Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcala - Mission Valley
California's First Church
First of the 21 missions and known as the Mother of the Missions, Mission San Diego de Alcala was founded on
July 16, 1769 by Blessed Junipero Serra. It was designated as a Minor Basilica in 1976 by Pope Paul VI.
The Mission today is an active Catholic Parish in the Diocese of San Diego.
Tour Old California Missions - Special Adventure Feature
St Thomas Indian Mission
San Diego's Eastern Most Parish
Fort Yuma, California; (760) 572-0283;
The original mission, Puerto de la Purísima Concepción,
was completed in early 1781 but destroyed in an indian raid later that year and abandoned.
The US military operated an outpost here, Fort Yuma (1849-1885).
The current Catholic parish church of St Thomas was dedicated in 1923.
San Diego Mormon Temple - La Jolla CA
Although admittance is restricted to members of the LDS church, the exterior grounds are
open to free public tours daily. The best time to visit (but also most crowded)
is on Saturdays when an average of over two dozen wedding parties are passing through
to solemnize marriage vows and to take pictures on the lawns and gardens.
Mormon Battalion Visitors Center - Old Town
LDS Church operated museum commerating the 1847 completion of the longest infantry march in US History, over 2000 miles from
Council Bluffs, Iowa to San Diego. The Mormon Battalion consisted of five companies that totaled over 500 men.
Multimedia presentations, historic artifacts and paintings.