Mission San Diego de Alcala
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Mission San Diego de Alcalá (originally La Misión San Diego de Alcalá) was founded on July 16, 1769 in what is now the City of San Diego, California by Father Junípero Serra. It was the first in the 21-mission chain in Alta California, and today is known as the "Mother of the Alta California Missions" and "California's First Church." It was situated in the First Military District, and named for Saint Didacus of Alcalá (Spanish explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno named San Diego Bay San Diego de Alcalá in 1602).
Due to the mistreatment of the local Kumeyaay (Diegueños), the locals rebelled against Spanish rule, and attacked the Mission on November 5, 1775. Father Luis Jayme, who had been left behind to run the Mission while Father Serra moved on to found other missions, was killed. Peace eventually settled over the area, and by 1797, there were approximately 1,400 Kumeyaay living in the vicinity of the Mission proper.
Wheat, corn, wine grapes, barley, beans, cattle, horses, and sheep were the major crops. In 1795, construction on a system of aqueducts was begun to bring water to the fields and the Mission.
After Mexico gained its independence from Spain, it decided that it was not profitable to maintain the missions. The missions were offered for sale to the natives, who were unable to come up with the price, so the Mission's property was broken up into ranchos and sold to Mexican citizens. In 1846, the Mission San Diego de Alcalá was given to Santiago Arguello. When the United States took over California, the Mission was used by the military from 1846 to 1862. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed an act declaring that all of the missions would become the property of the Catholic Church, most of which have remained so since that time.
When Mission San Diego de Alcalá was granted back to the Church, it was in ruins. In the 1880s Father Anthony Ubach began to restore the old mission buildings. He died in 1907, however, and the restoration stopped until 1931. In 1941 the Mission once again became a parish church. In 1976, Pope Paul VI designated the Mission church as a Minor Basilica. The Mission is still an active parish serving the Diocese of San Diego.
The Mission was designated a National Historic Landmark.
Historic designations
- National Register of Historic Places [#NPS–70000144]
- California Historical Landmark [#52] — mission dam and flume system completed in 1816
- California Historical Landmark [#242]
- California Historical Landmark [#784] — El Camino Real (starting point)
- City of San Diego Historic Designation #113
References
See also
- Spanish missions in California
- Santa Ysabel Asistencia
- Presidio of San Diego
- Union Station (San Diego)
- USNS Mission San Diego (AO-121) — a ''Buenaventura Class fleet oiler built during World War II.
External links
- [Official mission website]
- [Elevation & Site Layout sketches of the Mission proper]
- ["Sociopolitical Aspects of the 1775 Revolt at Mission San Diego de Alcalá: an Ethnohistorical Approach" by Richard L. Carrico]
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