This first mission was named in honor of St. Didacus, a native of the diocese of Sevilla in Spain. He spent some time as a hermit before becoming a brother of the friars of the regular observance. He became a missionary in the Canary Islands, and in 1445 was made guardian of the friary there. After four years as a missionary, he was recalled to Spain where he practiced heroic charity to plague victims. He died at Alcala in 1463 and was canonized in 1588.

Saint Didacus of Alcala

Being the first mission dedicated in Upper California, San Diego was not surprisingly one of the most difficult to begin and sustain. The founding expedition, led by Gaspar de Portola and Junipero Serra from Baja California, nearly perished on route to the site, Of the three supply ships that set out to meet the overland party, one was lost and the crews of the other two were virtually wiped out by scurvy. The mission site was moved several miles inland to its present location in 1774 when the friars decided to distance themselves from the first presidio because the Indians were often harassed by the soldiers and the Indian women were not safe. A severe outbreak of violence in 1775, when hundreds of Indians surrounded the mission during the night and set fire to the buildings, killed one of the friars, Luis Jayme, whose cause for beatification is currently under process. The restored structure, completed in 1931 is rather austere. Connected directly to the simple church front is a beautiful bell wall, or campanario. California’s first church at Mission San Diego is now designated as a basilica because of its historic importance to the development of Catholicism.