In the middle of Santa Clara University's palm-lined campus is a mission church that's been through a lot of trouble. Mission Santa Clara de Asís, the eighth of California's 21 missions, was founded by Franciscans on Jan. 12, 1777, and was the first to be named for a woman, St. Clare of Assisi.
Six churches
The first mission stood near the Guadalupe River, at the Native village of So-co-is-u-ka, and was meant to convert the Ohlone people. Floods, earthquakes and fire forced it to move and rebuild again and again, according to Wikipedia:
- 1777-1779: wood, abandoned after flooding
- 1779-1784: wood
- 1784-1818: adobe, damaged by earthquakes and water
- 1818-1825: adobe
- 1825-1926: adobe, destroyed by fire in 1926
- 1928-present: masonry, on the same site as the fifth church
The mission has never been abandoned. Mission records count 8,536 baptisms and 6,809 burials.
From mission to university
Mission Santa Clara is the only one of the 21 missions that the Franciscans handed over to the Jesuits, which happened in 1851. That made Santa Clara the first institution of higher education in California, according to the university. It's the only mission on a college campus and the namesake of the city and county of Santa Clara.
Visiting
The university says the church is open to visitors every day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. It serves as a student chapel rather than a parish, so Masses follow the academic calendar. Sunday Mass is at 10 a.m., weekday Mass is at noon, and student Masses are Sundays at 5 and 8 p.m. and Wednesdays at 8 p.m. The university also offers virtual and self-guided tours.