Spanish mission in the Mission Hills community of Los Angeles and was the seventeenth of the twenty-one Spanish missions is the namesake of the nearby city of San Fernando and the San Fernando Valley
Los Angeles, California 91345
Children (ages 7-15): $3.00
From Los Angeles (22 miles): Get on US-101 N. Follow US-101 N, CA-170 N/State Rte 170 N/Hollywood Fwy and I-5 N to San Fernando Mission Blvd. Take exit 157B from I-5 N. Merge onto San Fernando Mission Blvd.
Overview
Mission San Fernando Rey de España is a Spanish mission in the Mission Hills community of Los Angeles, California. The mission was founded on September 8, 1797, and was the seventeenth of the twenty-one Spanish missions established in Alta California. Named for Saint Ferdinand, the mission is the namesake of the nearby city of San Fernando and the San Fernando Valley. Today the mission grounds function as a museum; the church is a chapel of ease of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
History
The mission was founded on September 8, 1797 by Father Fermín Lasuén who, with the assistance of Fray Francisco Dumetz and in the presence of troops and natives, performed the ceremonies and dedicated the mission to San Fernando Rey de España, making it the fourth mission site he had established. Fray Francisco Dumetz and his associate Fray Francisco Javier Uría labored in the mission until after 1800.
Many attempts were made to restore the old Mission from the early 20th century, but it was not until the Hearst Foundation gave a large gift of money in the 1940s, that the Mission was finally restored. The museum became the repository for heirlooms of the Mexican church evacuated during the Cristero revolt, and also holds part of the Doheny library. The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, but was extensively damaged by the 1971 San Fernando earthquake, and was completely rebuilt. Repairs were completed in 1974. It continues to be very well cared for and is still used as a chapel-of-ease.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Mission San Fernando Rey de España", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.
