Mission San Buenaventura is a Spanish mission founded by the Franciscan order in present-day Ventura, California. Founded on March 31, 1782, it was the ninth Spanish mission established in California, and the last to be established by Father Junapero Serra. Named for Saint Bonaventure, the mission is the namesake of the city of Ventura (officially "San Buenaventura") and Ventura County.
Mission San Buenaventura was planned to be founded in the year 1770, but the founding was delayed because of the low availability of the military escorts needed to establish the mission. In 1793, the first church burned down. Today, only a small section of the entire mission still stands; the Cemetery to the left of the church is covered by a school. It took the neophytes 16 years to build the new church, which still stands today and functions as a parish church of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Photo by Carol Highsmith.