Missions of California - San Francisco de Asís

Founded on October 9, 1776, by Father Francisco Palou, Mission San Francisco de Asís is 6th in the mission chain and was named after St. Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan order. It is also referred to as Mission Dolores after the nearby Nuestra Señora de los Dolores (Our Lady of Sorrows) stream and river.

Records indicate over 4000 Native Americans converted to Christianity, but they were unable to cope with the "white man's sickness". Measles claimed thousands, and after 10 years only a few remained.

The mission church has stood and remained unchanged since its beginning. During the 1906 earthquake the huge basilica fell and was destroyed, but little Mission Dolores remained unharmed. In 1971 some of the wooden beams were strengthened with hidden steel, but the church was not changed or rebuilt. Mission San Francisco de Asís is still an active church. The original bells, all cast within 5 years of the church's completion, are still rung during Holy Week.