Loreto is a town of about 20,000 on the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. Founded by Jesuit missionaries in 1697, it was the first Spanish colonial settlement on the peninsula. The stone church shown in the photos below, Mision de Neustra Senora de Loreto Concho, was built in the 1740’s. It still functions as a Catholic Church.

Loreto is a cultural center for the area, hosting several fiestas, and has become a tourist destination, primarily for American sport fishermen. Flights from Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix and Dallas come into Loreto International Airport.

This sculpture portrays Father Juan Maria de Salvatierra, the founder of the mission at Loreto, with indigenous Cochimi people.