The riverside Mission of Santa Rosalia de Mulege, Mexico was founded in 1705 in a place known to the Indians as Mulege, or the great sandbar of the white mouth. The indigenous people of Cochimi supported the Jesuits in their efforts to erect a church and establish a Catholic mission in this desert oasis. Exactly like all the other newly established mission settlements in the region, within just a decade of the arrival of the missionaries, the local population has dramatically decreased. In 1768, the Spanish king expelled the Jesuits from New Spain. Therefore, they were unable to complete the construction of the brick church, which had begun only two years earlier. The Franciscans continued the work, followed by the Dominicans. After the works were completed, the new building soon emptied, as the local population died out completely.
