The tenth Franciscan mission in Alta California was named after St. Barbara who, according to legend, was the beautiful daughter of Dioscorus and Nicomedia. Dioscorus, a pagan, was so angered by his daughter’s adoption of the Christian religion that he imprisoned her and eventually beheaded her with his own sword. For this deed it is said that lightning instantly killed her father. To this day, the protection of Saint Barbara is often invoked against sudden death from lightning of explosion by seafarers and artillerymen. Her feast day is December 4.

Saint Barbara, “Queen of the Missions”

The mission was founded on December 4, 1786, the feast day of Saint Barbara, and on December 16th of that year Fr. Fermin de Lausen dedicated the land and blessed the cross which marked the site of the 10th mission, Santa Barbara. This name had also been given to the nearby channel by the Spanish explorer Vizcaino in 1602 and to the Presidio in 1782. The patroness of founders, fortifications, architects, stone masons, and the protectoress from sudden death, it would have been most fitting for the Spanish and the friars to dedicate new land and new structures to her. Known as the “Queen of the Missions”, Santa Barbara has been in continuous use since its dedication.