Mission San Rafael Arcángel is a Christian religious center in California that was established by Spanish Roman Catholic priests. Franciscan missionaries originally founded it as a hospital on Dec. 13, 1817. There had been many outbreaks of disease among the Indians at the nearby Mission of San Francisco de Asís. The priests established Mission San Rafael Arcángel in a warm, sunny location—at what is now the city of San Rafael—because they thought it would be a good place for the sick to recover. The mission is named after Saint Raphael, an archangel associated with healing.
Between 1769 and 1823, Spanish priests started 21 missions as centers for teaching the Indians of California about Christianity. At first, Mission San Rafael Arcángel was an asistencia, or helper mission, under the authority of Mission San Francisco de Asís. The asistencia grew quickly, and some of the local Coast Miwok Indians joined the community. People at San Rafael started farms that raised cattle, sheep, grain, and fruit. The asistencia became an independent mission on Oct. 19, 1822.
Beginning in the 1830’s, the Mexican government took over the California missions and sold the property. The first one taken over was Mission San Rafael Arcángel in 1834. The mission community soon fell apart. In 1846, United States troops led by General John C. Frémont used the mission buildings as a headquarters during the Mexican War (1846-1848).
In 1861, the mission built a new wooden church to replace its crumbling buildings. In 1949, work began on a replica of the original mission, based on early drawings and descriptions. Today, the rebuilt mission and a museum are open to visitors. They are part of the Roman Catholic parish (church district) of Saint Raphael.
