What makes Mission Santa Clara de Asis unique is it was the first mission to be named after a woman, Saint Clare of Assisi. It is the 8th mission founded in California and was founded on January 12, 1777, by Friar Junipero Serra.
Next to the pulpit stands a 1930 Pearwood statue of John The Baptist. There are also some beautiful paintings inside.
Also inside the church is a large organ and some interesting light fixtures.
The ceiling is an exact reproduction of the one that burned in the 1926 fire.
Also near the church is the requisite life-size statue of Junipero Serra and one of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, which is located across the street.
We stopped by the rose garden, sadly devoid of roses at this time of year.
There are crosses in front of the church, but there is not a lot of literature to tell you very much about anything.
Facts:
Mission Santa Clara de Asis
500 El Camino Real •
Santa Clara, CA 95053
Hours: Call
Admission: Free
Parking: Free
Telephone: (408) 554.4023
Location: 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA 95053
Date founded: January 12, 1777
Patron saint: St. Clare of Assisi.
Founder: Fr. Junípero Serra.
Native peoples: Ohlone (Costanoan), Yokuts (from the Central Valley).
Goods produced: Wheat, other crops.
Features: Restored church built in 1929 after being destroyed by fire in 1926, old adobe room and wall from mission period. Church interior with many pieces of surviving mission-era artwork.
Current status: University chapel.
Historical landmark number: California Historical Landmark no. 338
Interesting facts:
- Mission Santa Clara de Asís is the only mission located on a university campus.
- The mission church was rebuilt five times, the last time after a fire in 1925.
- A bell given by King Carlos IV in 1798 to Mission Santa Clara hangs in the bell tower in the current church.
Important events:
- May 15, 1784: Fr. Junípero Serra dedicates the church building.
- January 2, 1847: Battle of Santa Clara in the Mexican-American War takes place near the mission.
- May, 1851: Mission Santa Clara becomes Santa Clara College.
- Fire destroys the church in 1926. It is rebuilt in 1928.
Daily life: Daily life at Mission Santa Clara de Asís was very similar to life at other missions. You can learn more about daily life at the missions here.
Website: www.scu.edu/missionchurch
The church on the campus of Santa Clara University is what marks the site of the original Mission Santa Clara de Asis. Named after Saint Clare of Assisi, who was a contemporary of Saint Francis of Assisi, it is the first California mission to honor a female saint. Two locations were required by Spain as colonial outposts in the north during the eighteenth century. Mission San Francisco de Asis was selected to be near the entrance to the bay. Mission Santa Clara was located to the south.
The mission’s original site was near the Guadalupe River, the first Mass was held in 1777. The two assigned missionaries, Father de la Pena and Father Murgia, worked to improve the location and convert the local Ohlone Indians. However, the Guadalupe River flooded and a second temporary mission was established, blessed by Father Junipero Serra. In 1781, a permanent mission cornerstone was placed. Father Junipero Serra deposited a cross, religious artifacts, and coins within it, which can be viewed currently in the de Saisset Museum, which is also on the university’s grounds. This church was constructed from adobe, unlike the two wooden ones prior, and, in 1784, was again dedicated by Father Serra.
The third church lasted until 1818. It was known for the most baptisms and having the best wheat crop of all the missions. Unfortunately, an earthquake damaged it and another temporary church was built near what is currently Kenna Hall at Santa Clara University. A new mission compound was then built and finished in 1825.
In 1836, Mission Santa Clara was secularized, due to the desirability of its land. (In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln reversed this trend, and declared that all twenty-one missions in the mission chain become the property of the Catholic Church.)
In 1850, California became a state and the Jesuit order of priests took charge of Mission Santa Clara de Asis. Father John Nobili started a college there that became Santa Clara University. This is the only mission that is part of a university.
Sadly, the renovated mission church that had been upgraded over the years, burned in a fire in 1926. The rebuilding was a testament to its style in 1825. It was reopened in 1928 as the University chapel. The address of this eighth in the line of California missions is 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara. It is open to the public and a reminder to us that Santa Clara was regarded as a desirable place to settle even many years ago.