Mission Basilica San Buenaventura is pleased to offer FORMED to our parishioners.

FORMED: Watch, listen and read. Anywhere, anytime.
FORMED provides the very best Catholic content from more than 60 organizations to help parishes, families and individuals explore their faith anywhere.

Supporting thousands of movies, children’s programs, eBooks, audio, parish programs and studies direct to your browser, mobile or connected device.

Mobile: Enabling content on the go with offline playback on your mobile phone or tablet. Supporting iOS and Android devices.
Connected Devices: Providing faith-filled, engaging content on your computer or Tablet or direct to your living room with Roku, Apple TV, and Chromecast among others.

Click here to learn more in English

Haga clic aquí para obtener más información en espanol

Please click on the FORMED icon to the right to register for your free access.

Effective immediately, Phase 1A, Tiers 1-3 (Healthcare Workers and Residents of Facilities) AND those 75 and older can register to be vaccinated in Ventura County.

Those 75 and older must:
live in Ventura County
show proof of residency and
proof of age upon arrival at the appointment.
Appointments can be accessed at the following link: www.venturacountyrecovers.org/vaccine-information/portal/. (Go to the section titled, Register for a Vaccination Appointment at the bottom of the page). A hotline will also be launched later in the week for appointments by phone.

As we begin the new year, vaccines against COVID-19 are becoming available to more people in our communities. It is critically important that our faithful and others in our parish communities have an accurate understanding of how these vaccines may be viewed from the perspective of Catholic moral teaching and tradition. The Vatican’s doctrinal office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), has determined that it is “morally acceptable” for Catholics to take these vaccines against the COVID-19 Virus. This judgment is deeply rooted in the Catholic moral tradition.

On December 21, 2020, the CDF stated:
“All vaccinations recognized as clinically safe and effective can be used in good conscience with the certain knowledge that the use of such vaccines does not constitute formal cooperation with the abortion from which the cells used in production of the vaccines derive” … “the morality of vaccination depends not only on the duty to protect one's own health, but also on the duty to pursue the common good.”

“In the absence of other means to stop or even prevent the epidemic, the common good may recommend vaccination, especially to protect the weakest and most exposed.”

Thus, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles strongly encourages Catholics to receive a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine for the sake of ourselves, our loved ones, and the common good. If some of the faithful choose not to take the vaccine for reasons of conscience, the Vatican says those persons “must do their utmost to avoid … becoming vehicles for the transmission of the infectious agent.”

Click here for Moral Guidance on Vaccines.

Click here for Answers to Ethical Questions about COVID-19 Vaccines.

Sister Mission Covenant

Recognized as the Head and Mother of all Missions in Alta and Baja California, the faithful parishioners of Misión de Nuestra Señora de Loreto Conchó, founded in 1697 in Baja California Sur, and the faithful parishioners of Mission San Buenaventura, founded in 1782 in Alta California, commit to support each other in prayer to: witness the Gospel, cultivate our religious heritage, provide temporal resources and encourage pilgrimage to all the missions in the Californias in fidelity to Holy Mother Church, the Holy Father, our respective bishops and dioceses as Sister Missions.

For centuries Loreto was inhabited mainly by pericúes Indians, who lived from picking fruit, hunting and fishing. The arrival and unsuccessful colonization of the Spaniards in 1533, and the subsequent successful Jesuit missionaries in 1697, who established in this locale the first mission of the Californias led by Father Juan Maria Salvatierra, Loreto became the historic capital of Alta and Baja California until 1777. Loreto is the starting point for the historic El Camino Real corridor that follows north along the ancient route of the Spanish missions from Misión de Nuestra Señora de Loreto Conchó to Sonoma, in Alta California.

From Loreto, Franciscan Friar Saint Junipero Serra planned the missionary expedition north to Alta California. In 1782, he established Mission San Buenaventura among the native Chumash Indians who inhabited the coastal areas for centuries and were known as "bead maker" or "seashell people" who as hunters, gatherers, and fishermen, recognized their dependency on the world around them. The Mission by the Sea across from the Channel Islands became the ninth and last mission founded by Saint Junipero Serra.

In 2015, our representatives in civic government adopted a Sister City relationship. Respectively, the two national parks off our shores have inaugurated a Sister Park/Sister Reserve Project: Bay of Loreto National Park-Channel Islands National Park and the University of California Natural Reserve System.

These initiatives will benefit the greater Loreto and San Buenaventura communities by creating new economic opportunities, facilitate cultural exchange and expand education opportunities for residents. With extended outreach and ecotourism programs, the business network and social fabric of our communities will be strengthened, benefiting present and future generations.

Unique to this relationship is the religious history of our missions, which is the foundation and very fabric of our mutual heritage that has sustained our communities for centuries.

These Sister partnerships may also support each other during natural disasters or other emergencies by raising funds or collecting needed-supplies. By sharing each other’s cultures through sister relationships, communities can gain insight into the history, values and spirit that make up their sister mission, sister city, and sister national parks and reserves.

Click here to lear about the Official Sister City Charter

Click here to learn about travel to Loreto

October 22-27, 2017 Travel Information

UNESCO: Mexico-USA Mission Preservation

Acuerdo de Hermandad de Misiones

Conocida como la cabeza y madre de todas las misiones de la Alta y Baja California, los feligreses fieles de la Misión de Nuestra Señora de Loreto Conchó, fundada en 1697 en la Baja California Sur y los feligreses fieles de la Misión San Buenaventura, fundada en 1782 en la Alta California, se comprometieron en apoyarse mutuamente en rezar a: ser testigos del evangelio, cultivar nuestro patrimonio religioso, proporcionar fuentes temporales y fomentar la peregrinación a todas las misiones en las Californias en fidelidad a la Santa Madre iglesia, el Santo Padre, nuestros respectivos obispos y diocesis como Misiones Hermanas.

Por siglos, Loreto fue poblado principalmente por indios pericues, quienes se sostuvieron recogiendo fruta, cazando y de la pesca. La llegada y fracaso de la colonización de los españoles en 1533 y la exitosa subsecuente llegada de los misioneros jesuitas en 1697, quienes establecieron en este lugar la primera misión de las Californias, guiada por padre Juan Maria Salvatierra, Loreto se convirtió en la capital historica de Alta y Baja California hasta 1777. Loreto es el punto de inicio del historico, El Camino Real, que continua hasta el norte junto con la ruta antigua de la misiones españolas desde la Misión de Nuestra Señora de Loreto Conchó a Sonoma, en Alta California.

Desde Loreto, el padre Franciscano, San Junipero Serra, planeó su viaje hacia el norte de la Alta California. En 1782, el estableció la misión de San Buenaventura junto con los indios nativos Chumash quien habitaron las areas costerias por siglos y fueron conocidos como “fabricantes de cuentas” o “gente de concha” quienes como cazadores, recolectores y pescadores, reconocieron su dependencia en su entorno. La Misión San Buenaventura fue la novena y última misión fundada por San Junipero Serra, la misión del mar, frente a las Islas del Canal.

En 2015, nuestros representantes en un acto cívico de gobierno realizaron una relación de ciudad hermana. Respectivamente, los dos parques nacionales inauguraron un proyecto de hermandad entre parques marinos: Parque Nacional Bahia de Loreto, Parque Nacional de las Islas del Canal y el sistema natural reservado de la Universidad de California.

Estas iniciativas beneficiarán las grandiosas comunidades de Loreto y San Buenaventura creando nuevas oportunidades económicas, facilitando intercambios culturales y expandiendo oportunidades educativas para los residentes. Con el alcance logrado y los programas de eco-turismo, la red de negocios y social entre nuestras comunidades serán fortalecidos, beneficiando presente y futuras generaciones.

Unica en esta relación es la historia religiosa de nuestras misiones, la cual es la fundaciòn y nuestra mutuo patrimonio que ha sido sostenido a nuestra comunidades por siglos.

Este hermanamiento puede también apoyarse, uno al otro, durante desastres naturales u otras emergencias, recolectando fondos o viveres. Al compartir la cultura del otro, a través de relaciones hermanas, las comunidades pueden obtener una perspectiva mas profunda de la historia, los valores y el espíritu que componen la misión hermana, ciudad hermana y parques y reservas nacionales.