Mission Nombre de Dios

Mission Nombre de Dios

Shrine to Nuestra Senora de la Leche y buen parto

Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche

"The Sacred Acre"

Prince of Peace Catholic Church

National Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche

The British

Bishop Michael J. Curley

Mrs. Amelia Hardin

Diocese of St. Augustine

Bishop Felipe Estevez

1565

1587

1603

1678

December 26, 1702

1874

1728

1856-1891

1878

1914-1918

1925

1966

2010s

October 11, 2021

The original building was a parish church.

Once St. Augustine moved, this location became part of the Spanish mission system for La Florida.

The 18th century building was used as a hospital.

The current small building is a shrine, and the larger building is a mission church with attached museum.

On September 8, 1565, General Pedro Menedez de Aviles landed in Florida with the hopes of establishing a new Spanish colony. The land was proclaimed to be Name of God, or Nombre de Dios and the first Mass in the United States was held on this land by Father Francisco Lopez de Mendoza Grajales.

In 1587, the first chapel was built. Spanish settlers established on this property the first shrine to the Virgin Mary in 1603 when they brought their devotion and a statue of Madonna and Child to La Florida, Nuestra Senora de la Leche y buen parto (Our Lady of Milk and Happy Delivery). Three years later, Bishop Altamirano of the Diocese of Cuba travelled to La Florida to visit all the missions. 

The 1587 church was replaced by a sturdier stone church in 1678, and was burned down in the 1702 siege by the South Carolinians on December 26, 1702. It was rebuilt and when John Palmer attacked St. Augustine in 1728, the new  shrine/mission was again burned.

The next rebuilt church then functioned as a hospital for the British, but was eventually abandoned. From 1856-1891, part of the land around the deteriorating church became a cemetary. In 1874, this church was rebuilt, but was badly damaged in an 1878 storm, loosing the roof and two walls.

Today, a small chapel sits in the middle of what is referred to as "the sacred acre." The current chapel, designed in the Mission Revival style, was rebuilt between 1914-1918 of coquina by Bishop Michael J. Curley, bishop of St. Augustine, with the interior furnished in 1925 by Mrs. Amelia Hardin in memory of her husband, General Martin D. Hardin.

Destructive Hurricane Dora made landfall between Jacksonville and St. Augustine on September 10, 1964. On October 30, 1966, a 208-foot-tall and seventy-ton steel cross marked the landing site of Pedro Menendez on the Mission de Nombre de Dios property. Named the Beacon of Faith, this cross is the tallest cross in the Western Hemisphere and was erected to celebrate the 400-year anniversary of St. Augustine. St. Augustine has not received a direct hit since the installation of this cross; even the eye of Hurricane Matthew in 2016, projected to be a direct hit, remained far enough offshore to spare the town the worst impacts.

Also in 1966, the Prince of Peace church was built and in 2015, it was enlarged as part of the improvements to the property.  In the 2010s, Bishop Felipe Estevez of the Diocese of St. Augustine worked to improve the visitor's experience and turn the Shrine into a proper pilgrimage location. In 2012, the Vatican approved October 11th as the local feastday for Our Lady of La Leche. In 2019, the U.S. Conference of Bishops recognized Our Lady of La Leche as a National Shrine. In 2011, an archaeological excavation behind the current shrine uncovered the foundations of the 1678 or 1687 (depending on source) shrine building.

On October 11, 2021, the Madonna and Child statue in the Shrine received a canonical crowning and enthronment, culminating Bishop Estevez's efforts to elevating the status of the shrine to an important U.S. piligrimage site. Hundreds of Floridians and visitors from around the world attended the three days of celebration.

The shrine and mission were part of the Diocese of Cuba.

The shrine and mission were part of the Diocese of Savannah.

The shrine and mission are part of the Diocese of St. Augustine.

The Shrine and Mission church are open to the public. For access information and hours, please refer to their Plan Your Visit page.

The Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche and the church of Nombre de Dios are located off of San Marco Avenue.

The Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park is adjacent to the Shrine grounds.

The following books, articles, websites, and photographers were used to find the above photographs or illustrations:

Photograph 1 (1930s): Historic Picturesque St. Augustine Florida. Jacksonville, FL: Duval News Co., [1933-1937].

Photograph 2 (1930s): Bowen, Beth Rogero, and the St. Augustine Historical Society. St. Augustine in the 1930s and 1940s. Acadia Publishing, 2019.

Photograph 3 (1980): Harvey, Karen. St. Augustine and St. Johns County: A Pictorial History. Virginia Beach, VA: The Donning Company, 1980.

Photograph 4 (1993): Adams, William R., and Paul L. Weaver, III. Historic Places of St. Augustine and St. Johns County: A Visitor’s Guide. St. Augustine, FL: Southern Heritage Press, 1993.  

Photograph 5 (2025): Owens, Katherine. "Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche." September 21, 2025.

Photograph 6 (2025): Owens, Katherine. "Madonna and Child." September 21, 2025.

Photograph 7 (2025): Zufelt, Holly. "Our Lady of La Leche Plaque." July 22, 2025.

Photograph 8 (2025): Owens, Katherine. "Hardin Memorial Plaque." September 21, 2025.

The following books, articles, and/or websites were used to find information about this location:

“Ancient Spanish Shrine of Nuestra Senora de la Leche.” Plaque. Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche, St. Augustine, Florida.

Bowen, Beth Rogero, and the St. Augustine Historical Society. St. Augustine in the 1930s and 1940s. Acadia Publishing, 2019.

deCoste, Fredrik. True Tales of Old St. Augustine. St. Petersburg, FL: Great Outdoors Publishing, 1966.

Florida Museum of Natural History. “An Archaeological Discovery.” Informational Placard. Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche, St. Augustine, Florida.

Historic Picturesque St. Augustine Florida. Jacksonville, FL: Duval News Co., [1933-1937].

National Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche at Mission Nombre de Dios; Diocese of St. Augustine. “Our Story.” 2025. https://missionandshrine.org/about/.

“Our Lady of La Leche.” Informational Placard. Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche, St. Augustine, Florida.

Rajtar, Steve, and Kelly Goodman. A Guide to Historic St. Augustine, Florida. 1^st edition. The History Press, 2007.

Sonnen, John Paul. “America’s Oldest Shrine: Our Lady of La Leche in St. Augustine, Florida.” Liturgical Arts Journal, June 16, 2023. https://www.liturgicalartsjournal.com/2023/06/americas-oldest-shrine-our-lady-of-la.html.

Flagler College’s Rare Books, Floridiana & Institutional Repository are neither the original nor current copyright owner for the photographs. Please contact the publisher or source cited for each photograph to obtain a copy and/or permission to reproduce these items.

The following St. Augustine Fiction books feature this historic site as a location:

Above the Fold
Age of Innocence
Best Behavior
The Bones of the Holy
Hilton Head
The Martyrs of La Florida
My Mother is a Violent Woman
The Relic
Siege! The Story of St. Augustine in 1702
There Were Two Pirates

This record was last updated on October 24, 2025.