Mission San Lorenzo was one of the last attempts to convert the Lipan Apache, or Ndé, in Spanish Texas. It was one of two "El Cañón" missions established in the Nueces Canyon, with Candelaria eight miles to the south. Both missions were unauthorized by the Spanish government and poorly funded, though they had the backing of the Church. In 1762, Felipe Rábago y Therán, captain of Presidio San Sabá, established them after requests from the Lipan and agreed to partially fund them and provide military support, supplying 4,000 pesos and 30 soldiers without government permission. Friar Diego Jimenez was sent to El Cañón to help oversee operations. At first, about 400 Lipan arrived at San Lorenzo along with presidio soldiers and their families, and the missionary fathers began building structures and planting corn. That early promise faded as residents faced food shortages, Comanche raids that depleted livestock and destroyed crops, the constant threat of attack, and smallpox outbreaks in 1763 and 1764. The Lipan lost faith in the Spaniards' ability to protect them, and by 1768 they had abandoned San Lorenzo, after which the friars and soldiers were reassigned and the missionary effort officially ended.