Mission Santa Barbara

Mission Santa Barbara is a Spanish colonial mission in the city of Santa Barbara, California, founded in 1786 by Father Fermín Lasuén. It is one of the best-known California missions and is commonly called the “Queen of the Missions.”

The complex includes the mission church with its twin bell towers, a museum with mission-era artifacts and a historic cemetery. Visitors commonly see the church interior, museum exhibits, landscaped quadrangle and surrounding gardens.

Founded in 1786 as part of Spain’s chain of California missions, it was built during the mission period to support agriculture, worship and cultural aims of the Spanish colonial system; the site has been repaired and rebuilt after earthquake damage over the centuries and has remained an active parish and historic site.

The mission sits at the base of the Santa Ynez foothills in the city of Santa Barbara, a short distance west of the downtown waterfront and visible from surrounding neighborhoods.

• Nickname: Often called the "Queen of the Missions," a local nickname referencing its architectural prominence and historic importance in California's mission chain.
• Historic cemetery: Contains an adjacent historic cemetery with mission-era burials that is open for viewing by visitors to the complex.

What to See #

• Basilica / Church: The mission church building features its characteristic twin bell towers and serves as an active Roman Catholic parish; the current church dates from post‑missionary reconstruction and repair phases.
• El Campo Santo cemetery: A historic cemetery adjacent to the complex contains mission-era graves and marked family plots used since the mission period.
• Mission museum and archives: A museum and archives on site display religious artifacts, early mission objects and explanatory exhibits about the mission period and local indigenous history.