Visit the Mission San Rafael Arcangel in the heart of San Rafael , and you will see beauty, preservation, and tradition. The small white building that stands today is a 1949 replica of the original Mission San Rafael Arcangel. As an extension of Mission Dolores in San Francisco, Mission San Rafael Arcangel served as a hospital for Christianized Native Americans. Attached to the mission is St. Raphael school and parish. The school has approximately 225 students from kindergarten through eighth grade and is a traditional Catholic primary school, one of the oldest of its kind in northern California.
Visitors also enjoy the small museum and adjoining gift shop.
The relics and pictures displayed in the museum are popular. Be sure to see the painting of St. Raphael that was hung over the original main altar. If scheduled two weeks in advance, a docent will give private tours of the museum and mission for groups of 10 or more. The third bell was accrued in a trade with a whaling ship. Still serving a thriving religious community, mass at the mission chapel is celebrated in English, Spanish and Vietnamese.