The second mission built by Franciscans in Northern California was first
established in 1770, moving to its current site a year later. It was
secularized and abandoned by the Mexican government in 1833 and was restored by
the Roman Catholic church, which assumed control of it in 1863. In 1931, the
church transferred control to a local diocese and it became a parish
church. In 1960, Pope John XXII designated it a minor basilica. Pope John
Paul II visited in 1987.
