Established: December 4, 1786

By: Father Fermin Lasuen

Order: 10th of the 21 missions

Location: 220 miles North of San Diego

Named For: Saint Bárbara

Interesting Fact: Santa Barbara is the only mission with two matching bell towers.

We are studying the Queen of all Missions,the Santa Barbara Mission. A man named Father Fermin Lasuen helped build the beautiful Mission Santa Barbara . Mission Santa Barbara was built 220 mi. north of San Diego near the Pacific Ocean. It was built on a big hill with a viewof the ocean and islands.The mission was built on December 4, 1786. It was named after Saint Bárbara.

There are many beautiful features at Mission Santa Barbara. It is the only mission with two matching bell towers.The walls of the mission are six feet thick and there is about two hundred and fifty small adobe bricks houses for natives.The church is 162 ft. long, 27 ft. wide, and 42 ft. tall.There is a sparkling fountain at the center of the patio. Around the patio was the priests living quarters, storage areas, the kitchen and dormatories. The roofs are made out of tile.

In 1835, the mission was secularized and its land was divided among the community. Later it became a school for training Franciscan priests. There is a museum that you can visit today and also the church is still being used. It is a beautiful place to visit.