Old Santa Inés Mission is the 19th of 21 California missions established by the Franciscan Fathers. Padre Junipero Serra founded the first 8 missions beginning with mission San Diego de Alcala in San Diego in 1769.

• These missions were established by the Spanish crown which controlled the secular activities of the Catholic Church in Spain and its territories. Together with the military, Spain could establish a presence in California and protect this territory from Russia and England.
• The military established presidios close to ports and acted as a provisional government – Spain’s representative. They distributed funds for the Missions’ maintenance, and recommended how many padres would be allowed at the various Missions.