1946 First Mission San Diego CA Postcard

This evocative postcard, postmarked in 1946, offers a glimpse into the storied past of Mission San Diego de Alcalá. The Mission was the first of California’s 21 historic missions, initially founded in 1769. Shown here is the peaceful mission patio, where trees that were planted by the early Padres over 150 years prior still grow. After a tragic 1775 uprising in which Padre Luis Jayme, California's first Christian martyr, was killed, the mission was rebuilt in 1776.

The bell tower base and original bells remain as silent witnesses to centuries of faith, resilience, and transformation. Remarkably, church records written in Padre Serra’s hand are preserved to this day, linking the present to California’s earliest colonial history.