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Santa Clara Mission

 Organization

Biography

Mission Santa Clara was founded in January of 1777 by the Franciscan Friar Tomás de la Peña on the banks of the Guadalupe River. The Mission relocated four times until it was finally established at the current site in 1825. Mission Santa Clara was the eighth of 21 Franciscan missions established in Alta California (Upper California) throughout the years 1769-1823, as Spain attempted to consolidate its power in the region as well as to evangelize its native population. These missions were governed by the Colegio de San Fernando in Mexico City until 1833, when Mission Santa Clara and other northern missions were entrusted to the Colegio de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe in Zacatecas, Mexico.

Chronology:
Locations & Churches
January 12, 1777
Mission Santa Clara founded by Franciscan Friar Tomás de la Peña near present day intersection of Central Expressway and De La Cruz Boulevard.
1779
Mission church relocated to second site near present day corner of Martin Avenue and De La Cruz Boulevard.
1784
Mission church relocated to third site near the present day main entrance to campus at 500 El Camino Real, under what is now Charney Hall.
1819
Mission church housed in a temporary adobe buillding on the lawn across from present day St. Joseph's Hall. This was to be a temporary church while the fifth church was under construction at its present day location.
1825
Fifth church building opened, subsequently destroyed by fire in 1926.
1929
Sixth church, newly constructed and expanded, reopens to the campus community.

Found in 1 Collection or Record:

Mission Santa Clara Manuscript Collection

 Collection
Identifier: RG1
Abstract The Mission Santa Clara Manuscript Collection, 1777-1903, 1958, 2002 (bulk 1777-1851), consists of hundreds of manuscripts written, collected and used by the Franciscans at Mission Santa Clara, from the founding of the Mission in 1777 until the arrival of the Jesuits in 1851. The Franciscan missionaries wrote and collected numerous and diverse documents, including sacramental records, account books, annual reports, letters, choirbooks, and instructions on health care and cuisine, among...
Dates: 1777-1903, 1958, 2002 (bulk 1777-1851)