Mission San Luis Rey de Francia is a Christian religious center in southern California that was established by Spanish Roman Catholic priests. The Franciscan missionary Fermín Lasuén founded it on June 13, 1798, in what is now Oceanside, California. The mission’s name means Saint Louis, King of France. Louis, who ruled as Louis IX of France, had been a supporter of the Franciscans in the 1200’s.
Between 1769 and 1823, Spanish priests started 21 missions as centers for teaching the Indians of California about Christianity. Mission San Luis Rey became the largest California mission, so it is sometimes called the “King of the Missions.” Antonio Peyri, a Spanish missionary, led the mission from its founding until 1832. By the time he left, nearly 3,000 Indians lived and worked at the mission and in nearby villages. The central buildings covered about 6 acres (2.4 hectares) and included a cross-shaped church, workshops, and living quarters. An irrigation system supplied water from the San Luis Rey River to mission farmland. In several nearby villages, Peyri had started small, satellite missions called asistencias, which operated under the authority of Mission San Luis Rey.
Mission San Luis Rey declined after Peyri left. In 1833 and 1834, the Mexican government seized and redistributed properties that had belonged to the missions. Mexico sold the last of Mission San Luis Rey’s lands and buildings in 1846. In 1865, the United States government returned the central buildings to the Roman Catholic Church. The Franciscans returned in 1892 and soon began restoration work. Today, the church hosts weddings, funerals, and concerts. The mission has a museum and beautiful gardens. Some of the restored buildings are used for religious retreats, in which groups of people gather for prayer, meditation, and study.
