Mission Santa Cruz is a Christian religious center that was established by Spanish Roman Catholic priests in California. Between 1769 and 1823, Spanish priests started 21 missions as centers for teaching the Indians of California about Christianity. The Franciscan missionary Fermín Lasuén founded Mission Santa Cruz. He set up a cross—the principal symbol of Christianity—at a spot near the San Lorenzo River in what is now the city of Santa Cruz on Aug. 28, 1791. Two other priests officially began the work at the mission on September 25 of that year. The mission is named after a Roman Catholic celebration of the symbol of the cross, held annually on September 14. Its full name in Spanish is Misión de la exaltación de la Santa Cruz, which means Mission of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
Costanoan Indians helped to build the mission and worked on its farms. The mission remained small, with only a few hundred Indians living there. In 1797, the Spanish colonial authorities established a pueblo (town) named Branciforte across the river from Mission Santa Cruz. The settlers at Branciforte often had disputes with the mission over lands and property. In 1818, the mission inhabitants fled when they heard that a French pirate named Hippolyte Bouchard was about to attack. Bouchard did not attack after all, but the people of Branciforte took advantage of the situation to rob the church and houses at the mission.
Beginning in the 1830’s, the Mexican government redistributed or sold most of the lands of the 21 California missions. Most of the Indians at Mission Santa Cruz soon left. The mission church collapsed after an earthquake in 1857.
Today, only one small mission building remains. Built in 1791, it served as living quarters. It is now a state historical park. A half-size replica of the mission church stands nearby. It was built in the 1930’s and now belongs to the Holy Cross parish (church district) of the Roman Catholic Church.
