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Mission San Rafael Arcángel is a Spanish mission in San Rafael, California. It 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.
Named after Saint Raphael the Arcángel, the angel of bodily healing, Mission San Rafael began as an asistencia, or helper, to Mission Dolores and the ill northern-California Indians devastated by the inclimate weather in San Francisco.
Learn about the 20th and last mission established by the Spanish in Alta California in 1817. Visit the replica of the original mission and the parish church, and shop for mission souvenirs.
Aug 16, 2021 · Learn about the founding, development, and decline of Mission San Rafael Arcangel, one of the few missions that never had a quadrangle and built ships. See photos of the ruins, the modern chapel, and the cemetery of this historic site in San Rafael, California.
- Betsy Malloy
The small replica mission chapel you see today was built in 1949 and is part of the Parish of St. Rafael of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco. San Rafael Archangel was founded as a hospital asistencia (sub-mission) on December 14, 1817, and given full mission status on October 19, 1822.
Originally built as a hospital outpost for Mission Dolores, Mission San Rafael Arcángel grew to become a successful mission in its own right. Nearby China Camp State Park offers a complementary glimpse into California’s unique history.
The mission at San Rafael was built as a hospital and convalescent home, where the ill could recuperate in the warmer climate of the North Bay. It was California’s first sanitarium. The mission also expanded the Spanish presence in the San Francisco Bay Area, which was intended as a bulwark against the perceived threat of the Russian presence ...
