Mission Santa Clara de AsÃis is a Spanish mission founded by the Franciscan order in the present-day city of Santa Clara, California. The mission, the eighth Spanish mission built in California, was founded on January 12, 1777 and named for Saint Clare of Assisi, the foundress of the order of the Poor Clares. It is the namesake of both the city and county of Santa Clara, as well as Santa Clara University, which was built around the mission.
Although ruined and rebuilt six times, the settlement was never abandoned,[10] and today functions as both a parish church of the Diocese of San Jose and a university chapel for Santa Clara University. Photo by Carol Highsmith.