San Diego Mission Bell

About the Mission Bell

San Diego is a coastal city in Southern California, home to Mission San Diego de Alcalá - the first Franciscan mission in California, founded in 1769. The mission bell represents the city's Spanish colonial heritage and its role as the birthplace of California. The iconic bell tower and bells remain a cherished symbol of San Diego's historical roots.

Bells hang in the 46-foot campanario of Mission San Diego de Alcalá, the Franciscan mission Junípero Serra dedicated on July 16, 1769, and moved inland to Mission Valley in 1774. The oldest, the 805-pound Ave Maria Purisima, was cast in 1802 and, during the mission's abandonment, was stored in the vestibule of St. Joseph's Church before being rehung when the campanario was rebuilt in 1931. The largest, the 1,200-pound Mater Dolorosa, was recast in San Diego in 1894 from fragments of earlier mission bells; accounts differ on whether those originals arrived in 1794 or 1796. Rung daily and in unison at the annual Festival of the Bells, they mark the city's founding site.