The Father of the San Fernando Mission

On Sept. 8, 1797, Father Fermin Francisco de Lasuen blessed the ground on which Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana was to be built; it now appears his prayers were answered. San Fernando Mission has survived earthquakes, floods and runaway development for almost 200 years.

But the founder of the San Fernando Valley hated California upon his arrival. The refined, educated Franciscan priest desperately pleaded with his superiors to transfer him out of the harsh environment. One of his early bad experiences came when a pack train with which he was traveling was attacked by Indians near Santa Barbara.

His mentor and friend, Father Junipero Serra, who was the president of the California missions at the time, persuaded him to stay. After Serra’s death in 1784, Lasuen succeeded him.

Lasuen was regarded by many as a benevolent figure, according to a biography on the California Franciscan missionaries by Maynard Geiger. Several explorers who visited California during that time wrote affectionately about him.

The French navigator J.G. de La Perouse met him at San Carlos Mission in 1786 and was impressed by Lasuen’s “sweetness of temper, benevolence and his love for the Indians.” Capt. George Vancouver named two points near San Pedro Bay after him: Point Fermin and Point Lasuen.

Because of his business and diplomacy skills--two traits that would have served him well in today’s Valley--the missions thrived before his death in 1803.

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