On March 27, 1776, Lieutenant Colonel Juan Bautista de Anza camped at Mountain Lake with 240 Spanish settlers, soldiers, indigenous interpreters, and the Franciscan Fathers Francisco Garcés, Tomás Eixarch, and Pedro Font. The next morning, his priests would have offered what is probably the first Catholic Mass in what would become San Francisco. Three months later, on June 29th, 1776, Father Junipero Serra would offer the first recorded Mass at what became Misión San Francisco de Asis, after which our City is named. Full story

On March 28, 2026, priests will again offer a Latin Sung Mass in the same form in which the original padres celebrated it, followed by a barbecue in Mountain Lake Park.
All are welcome to both events at Mountain Lake Park, on 12th Avenue.