Photos

Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcala Garden

(From the official web site)
San Diego de Alcala, the first of the great California Missions, marks the birthplace of Christianity in the far West. It is California's first church. This remarkable and significant historical shrine provides an understanding and appreciation of the beginning of Catholicism in this corner of the world, so remote from the Mother Country of Spain and yet so similar.

Today the Mission, which was founded on July 16, 1769 by Blessed Junipero Serra, serves as an active parish church and cultural center for people of all faiths who are welcome to visit and relive the grandeur and excitement of more than two centuries of California history and tradition.

The Mission was designated as a Minor Basilica in 1976 by Pope Paul VI.