Mission San Miguel Arcángel

Mission San Miguel Arcángel was founded on July 25, 1797 by the Franciscan order, on a site chosen specifically due to its proximity to the large number of Salinan Indians that inhabited the area.

Another mission bearing the name San Miguel Arcángel is the Misión San Miguel Arcángel de la Frontera in Baja California.

A view of Mission San Miguel Arcángel from the northeast side with a tile fence in the foreground, circa 1875.
HISTORY
Location:	San Miguel, California
Name as Founded:	La Misión del Gloriosísimo Príncipe Arcángel, Señor San Miguel
English Translation:	The Mission of the Glorious Prince, Archangel Saint Michael
Patron Saint:	Archangel Saint Michael
Nickname(s):	"Mission on the Highway"  "The Unretouched Mission"
Founding Date:	July 25,1797
Founded By:	Father Fermín Lasuén
Founding Order:	Sixteenth
Military District:	Third
Native Tribe(s): Spanish Name(s):	Salinan
Primordial Place Name(s):	Valica
SPIRITUAL RESULTS
Baptisms:	4,340
Confirmations:	2,471
Marriages:	764
Burials:	1,868
DISPOSITION
Secularized:	1834
Returned to the Church:	1859
Governing Body:	Roman Catholic Diocese of Monterey
Current Use:	Parish Church (under repair)
Coordinates:	35°44′41″N, 120°41′53″W
National Historic Landmark:	#NPS-71000191
Date added to the NRHP:	July 14, 1971
California Historical Landmark:	#326
Web Site:	http://www.missionsanmiguel.org/

History

In 1846, Governor Pío Pico sold the Mission for $600 to Petronillo Rios and William Reed. Reed used the Mission as a family residence and a store. In 1848, Reed and his family were murdered, leaving the Mission vacant for a period of time. The Mission was a stopping place for miners coming from Los Angeles to San Francisco, and was consequently was used as a saloon, dance hall, storeroom and living quarters.

In 1878, after 38 years without a resident padre, Father Philip Farrelly became the "First Pastor" of Mission San Miguel Arcángel. Through all the years the priests kept the church in condition and it is called the best-preserved church in the mission chain today. In 1928, Mission San Miguel Arcángel and Mission San Antonio de Padua were returned to the Franciscan order. Since then, the Mission has been repaired and restored, and has one of the best-preserved interiors (which gives one of the best examples of old mission life).

For many years, the Mission served the town as an active parish church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Monterey in California. Unfortunately, harmonic vibrations from the nearby Union Pacific Railroad main line has weakened the unreinforced masonry structures over the years. The San Simeon Earthquake of December 22, 2003 caused severe damage to the sanctuary at Mission San Miguel. It will be a several years before seismic retrofitting of the structure (estimated to cost some $15 million) will be completed; until then, the building is off-limits to the general public.

Mission bells

Bells were vitally important to daily life at any mission. The bells were rung at mealtimes, to call the Mission residents to work and to religious services, during births and funerals, to signal the approach of a ship or returning missionary, and at other times; novices were instructed in the intricate rituals associated with the ringing the mission bells.