Mission San Gabriel Arcángel

Mission San Gabriel Arcángel is a functioning Roman Catholic mission and a historical landmark in California. The settlement was founded by Spaniards of the Franciscan order in 1771, as the fourth of what would become twenty-one Spanish missions in California.

The San Gabriel church, completed in 1805, features a Moorish, “fortress-like” appearance, with capped buttresses and long narrow windows along the prominent sidewall. This style is similar to the Cathedral in Córdoba, Spain.

The Mission’s layout had a traditional quadrangle, with soldiers’ barracks, neophyte housing, warehouses, and other structures extending out from the central compound.

Within fifteen years of its founding, San Gabriel had 1,000 neophytes. The highest population recorded was 1,701 in 1817.

A large stone cross stands in the center of the Campo Santo cemetery, it was first consecrated in 1778. It serves as the final resting place for some 6,000 “neophytes.” 

Also interred at the Mission are the bodies of numerous Franciscan priests who died during their time of service. Buried at the foot of the altar are the remains of eight Franciscan priests. 

According to Spanish legend, the founding expedition was confronted by the native Tongva peoples who intended to drive the strangers away. However, the priests laid a painting of “Our Lady of Sorrows” on the ground for all to see, at which point, the natives made peace with the missionaries because the picture moved them.  Today the 300-year-old work hangs in the Mission’s sanctuary.

Livestock was essential for sustaining mission life and starting with only 128 animals in 1772. The mission herd reached 42,350, primarily cattle (25,000) and sheep (15,000) at its peak in 1829.

Over 25,000 baptisms were conducted at San Gabriel between 1771 and 1834, making it the most prolific of the missions. The Mission structures fell into ruins after they were secularized in 1834. 

The Mission’s chapel functioned as a parish church for the City of San Gabriel from 1862 until 1908 when the Missionaries returned to San Gabriel and began the job of rebuilding and restoring the Mission.

Highlights of the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel

• A small stone marker denotes the gravesite of the last American Indian to be buried on the grounds in 1921
• Mission Bells – Six bells occupy an espadaña or bell wall –  the oldest bells were cast in Mexico City in 1795 
• Exhibits of mission relics
• Books and religious artifacts displays
• The original mission complex overview of kitchens, winery, water cisterns, soap and candle vats, tanning vats
• The cemetery
• An extensive collection of mission documents
• The matrimonial records spanning 1788 to 1861