E N C Y C L O P E D I A

Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana

Mission San Fernando Rey de Espaņa, or San Fernando Rey, was founded on September 8, 1797 by Father Fermin Lasuen, the seventeenth mission in the California mission chain. It was named for St. Ferdinand, King of Spain, and is located in the Mission Hills community of northern Los Angeles, California.

In 1845, Governor Pio Pico declared the mission buildings for sale and in 1846, made Mission San Fernando Rey de Espaņa his headquarters. The mission was used for many things during the late 1800s; it was a station for the Butterfield Stage Lines; it was used as storerooms for the Porter Land and Water Company; and in 1896, the quadrangle was used as a hog farm.

San Fernando's church became a working church again in 1923 when the Oblate priests arrived. Many attempts were made to restore the old mission from the early 1900s, but it was not until the Hearst Foundation gave a large gift of money in the 1940s, that the mission was finally restored. In 1971, a large earthquake damaged the church, which had to completely rebuilt. The repairs were completed in 1974. Mission San Fernando Rey de Espaņa is a beautifully restored mission. It continues to be very well cared for and is still used as a parish church.

See also: California mission

 

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