Mission San Rafael Arcángel

Mission San Rafael Arcángel

The reconstructed capilla (chapel) of Mission San Rafael Arcángel is to the right of Saint Raphael's Church.
Location of Mission San Rafael Arcángel in California
Location	1104 5th Avenue San Rafael, California 94901-2916
Coordinates	37°58′27.5988″N 122°31′40.476″W / 37.974333000°N 122.52791000°WCoordinates: 37°58′27.5988″N 122°31′40.476″W / 37.974333000°N 122.52791000°W
Name as founded	La Misión del Gloriosísimo Príncipe San Rafael, Arcángel [1]
English translation	The Mission of the Glorious Prince, Archangel Saint Raphael
Patron	The Glorious Prince Saint Raphael, Archangel [2]
Nickname(s)	"Mission of Bodily Healing" [3]
Founding date	December 14, 1817 [4]
Founding priest(s)	Father Vicente Francisco de Sarría [5]
Military district	Fourth
Native place name(s)	'Anaguani [6]
Baptisms	1,821 [7]
Marriages	519 [7]
Burials	652 [7]
Secularized	1834 [2]
Returned to the Church	1855 [2]
Governing body	Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco
Current use	Chapel / Museum
California Historical Landmark
Reference no.	220
Website
http://saintraphael.com

Mission San Rafael Arcángel was founded in 1817 as a medical asistencia ("sub-mission") of Mission San Francisco de Asís. It was a hospital to treat sick Native Americans, making it Alta California's first sanitarium.^[8] The weather was much better than in San Francisco, which helped the ill get better.^[9] It was intended to be a stand-alone mission but nevertheless grew and prospered and it was granted full mission status on October 19, 1822.

History

Mission San Rafael Arcángel was founded in the present day location of San Rafael, California, on December 14, 1817, by Father Vicente Francisco de Sarría, as a medical asistencia ("sub-mission") of the San Francisco Mission to treat their sick population. It was granted full mission status in 1822.

This was one of the second missions turned over to the Mexican government in 1833 after the Mexican secularization act of 1833. In 1840, there were 150 Indians still at the Mission. By 1844, Mission San Rafael Arcángel had been abandoned; what was left of the empty buildings was sold for $8,000 in 1846. The Mission was used by John C. Fremont as his headquarters during the battles to make California a United States possession (see Bear Flag Revolt). In 1847, a priest was once again living at the Mission. A new parish church was built near the old chapel ruins in 1861, and, in 1870, the rest of the ruins were removed to make room for the City of San Rafael. All that was left of the Mission was a single pear tree from the old Mission's orchard. It is for this reason that San Rafael is known as the "most obliterated of California's missions." ^[3]

In 1949, a replica of the chapel was built next to the current Saint Raphael's Church on the site of the original hospital in San Rafael, California.

Interior of the capilla (chapel) at Mission San Rafael Arcángel taken May 8, 1974.

See also

• Chief Marin
• Mission San Francisco de Asís
• Mission San Francisco Solano
• USNS Mission San Rafael (AO-130) – a Buenaventura Class fleet oiler built during World War II.

Notes

1. Leffingwell, p. 157
2. Krell, p. 295
3. Ruscin, p. 167
4. Yenne, p. 174
5. Ruscin, p. 196
6. Ruscin, p. 195
7. Krell, p. 315: as of December 31, 1832; information adapted from Engelhardt's Missions and Missionaries of California.
8. Ruscin, p. 169
9. Tays, George (1937). "Mariano G Vallejo and Sonoma". California Historical Society Quarterly. 2 XVI: 109.

Leffingwell, p. 157

^ Jump up to: a b c Krell, p. 295 ^ Jump up to: a b Ruscin, p. 167 Jump up ^ Yenne, p. 174 Jump up ^ Ruscin, p. 196 Jump up ^ Ruscin, p. 195 ^ Jump up to: a b c Krell, p. 315: as of December 31, 1832; information adapted from Engelhardt's Missions and Missionaries of California. Jump up ^ Ruscin, p. 169 Jump up ^ Tays, George (1937). "Mariano G Vallejo and Sonoma". California Historical Society Quarterly. 2 XVI: 109. k

References

• Forbes, Alexander (1839). California: A History of Upper and Lower California. Smith, Elder and Co., Cornhill, London.
• Jones, Terry L. and Kathryn A. Klar (eds.) (2007). California Prehistory: Colonization, Culture, and Complexity. Altimira Press, Landham, MD. ISBN 0-7591-0872-2.
• Krell, Dorothy (ed.) (1979). The California Missions: A Pictorial History. Sunset Publishing Corporation, Menlo Park, CA. ISBN 0-376-05172-8.
• Leffingwell, Randy (2005). California Missions and Presidios: The History & Beauty of the Spanish Missions. Voyageur Press, Inc., Stillwater, MN. ISBN 0-89658-492-5.
• Paddison, Joshua (ed.) (1999). A World Transformed: Firsthand Accounts of California Before the Gold Rush. Heyday Books, Berkeley, CA. ISBN 1-890771-13-9.
• Ruscin, Terry (1999). Mission Memoirs. Sunbelt Publications, San Diego, CA. ISBN 0-932653-30-8.
• Yenne, Bill (2004). The Missions of California. Thunder Bay Press, San Diego, CA. ISBN 1-59223-319-8.

External links

• Early photographs, sketches, land surveys of Mission San Rafael Arcángel, via Calisphere, California Digital Library
• A historical drawing of the mission at the Bancroft Library
• Howser, Huell (December 8, 2000). "California Missions (107)". California Missions. Chapman University Huell Howser Archive.

Leffingwell, p. 157

^ Jump up to: a b c Krell, p. 295 ^ Jump up to: a b Ruscin, p. 167 Jump up ^ Yenne, p. 174 Jump up ^ Ruscin, p. 196 Jump up ^ Ruscin, p. 195 ^ Jump up to: a b c Krell, p. 315: as of December 31, 1832; information adapted from Engelhardt's Missions and Missionaries of California. Jump up ^ Ruscin, p. 169 Jump up ^ Tays, George (1937). "Mariano G Vallejo and Sonoma". California Historical Society Quarterly. 2 XVI: 109. k