On May 1, 2026, after visiting Our Lady of Kazan Church in San Diego, Bishop Matthew of Sourozh, Temporary Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA and Canada, visited Mission San Diego de Alcalá — the place where the European history of California effectively began.
Founded on July 16, 1769, by the Franciscan missionary Junípero Serra, the mission became the first in a chain of twenty-one Spanish missions stretching along the coast. It is often called the “Mother of the Missions,” because it was from here that Christian influence spread further across the territory of present-day California.
Today it is not only a historic landmark but also an active parish church. The mission served not only a religious function. It was part of Spain’s colonial system: here the local peoples were converted to Christianity, taught agriculture and crafts, and the first European-style settlements were formed.
