Misión San Francisco de Asís (California)

Located near the modern-day city of San Francisco, California, this historic church was established by Spanish friars in 1776. It is also known as the Mission Dolores. Its cemetery, which houses the burial sites of indigneous individuals who lived, worked, and worshipped at this complex, remains largely intact from the eighteenth century. This church belonged to an extensive network of religious institutions throughout not only California, but across much of the US-Mexico border. Until the nineteenth century, this region comprised the frontier of Spain’s empire, near other territories claimed by Britain, France, and indigenous nations. The priests who ran the missions aimed to convert the native peoples in the area to Catholicism and teach them Spanish ways of life. This source is part of the Historic Churches in the Southwestern US Source Collection.