What was mission life like for the missionaries and why were the
missions so important? First of all, why did they have missions
and why were they important? As we have said in an earlier Q&A,
the missions were built by the Spanish starting in 1769 in order
to “colonize” the territory of Alta California. So the missions
were important because they were the means of settling
California. Without the missions, California - which was a real
wilderness in 1769 - would have been settled much more slowly
and possibly with a lot more conflict. The missions are also
important because they are some of the oldest buildings left in
the state and they help us get in touch with the early history
of California. What life was like for the missionaries? The
missionaries typically entered the Franciscan order at a very
young age (usually about 16). They then studied to become
priests. They only became missionaries if they volunteered. If
they were accepted for missionary service they had to leave
their homeland (almost all of