Founding Father

Father Fermin Lasuen (the current father-president of the mission system) arrived at the Santa Cruz location 22 years after Captain Gaspar de Portola rode through the area. On August 28, 1791, he raised a large cross on the site he had chosen for the next mission, which officially was named Mission de la Exaltacion de la Santa Cruz. A more formal ceremony was planned for about a month later, but when the day came, (September 25, 1791), Father Lasuen was too busy to be able to attend. Therefore, Father I. Salazar and Father B. Lopez, the first Franciscan priest at the mission, conducted the formal ceremony. Either August 28 or September 25th may be considered the founding date of the Mission Santa Cruz, which is the twelfth mission established in Alta California.