Misión Santa Clara de Asís

Located today on the Santa Clara University campus in Santa Clara University, the Mission Santa Clara de Asís was originally founded in 1777. Like many other missions nearby, it was created by Franciscan missionaries with the permission of the Spanish Crown. These institutions aimed to convert the native peoples to Catholicism and teach them Spanish ways of life. They also helped the Crown stake its claim over the territory that today stretches across the US-Mexico border. In 1851, the Jesuits took over the church and established the first university in California. This source is part of the Historic Churches in the Southwestern US Source Collection.