Mission San Rafael Arcángel
The reconstructed capilla (chapel) of Mission San Rafael Arcángel is to the right of Saint Raphael's Church. | |
| Location | 1104 5th Avenue San Rafael, California 94901-2916 |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 37°58′27.6″N 122°31′40.5″W / 37.974333°N 122.527917°W |
| Name as founded | La Misión del Gloriosísimo Príncipe San Rafael, Arcángel |
| English translation | The Mission of the Glorious Prince, Archangel Saint Raphael |
| Patron | The Glorious Prince Saint Raphael, Archangel |
| Nickname(s) | "Mission of Bodily Healing" |
| Founding date | December 14, 1817 |
| Founding priest(s) | Father Vicente Francisco de Sarría |
| Founding Order | Twentieth |
| Military district | Fourth |
| Native tribe(s) Spanish name(s) | Coast Miwok, Pomo |
| Native place name(s) | 'Anaguani |
| Baptisms | 1,821 |
| Marriages | 519 |
| Burials | 652 |
| Secularized | 1834 |
| Returned to the Church | 1855 |
| Governing body | Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco |
| Current use | Chapel / Museum |
| Reference no. | 220 |
| Website | |
| http://saintraphael.com | |
Mission San Rafael Arcángel (Spanish: La Misión del Gloriosísimo Príncipe San Rafael, Arcángel, lit. 'The Mission of the Glorious Prince, Archangel Saint Raphael') is a replica Spanish mission in San Rafael, California.
The original mission was founded in 1817 as an asistencia of Mission San Francisco de Asís to serve as a hospital to treat sick and injured indigenous people, making it Alta California's first sanitarium. The site's milder weather was believed to aid the rehabilitation of patients. It was not intended to be a stand-alone mission, but was granted full mission status in 1822 as it grew and prospered.
The mission fell into severe disrepair by the 1860's, giving it the ignoble distinction as the "most obliterated" Spanish mission in California. A new parish church was built in 1861 and the mission ruins were entirely removed in 1870. The site was replaced by the Saint Raphael Parish complex, where the modern-day replica was built in 1949, in front of the modern Saint Raphael's Church.