Mission San Luis Rey de Francia was the eighteenth Franciscan outpost established in Alta California in a chain of 21 California missions. 

It’s named after St. Louis IX, King of France.  The Mission was administered by Fray Antonio Peyri, and was developed and occupied continuously by Spanish missionaries and Luiseno Indians for over thirty years, until the period of secularization under Mexico.

History records Fr. Peryi, the first administrator of the Mission, as a kind and loving pastor. The native population was atracted by his lifestyle, teachings, the Mission’s dependable food supply and the opportunity to learn the language and customs of the newcomers.

Mission San Luis Rey had a system of fountains and pools in what is called “The Lavanderia.” This enclosed area provided drinking water, laundry facilities and a bathing area. An early irrigation system built of clay pipes watered the gardens and fruit trees beyond The Lavanderia.