San Francisco's counterpart was to be named for the saint's childhood friend, Saint Clara. In late 1776, a group of soldiers and priests arrived at the site on the Guadalupe River. Father Thomas de la Pena founded Mission Santa Clara de Asis, the eighth in California, on January 12, 1777.
Early Years of Mission Santa Clara de Asis
A few days after the founding, Father Marguia arrived from Monterey with supplies, and some religious articles donated by churches in Mexico. Fathers de la Pena and Marguia stayed at Mission Santa Clara de Asis to begin converting the Indians, who lived in more than 40 small settlements in the area.By the end of the first year, Mission Santa Clara de Asis had a church, father's residence and they were building a house. They had corrals for their horses and cattle, and a bridge across the river, and they had planted some grain.
In mid-1777, Lieutenant Moraga and a large group of colonists arrived from Mexico. The fathers knew that civilians had a bad effect on their neophytes, and they wanted to stay away from them. It took until 1801 before the boundary between the civilian settlement of San Jose and Mission Santa Clara de Asis was fixed.
In January, 1779, the Guadalupe River flooded, and the fathers decided to move to a safer location. They set up a temporary church on higher ground in November, 1779. In 1781, they chose a new site that was safe from floods, but could be irrigated by digging a canal from the river. Father Serra came to bless the new church and lay the cornerstone. The church was finished in 1784. Father Marguia designed it, but unfortunately died shortly before it was dedicated. There was a grand celebration for the new church, attended by Fathers Serra and Palao, and by Governor Pedro Fages.
Mission Santa Clara de Asis 1800-1820
Mission Santa Clara de Asis was very successful at converting the Indians, and they performed many baptisms. They taught their new converts the standard skills: cooking, sewing and farming. By 1827, Mission Santa Clara de Asis had 14,500 head of cattle and 15,500 sheep.In May, 1805, the fathers heard that some of the unconverted Indians were planning a massacre. They called for help from San Francisco and Monterey, only to learn that the rumor had been started by some neophytes who wanted to frighten the fathers. In fact, Father Viader became close friends with an Indian named Marcelo after he defeated the man in a fight.
In 1818, an earthquake damaged the buildings. Fathers Viader and Catala built a temporary adobe church that was used until 1825.
Mission Santa Clara de Asis in the 1820s-1830s
Mission Santa Clara de Asis moved to a fifth and final site in 1822, and they started to build a new church. The complex was laid out in a large quadrangle. The church building was finished in 1825 and it stood until 1925.Secularization and Mission Santa Clara de Asis
After Mexico won independence from Spain in 1821, it could not afford to keep the missions running. In 1836, Mission Santa Clara de Asis was secularized. It continued to operate as a parish church into the 1840s. After the Gold Rush in 1849, many new settlers arrived, and the bishop of California decided to offer the buildings to Father John Nobili, who wanted to start a school. In 1851, the property was transferred to the Jesuits, who founded Santa Clara University.Mission Santa Clara de Asis in the 20th Century
The University still occupies the site of Mission Santa Clara de Asis, and the only remaining building is the church.The fifth church was destroyed by fire in 1926. The university rebuilt the church, trying to restore it to its appearance in 1825. The restored church was completed in 1928.
