The site of California’s first church lies on a hill over-looking San Diego’s bustling crossroads of I-5 and I-8 highways. Fr. Junipero Serra led the expedition that established the Mission Church in 1769. This marked the beginning of Christianity in California and established the city we now know as San Diego. The original wooden cross has been replaced with a brick replica and the excavation mission and church foundation has been reburied for preservation. The statue of Father Junipero is just below the cross in a grove of Pepper Trees.