Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá was the first Franciscan mission in the Las Californias Province of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. Located in present-day San Diego, California, it was founded in 1769 by Spanish friar Junípero Serra in an area long inhabited by the Kumeyaay Indians. The mission and the surrounding area were named for the Catholic Saint Didacus, a Spaniard more commonly known as San Diego. The mission was the site of the first Christian burial in Alta California. San Diego is also generally regarded as the site of the region's first public execution, in 1778.... Father Luís Jayme, "California's First Christian Martyr," lies entombed beneath the chancel floor. The current church is the fourth to stand on this location. The Mission is a National Historic Landmark. The former Spanish settlement at the Kumeyaay's Nipawai lies within that area occupied during the late Pale oindian period and continuing on into the present day by the Native society commonly known as the Diegueño; the name denotes those people who were ministered by the padres at Mission San Diego de Alcalá.
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| Opened: | 1808 |
| Latitude: | 32.784592263 |
| Longitude: | -117.107102222 |
| Nearby Destinations: | San Diego |
| Also Known As: | Mission San Diego de Alcala, San Diego Mission Church |