Mission Santa Clara de Asís

{{Infobox Missions

| image = Mission Santa Clara.jpg

| caption = Mission Santa Clara de Asís, shown in 2008

| name = Mission Santa Clara

| location = Palm Drive and Alviso Street intersection, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California

| originalname = La Misión Santa Clara de Asís{{sfn|Leffingwell|2005|p=137}}

| translation = The Mission of Saint Clare of Assisi

| founded = January 12, 1777{{sfn|Yenne|2004|p=80}}

| foundedby = Father Presidente Junípero Serra{{sfn|Ruscin|1999|p=196}}{{efn|Though Serra is generally credited with the Mission's founding, it was Father Tomás de la Peña who actually celebrated the first mass at the site.{{sfn|Leffingwell|2005|p=137}}}}

| foundingorder = Eighth{{sfn|Krell|1979|p=167}}

| militarydistrict = Fourth{{sfn|Forbes|1839|p=202}}

| nativetribe = Bay Miwok, Tamyen, Yokuts
Costeño

| placename = Socoisuka{{sfn|Ruscin|1999|p=195}}

| baptisms = 8,536{{efn|name='Baptismsetc'|Mission Santa Clara witnessed the greatest number of baptisms, marriages, and burials of any settlement in the Alta California chain.{{sfn|Krell|1979|p=315}}}}{{sfn|Krell|1979|p=315}}

| marriages = 2,498{{efn|name='Baptismsetc'}}{{sfn|Krell|1979|p=315}}

| burials = 6,809{{efn|name='Baptismsetc'}}{{sfn|Krell|1979|p=315}}

| neophytes = 1,125{{sfn|Krell|1979|p=315}}

| secularized = 1836{{sfn|Krell|1979|p=167}}

| owner = Santa Clara University; Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose

| currentuse = University of the chapel; Parish church

| coordinates = {{coord|37.3493|N|121.9415|W|type:landmark_region:UA-CA|display=inline,title}}

| locmapin = United States San Jose

| map_caption = Location in Santa Clara County

| designation1 = California

| designation1_number = [http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=21522 #338]

| website = {{Official URL}}

}}

Mission Santa Clara de Asís ({{langx|es|link=no|Misión Santa Clara de Asís}}) is a Spanish mission in the city of Santa Clara, California. The mission, which was the eighth in California, was founded on January 12, 1777, by the Franciscans. Named for Saint Clare of Assisi, who founded the order of the Poor Clares and was an early companion of St. Francis of Assisi, this was the first California mission to be named in honor of a woman.{{Cite web|url=http://californiamissionsfoundation.org/mission-santa-clara/|title=Santa Clara de Asís|website=California Missions Foundation|language=en-US|access-date=January 22, 2020}}

It is the namesake of both the city and county of Santa Clara, as well as of Santa Clara University, which was built around the mission. This is the only mission located on the grounds of a university campus. Although ruined and rebuilt six times, the settlement was never abandoned,{{sfn|Ruscin|1999|p=79}} and today it functions as the university chapel for Santa Clara University.

History

File:Mission Santa Clara de Asís (1849; oil on canvas).jpg

The outpost was originally established as La Misión Santa Clara de Thamien (or Mission Santa Clara de Thamien, a reference to the [Tamien people|Tamien] people) at the Native American village of So-co-is-u-ka (meaning "Laurelwood", located on the Guadalupe River) on January 12, 1777. There the Franciscan brothers erected a cross and shelter for worship to bring Christianity to the Ohlone people. Floods, fires, and earthquakes damaged many of the early structures and forced relocation to higher ground. The second site is known as Mission Santa Clara de Asís. A subsequent site of the mission dating from 1784 to 1819 is located several hundred yards west of the De La Cruz overpass of the Caltrain track; moreover, several Native American burial sites have been discovered near this subsequent site.{{sfn|Giglio|1988|p=3.11-1}} The current site, home to the first college in Alta California, dates back to 1825.{{sfn|Ruscin|1999|p=196}}

Construction Number	Dates of Use	Date of Abandonment	Cause	Materials	Cemetery
class="wikitable sortable" \|+ The Six Churches of Santa Clara de Asís{{cite journal \|last1=Skowronek \|first1=Russel K. \|last2=Wizorek \|first2=Julie C. \|title=Archaeology at Santa Clara de Asís: The Slow Rediscovery of a Moveable Mission \|journal=Pacific Coast Archaeological Society Quarterly \|date=Summer 1997 \|volume=33 \|issue=3 \|page=55 \|url=https://www.pcas.org/Vol33N3.html \|access-date=2024-05-10}}
1	1777–1779	1779	flooding	wood	yes
2	1779–1784	1784	abandoned	wood	yes
3	1784–1818	1818–1825	earthquake, water	adobe	yes
4	1818–1825	1867	demolition	adobe	no
5	1825–1926	1926	fire	adobe	yes (in use from 1825–1851)
6 (same site as 5)	1928–present			masonry	no

Initially, there was tension between the people of the mission and those in the nearby Pueblo de San Josè over disputed ownership rights of land and water. The tension was relieved when a road, the Alameda, was built by two hundred Native Americans to link the communities together.Shannon E. Clark, The Alameda: The Beautiful Way, San Jose: Alameda Business Association, 2006, {{ISBN|978-1-4243-1868-1}}, p. 2. On Sundays, people from San Jose would come to the mission for services, until the building of St. Joseph's Church in 1803. In that year, the mission of Santa Clara reported a Native American population of 1,271. In the same tabular report, its resident priest estimated that 10,000 cattle, 9,500 sheep, 730 horses, 35 mules, and 55 swine were on mission lands, while about 3,000 fanegas of grain (some {{convert|220|lb}} each of wheat, barley or corn) had been harvested.{{citation needed|date=February 2015}}

File:Santa Clara de Asis circa 1910 William Amos Haines.jpg

File:Santa Clara de Asis circa 1897 Adam Clark Vroman.jpg

After the Mexican secularization act of 1833 most of the mission's land and livestock was sold off by Mexico. The mission land was subdivided, and the land sold to whoever could afford it which often meant it was sold to government officials and with half of the mission land going to Native Americans.{{Cite web|url=https://patch.com/california/losgatos/bp--blog-indian-warrior-yozcolo-set-roots-in-los-gatos|title=Indian Warrior Yozcolo Set Roots in Los Gatos|last=Stanley|first=Tim|date=February 2, 2012|website=Los Gatos, CA Patch|language=en|access-date=November 10, 2019}} Most of the buildings continued to be used as a parish church, unlike the other missions in California. By 1836, the mission Native Americans were "freed" by the Mexican government. The local land near the mission had drastically changed in the 60 years of mission operation under the Spanish and many of the native plants needed for Native American survival were gone, requiring a change from the former lifestyle for many Native Americans. Many Native Americans fled to the Central Valley of California, others stayed locally and worked for the new ranchos. There were a few small and short-lived Native American villages established around the Bay Area by 1839; many of these villages could not support themselves, so they began raiding the nearby ranchos.

In 1850, California became a state. With that change, priests of the Jesuit order took over the Mission Santa Clara de Asís in 1851 from the Franciscans. Father John Nobili, S.J., was put in charge of the mission. He began a college on the mission site in 1851, which grew into Santa Clara University;{{cite book|author=Fodor's|title=Fodor's Northern California 2011: With Napa, Sonoma, Yosemite, San Francisco & Lake Tahoe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ORayPYO-TvcC&pg=PA95|access-date=December 25, 2011|date=December 21, 2010|publisher=Random House Digital, Inc.|isbn=978-1-4000-0503-1|page=48}} it is the only mission to become part of a university, and it is also the oldest university in California. Throughout the history of the mission, the bells have rung faithfully every evening, a promise made to King Charles III of Spain when he sent the original bells to the mission in 1777. He asked that the bells be rung each evening at 8:30 in memory of those who had died, although the actual bells have since been replaced by a recording.{{Cite web |url=http://santaclaraunearthed.squarespace.com/new-blog/2015/6/13/mission-church-bell-tower |title=Mission Church Bell Tower |website=Mission Santa Clara Unearthed |language=en-US |access-date=January 9, 2019 |publisher=Santa Clara University}} The bell tower has three bells; one was donated by King Carlos IV but subsequently destroyed in a fire. King Alphonso XIII donated a replacement bell, which is on display in the de Saisset Museum (in the mission).

In 1861, a new wooden façade with two bell towers was attached over the old adobe front of the building. The interior was widened in 1885 to increase the seating capacity by removing the original adobe nave walls.{{cite web | url = http://www.scu.edu/missionchurch/history/ | title= History of Mission Santa Clara de Asis | last=Pugh | first=Teresa | publisher=Santa Clara University |year=2006 | access-date=June 8, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150627043512/http://www.scu.edu/missionchurch/history/|archive-date=June 27, 2015}}{{cite book | title=The California Missions: History, Art and Preservation | first1=Edna | last1=Kimbro | first2=Julia G. | last2=Costello | first3=Tevvy | last3=Ball | isbn=978-0-89236-983-6 | date=October 20, 2009 | publisher=Getty Conservation Institute}} A fire in 1925 destroyed the structure, including the surrounding wall. The church's parochial functions were transferred to the Saint Clare Parish west of the campus. A rebuilt and restored Mission Santa Clara was consecrated in 1929, when it assumed its primary modern function as chapel and centerpiece of the university campus. It is open to visitors daily; the mission museum is located in the university's De Saisset Museum.

The original mission cemetery, still in use, is located on nearby Lincoln Street.{{cite book|last=Lichtenstein|first=Bea|title=Cemeteries of Santa Clara|year=2005|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|location=Mount Pleasant, South Carolina|isbn=9780738530130|chapter=Images of America Series}}[https://www.scu.edu/media/offices/human-resources/documents/benefits/Mission-Cemetery-PDF.pdf Santa Clara Mission Cemetery]. Santa Clara University

Santa Clara Mission Cemetery

Santa Clara Mission Cemetery, also known as Santa Clara Catholic Cemetery, was founded in 1777, alongside the mission by the same Franciscans.{{Cite web|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2013/03/05/herhold-santa-claras-graveyard-teaches-us-about-the-past/|title=Herhold: Santa Clara's graveyard teaches us about the past|date=March 5, 2013|website=The Mercury News|language=en-US|access-date=January 22, 2020}} In 1851, when Santa Clara College was founded, the cemetery near the mission was running out of space, so they moved the location a few minutes walk from the mission near the adobe home of Fernando Berryessa, son of Maria Zacharias Bernal y Berryessa.{{Cite web|url=https://www.svvoice.com/home-is-where-the-city-begins/|title=Home is Where the City Begins|date=September 11, 2013|website=The Silicon Valley Voice|language=en-US|access-date=January 22, 2020}}

In the 1930s, this cemetery completed its first indoor mausoleum.{{Cite web|url=http://tvc.dsj.org/2015/11/12/santa-clara-mission-cemetery-prepares-for-its-next-project/|title=Santa Clara Mission Cemetery Prepares for its Next Project {{!}} The Valley Catholic News|date=November 12, 2015|website=The Valley Catholic|language=en-US|access-date=January 22, 2020}} In part due to the popularity of mausoleum burial, in 2015, they began building the St. Ignatius Outdoor Mausoleum Complex.

= Notable burials =

Peter Hardeman Burnett (1807–1895), judge, the first elected governor of California, serving from December 20, 1849, to January 9, 1851, and the first to resign from office.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nga.org/governor/peter-hardeman-burnett/|title=Peter Hardeman Burnett|website=National Governors Association|access-date=January 22, 2020}}
Marv Owen (1906–1991), baseball player for the Detroit Tigers (1931–37), Chicago White Sox (1938–39) and Boston Red Sox (1940) and a baseball coach.
Cardinal Ignatius Kung Pin-Mei (1901–2000), Catholic Bishop of Shanghai, China, from 1950 until his death in 2000.{{Cite web|url=http://www.cardinalkungfoundation.org/ck/CKfhighlights.php|title=Highlights of the Funeral|year=2000|website=Cardinal Kung Foundation|access-date=January 22, 2020}}
Archbishop Dominic Tang (1908–1995), Chinese Jesuit priest and Bishop in 1951 and later archbishop of Canton.{{Cite web|url=http://www.cardinalkungfoundation.org/articles/tang.htm|title=Remembering Archbishop Tang Yee-Ming, SJ|year=1995|website=The Cardinal Kung Foundation|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050826131204/http://www.cardinalkungfoundation.org/articles/tang.htm|archive-date=August 26, 2005|access-date=January 22, 2020}}
Tiburcio Vásquez (1835–1875), Californio bandido who was active in California from 1854 to 1874.{{Cite web|url=https://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-tiburciovasquez/|title=Tiburcio Vasquez – California Desperado|website=Legends of America|access-date=January 22, 2020}}

Notes

References

= Citations =

= Sources =

{{cite book |last1=Forbes|first1=Alexander |year=1839 |title = California: A History of Upper and Lower California |url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_NH4FAAAAQAAJ |publisher=Smith, Elder and Co. |location = Cornhill, London }}
{{cite press release|last1=Giglio|first1=Gary, C.|title= Environmental Impact Report for the General Plan Amendment, Rezoning and Development of a Portion of FMC Corporation's Coleman Avenue Facility, Earth Metrics Inc.|date=September 1988|publisher= City of Santa Clara, California.}}
{{cite book|last1=Krell|first1=Dorothy|year=1979|title=The California Missions: A Pictorial History|publisher=Lane Publishing Co.|location=Menlo Park, CA}}
{{cite book|last1=Leffingwell|first1=Randy|year=2005|title=California Missions and Presidios: The History & Beauty of the Spanish Missions |publisher=Voyageur Press, Inc. |location = Stillwater, MN |isbn=0-89658-492-5}}
{{cite book |last1=Ruscin|first1=Terry |year=1999 |title=Mission Memoirs |publisher=Sunbelt Publications |location = San Diego, CA |isbn=0-932653-30-8 }}
{{cite book |last1=Yenne|first1=Bill |year=2004 |title=The Missions of California |publisher=Advantage Publishers Group |location = San Diego, CA |isbn=1-59223-319-8 }}

External links

{{Official website}}
[http://www.calisphere.universityofcalifornia.edu/browse/keyword/%22Mission+Santa+Clara%22 Early photographs, sketches of Mission Santa Clara de Asís], via Calisphere, California Digital Library
{{cite web |last=Howser|first=Huell |author-link = Huell Howser |title=California Missions (106) |url = http://blogs.chapman.edu/huell-howser-archives/2000/12/08/california-missions-california-missions-106/ |work=California Missions|publisher=Chapman University Huell Howser Archive |date=December 8, 2000}}