The missions—built between 1769 and 1823 and extending in a chain of 600 miles from Sonoma to San Diego—stand as symbols of California's Spanish colonial past. Pictured is San Miguel's bell tower.

California’s missions are some of the oldest landmarks that hold stories from the state’s early days. These sites give you a ...

This historic California landmark in the Inland Empire showcases mission-style architecture, storied guests, and timeless ...

To the editor: I applaud and could not agree more with Valentin Lopez in his call for taking down the mission bells that line the so-called El Camino Real linking California’s Spanish missions. This ...

The Camino de California reconnects Catholics with the land, saints and communities that shaped the Church in the West. Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá in San Diego, California, is a stopping ...

Spanish missions that dot the landscape in California today exist as centers of historical interpretation. Visitors to California, residents of the state, and school children often turn to these sites ...

A statue of Junipero Serra, the Franciscan priest who helped to establish the Spanish missions in California, was torn down by protesters in Sacramento’s Capitol Park on Saturday night after a day of ...

Few symbols in California are as ubiquitous as the roadside markers shaped like mission bells that flank state highways and the streets of coastal cities from San Diego to Sonoma along the so-called ...

A statue of a late Native American leader has been unveiled outside California’s state Capitol building, replacing a monument of a Spanish missionary that was toppled by protesters in 2020. The ...

If you attended public elementary school in California, you probably remember a popular fourth grade social studies assignment: build a model of a California mission, using popsicle sticks, sugar ...