to serve as an active parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose, and as the home of the Diocese's Chinese Catholic Community and also serves congregations that worship in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Historic designations

• California Historical Landmark #250 — Old sites of Mission Santa Clara de Asís and the Old Spanish Bridge
• California Historical Landmark #338

References

See also

• Spanish missions in California
• USNS Mission Santa Clara (AO-132) — a Buenaventura Class fleet oiler built during World War II.

External links

• Official mission website
• Official parish website
• Elevation & Site Layout sketches of the Mission proper

1777 establishments | California Historical Landmarks | Landmarks in California | California missions | Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose in California | Santa Clara University | Santa Clara, California | Tourism in California