The bell tower design stands out as unique among California missions. Step inside to discover artwork brought from Spain in sailing ships long ago. The baptismal font, carved from a single stone, has ...

The Serra Chapel within the mission complex holds a special distinction as California’s oldest building still in use for its original purpose. Standing within its hushed interior, beneath hand-painted ...

California Colonized Two hundred and fifty years ago, the Spanish-led ‘Sacred Expedition’ to establish forts and missions in what was then called Alta California headed north from the tip of ...

The landmark includes a museum, a chapel, gardens and trails. To get the full story, venture further up the valley to Mission San Diego de Alcala, the first of California’s 21 missions.

A nearly 250-year-old Spanish mission in California containing artifacts dating back to the late 1700s was ravaged by fire early Saturday morning.

The 21 California missions were established between 1769 and 1823 by Spanish Franciscans, based in Mexico City, to convert Native Americans to Catholicism.

The San Gabriel Mission, founded in 1771, was the fourth of what would become 21 Spanish missions in modern-day California, all established with the goal of converting Native Americans to ...

A Catholic teacher who finished a pilgrimage to the Spanish Missions in California this week has emphasized his devotion to the first missions’ founder, St. Junipero Serra, and their influence ...