Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá was the second Franciscan-founded mission in the Californias. Spanish friar Junípero Serra founded it on July 16, 1769, in an area that the Kumeyaay people had long inhabited. It is named for Saint Didacus of Alcalá, known in Spanish as San Diego.
It was the site of the first Christian burial in Alta California. The first mission burned in 1775 during an uprising by local people. Father Luis Jayme, killed in that uprising, lies beneath the chancel floor.
The church standing today was built in the early nineteenth century and is the fifth to stand on this location. The mission site is a National Historic Landmark.