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July 2023 by Abby Corley
I had my wedding here in June 2023. Please note that you have to be a Santa Clara University student, alumni, or faculty member to get married here (I did my graduate program at SCU). It is very cost-effective to reserve this space and the administration is very helpful in ensuring all paperwork and documentation is completed. Upon reserving our spot, we received a detailed wedding planning outline that helped us plan our wedding day. The mission is absolutely beautiful with such rich history. It is beautiful inside and does not require much decoration as the beauty speaks for itself! The on-site director helped make our wedding rehearsal go very smoothly so that on the day of, all attendants knew exactly what to do. I highly recommend this venue if you are capable! Photos courtesy of Katelyn Bradley Photography
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July 2023 by brenda arellano
First and foremost, the mission is a beautiful piece of history and a cool place to go and see.I went to SCU for undergrad and had my wedding ceremony in the mission. Their staff is so organized and helped guide us through the process from start to finish. They have a coordinator on site for the ceremony and our coordinator, Charlie was just wonderful! He was such a calming and positive presence during what can be a very stressful and chaotic time. He made sure everything with the ceremony went smoothly.Pro tip though- if you’re getting married at the mission- give yourself ample time to find a priest to officiate the wedding, as many priests don’t do weddings outside their parish.
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July 2023 by Abby C.
I had my wedding here in June 2023. Please note that you have to be a Santa Clara University student, alumni, or faculty member to get married here (I did my graduate program at SCU). It is very cost-effective to reserve this space and the administration is very helpful in ensuring all paperwork and documentation is completed. Upon reserving our spot, we received a detailed wedding planning outline that helped us plan our wedding day. The mission is absolutely beautiful with such rich history. It is beautiful inside and does not require much decoration as the beauty speaks for itself! The on-site director helped make our wedding rehearsal go very smoothly so that on the day of, all attendants knew exactly what to do. I highly recommend this venue if you are capable! Photos courtesy of Katelyn Bradley Photography
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June 2023 by Larry Barton
Unlike many other California missions, this one is not simply a museum, but principally a functioning church with masses, confessionals, and members in attendance. Catholics seeking spiritual guidance, and specifically students from the surrounding Santa Clara University, will find all the ministerial assistance they need ready at hand as well as a full schedule of Church events and activities. The elegantly appointed grounds are laid out in such a way to encourage meditative reflection, providing ample alcoves and private spaces. Unfortunately, for those seeking the museum-like aspects of historical ruins, this site is too well maintained to be of much interest.
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June 2023 by Alvin Gogineni
The Mission is part of Santa Clara University which is a beautiful campus to stroll through or even have a picnic. The mission is open to the public and also an event venue. In December we love attending the winter choir inside the Church, great experience!Parking is easy and free.
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May 2023 by Julienne P.
I've attended many wedding masses at the Mission Church many times throughout the years. It is gorgeous on the inside and outside grounds. It serves as a Student Chapel for the university so it's not too big but very quaint and cozy. The missions garden is absolutely gorgeous too. Here is a little history on the church taken from SCU website: "Historic Mission Santa Clara is a consecrated Roman Catholic church that sits at the heart of Santa Clara University's campus. First Established by the Franciscan Order in 1777 as part of the chain of 21 Alta California Missions, our Mission Church was the only one of the 21 that the Franciscans handed over to the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) in 1851, making SCU the first institution of higher education in the State of California. Today, Mission Santa Clara remains the central hub of our campus' religious and spiritual life. As part of SCU's Division of Mission and Ministry, the Mission Church continues to welcome our faculty, staff, alums, and neighbors to join our student body in worship. "
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March 2023 by Kevin Leach
Mission Santa Clara is located on the campus of Santa Clara University, a private, Jesuit College. Enrollment open to all faiths and gender. Mission serves as the campus chapel and has daily mass. Well preserved and worth the visit.
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November 2022 by Elaine Chan
A beautiful church located at the heart of Santa Clara University. It is a university chapel.I didn’t go inside.But heard that student, staff or alumni could host Roman Catholic wedding at this church.
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November 2022 by Mike V.
A wonderful place to celebrate Mass- - - - - - - -Our daughter and I visited San Jose, CA, and the Bay area one mid-October weekend. We had a good time.Sunday morning, we celebrated Mass at the Santa Clara Mission Church, on the campus of Santa Clara University.The priest's homily pointed us to how Scripture calls us to ...Perseverance...... applies to students at mid-terms...... applies to us all, including...Moses needed help to eep his arms raised over the battle with AmalekSt. Paul calling us to pray unceasinglyJesus and the parable of the unjust judge rendering for the persistent widow1. Strength together2. Scriptures3. Pray without ceasingI charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus,who will judge the living and the dead,and by his appearing and his kingly power:proclaim the word;be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient;convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching.St. Paul, 2 Tm 3:14-4:2Thank you, Father, for letting us celebrate Mass with you and the rest of the congregation. ---------------
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October 2022 by Clarissa D.
We hosted our wedding mass at Mission Santa Clara this summer. The church is beautiful on the inside and outside - the inside is ornately and uniquely decorated, and the outside is distinctly Spanish styled and also has lots of flowers and gardens, including a long wisteria arbor. It makes for amazing wedding photos. It's also equipped with a pipe organ and a Steinway grand piano, which allows for flexibility in wedding music (we used the organ for the processional/recessional and piano for the rest). It seats a ton of people - we had about 85 and only filled up part of the front section, so it can definitely accommodate large weddings. The church itself is not air conditioned, though the sacristy is, so it's a good place for the wedding party to wait in the minutes before the ceremony.The Mission is extremely popular for weddings, so it can be hard to get a good time slot. They do 3 weddings on Saturdays and 2 on Sundays (at least during the summer). We ended up needing to go on Sunday to get a time slot that would work for us. The only problem with that is since the Mission doesn't have any priests, you are required to find your own priest, and they tend to be busy on Sundays. Finding a priest who was available that day was the most difficult issue we had with the Mission. Other than that, it was pretty smooth and efficient. We were able to tour the Mission with the assistant director, Andrew, and he answered all our questions. Charlie, the director, led our rehearsal and made sure everyone knew where we needed to be and when.Overall, the Mission was a beautiful and memorable place to get married! Other than finding a priest, it was one of the less stressful parts of our wedding planning.
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March 2022 by James L.
This is a great church. It was built one year after this country was formed. It has such a rich history and located on the Ivy League campus of Santa Clara University. Be sure to stop by the museum on campus to get more of the history that surrounds this landmark. Whether your a Christian, history buff, or just in to interesting things you need to check this church out. Countless people have taken their picture right in front of it. It has also been used in Christian music videos.
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November 2021 by Cody Bruce
Beautiful Catholic Mission and University grounds. The roses were some of the prettiest I’ve ever seen. I didn’t see candles to light in church but there was a prayer request book to leave prayers.
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November 2021 by kailiang huang
Find a nice sunny day, bring a mat, take a book, secure one of those shade under the trees, and enjoy the day!!!This place is a serenity escape.Only drawback is the parking is a bit limited.This place is also sprinkled with different kinds of roses, dashed with tons of cute squirrels ?.
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November 2021 by Lisa Elley
Gorgeous church right in the midst of Santa Clara university. Incredible architecture. Huge and ornate. Bells ringing, although it’s a recording and not the original bells on the roof. Restrooms, parking and water fountains at the university.
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November 2021 by Ruthie Kataoka
Gorgeous! This is a great place for pictures. It's so beautiful with it's many rose bushes some so large they look like trees. There is also a cemetery (gated, no access but you can see it through the fence) and a plaque for the Natives who once lived there. The college campus also has vast lawns, is beautifully landscaped with great architecture; a photographer's dream from family photos to nature to selfies you're going to get a great picture around the Santa Clara campus.
