Mission Santa Clara de Asís, Spanish mission church in Santa Clara, United States.
Mission Santa Clara de Asís is a cream-colored stucco church with a red tile roof and a single square bell tower on the left, which has two arched openings near its top, a small domed lantern with a cross, and a wooden double door at its base. The main facade has a central wooden double door, above which sits a niche holding a dark statue beneath a small arched window, with two smaller statues in arched niches flanking the entrance. A rough stone-textured cross on a pale concrete base stands in the foreground.
Founded on January 12, 1777, as La Misión Santa Clara de Thamien at the Ohlone village of So-co-is-u-ka on the Guadalupe River, the mission moved after floods, fires and earthquakes. The current site dates to 1825, and the present church was consecrated in 1929 after a 1926 fire. Jesuits took over in 1851 and founded Santa Clara College the same year.
The mission's bells ring every evening at 8:30, a promise made to King Charles III of Spain when he sent the original bells in 1777, in memory of the dead. The real bells have since been replaced by a recording. The bell tower holds three bells: one donated by King Charles IV and destroyed in a fire, and a replacement given by King Alfonso XIII, now displayed in the De Saisset Museum.
Access is on foot through the Santa Clara University campus, where pathways lead visitors throughout the grounds. Keep in mind this remains an active place of worship, so respectful attire and behavior are appreciated.
The mission bells still ring at 8:30 each evening, a promise made to King Charles III of Spain when he sent the original bells in 1777. The current bell tower holds three bells: one donated by King Charles IV and destroyed in a fire, and a replacement given by King Alfonso XIII, now displayed in the De Saisset Museum.
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