San Gabriel Arcángel

San Gabriel Arcángel

General Information

Founded:

September 8, 1771 - The 4th California Mission

Also Called:

Mission San Gabriel

Current Status:

This is an active Roman Catholic Church of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Summary:

San Gabriel Arcángel was founded on September 8, 1771. The unique San Gabriel church features a Moorish “fortress-like” appearance. Mission San Gabriel has a full set of the Stations of the Cross painted by mission neophytes, and a large number of artifacts and historic items on display on the grounds.

Address

427 S. Junipero Serra Drive
San Gabriel, CA 91776
United States

Get Directions

Directions

San Gabriel is about nine (9) miles east of Los Angeles. Take I 10 east to Exit 23B (Garfield Avenue). Take Garfield Avenue South to Mission Road East. The mission will be on the left at the juncture of Mission Road and Junípero Serra Drive.

Phone(s)

626-457-3048 - Mission Gift Shop

626-467-3035 - Church Rectory

Fees, Hours, Tours and Church Services

Please contact the mission directly by telephone or by visiting the mission website for the most current information.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, it is best to check for current information.

Weddings and Other Special Services

Both Parishioners and non-Parishioners are welcome. Requirements, arrangements, and details on the Marriage/Weddings" sacrament can be found by visiting the parish website.

Special Events

  • Special events vary but have included a History Fair, Re-enactment of Events, a Mission Model Building Exhibit and Contest, Displays of Native Plants, as well as others.
  • Mission History Day is usually on the first Saturday of the month (check the mission website for accurate dates and times) in the mission's gardens or museum patio.
  • In the Fall of every year, San Gabriel stages an Annual Fiesta over several days. The Fiesta features religious, historical and cultural activities, as well as game and food booths, rides and free entertainment in the evenings.
  • Tongva Indians and historical re-enactors hold special events. Details are available on the mission website.

Unique Attractions

  • The unique "fortress-like" church, completed in 1805, is similar in design to the cathedral and former mosque of Córdoba, Spain.
  • Mission San Gabriel has a particularly picturesque espadaña or bell wall. The oldest bells were cast in 1795.
  • In the mission era the principal entrance to the church was through a side door, which opened directly on to El Camino Real (Royal Road). The exterior staircase led to the choir loft.
  • San Gabriel became a parish church after its secularization in 1834 and remains an active Catholic Church.
  • The Stations of the Cross are thought to be neophyte Indian paintings which date to the 1820's. The originals are in the mission museum with copies hanging in the church.
  • The grounds of the mission are filled with displays, equipment, and objects from San Gabriel's long history. There is also a special room containing a restored mission-era kitchen.
  • One of the favorites of visitors is the "wine room" which has displays of historic wine-making equipment (San Gabriel had the largest vineyard in Spanish California).
  • A portion of the cemetery is set aside as burial grounds for Claretian Missionaries. This order has been responsible for San Gabriel since 1908.
Mission San Gabriel Arcángel Side View Late Afternoon
Mission San Gabriel Arcángel Side View Late Afternoon
San Gabriel Arcángel Side Door Entrance
San Gabriel Arcángel Side Door Entrance
San Gabriel Arcángel Stations of the Cross
San Gabriel Arcángel Stations of the Cross
San Gabriel Arcángel Kitchen Display
San Gabriel Arcángel Kitchen Display

Other Historic Attractions

  • The missionaries from San Gabriel served the Catholic Church in the pueblo of Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángels del Rio de Porciúncula, founded in 1781. The Church of Our Lady of Angels has been restored.
  • A visit to Old Town is highly recommended.
Nuestra Señora Reina de Los Angeles
Nuestra Señora Reina de Los Angeles

Tips for Visitors

  • There is a small park on the side of the church. This offers the best view of the bell tower, capped buttresses, and tall, narrow windows of this distinctive church. The best time to photograph the church is in the late afternoon, when the sun begins to set.
  • Be sure to spend enough time in the church interior. In addition to the captivating Stations of the Cross, the altar and reredos are original and date from the 1790's; the six polychrome bultos (statues) are Spanish.
San Gabriel Arcángel Church Altar
San Gabriel Arcángel Church Altar

Year Secularized

1834

Year Returned to Catholic Church

1859 by Decree signed by President James Buchanan

Patron Saint (Named For)

Gabriel, Holy Prince of Archangels

Prominent Missionary Leaders

  • Founding Father President - Junípero Serra, first Father President of the California missions
  • Founding Missionaries - Fathers Pedro Benito Campón and Angel Fernandez Somera y Balbuena
  • Prominent Missionary Leaders - Between 1775 and for the next 28 years, Fathers Antonio Cruzado and Miguel Sánchez worked together to make this one of the most successful of the California missions. Father José Zalvidea continued their work for another 20 years, and is credited with introducing large-scale viticulture to California.
San Gabriel Arcángel Portrait of Junípero Serra
San Gabriel Arcángel Portrait of Junípero Serra

Indians Joining Mission

In the mission era, the natives who spoke one of the Cuban or Cupeño languages of the Takic family were called Gabrieleño after the mission. Known now as the Tongva, the descendants were recognized as a distinct tribe by the State of California in 1994. They have sought Federal recognition for decades.

Mission Site

The mission was originally established along the slopes of the Montebello hills at the native site of Shevaanga, overlooking the San Gabriel Valley. In 1775, the mission was relocated to the native site of Iisanchanga "about a league" (three (3) miles) to the northwest. This mission is nine (9) miles east of downtown Los Angeles.

Mission Layout

Traditional quadrangle with soldiers' barracks, neophyte housing, warehouses, and other structures (forming a second incomplete quadrangle) extending out from the central compound.

Water Source

The Rio Hondo and several springs fed an aqueduct, reservoirs, and a canal system that provided abundant water to the mission and its extensive vineyards, orchards, gardens, and mills.

San Gabriel Arcangel Aqueduct
San Gabriel Arcangel Aqueduct

Population

Within fifteen (15) years of its founding, San Gabriel had 1,000 neophytes. The highest population recorded was 1,701 in 1817.

Livestock

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. Even though Mission San Gabriel was secularized in 1834 and did not become a Parish Church until 1859, the area continued to be a center for cattle and sheep ranching.

San Gabriel Arcángel Cattle Brand
San Gabriel Arcángel Cattle Brand

Agricultural Output

Over its active life, San Gabriel was far more productive than any other mission in California harvesting over 353,000 bushels of wheat, barley, corn, beans, peas, lentils, and garbanzos (chickpeas).

Mission Church

The unique San Gabriel Church, completed in 1805, features a Moorish "fortress-like" appearance with capped buttresses and long narrow windows along the prominent side wall.  The style is similar to the Cathedral in Córdoba, Spain.

San Gabriel Arcángel Sketch of Mission
San Gabriel Arcángel Sketch of Mission

Mission Bells

Six bells occupy an espadaña or bell wall. The oldest bells were cast in Mexico City in 1795 by the famous bell maker, Paul Ruelas. The largest bell (dated 1830) weighs over a ton and was used for over a century to ring the Angelus, a prayer said at morning, noon, and evening in commemoration of the Incarnation.

Bells of San Gabriel Mission
Bells of San Gabriel Mission

Mission Art and Artifacts

The Stations of the Cross are said to be authentic neophyte Indian paintings. They were exhibited at the 1893 World's Columbia Expedition in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the discovery of the New World.

Significant Events

  • On March 22, 1774 Juan Bautista de Anza, who was trailblazing an overland route from Southern Arizona to California, arrived at Mission San Gabriel enroute to Monterey. The next year he stopped again at San Gabriel with a sizable group of colonists.
  • On October 25, 1785 an armed band of Tongva Indians from six (6) or seven (7) different villages were about to attack Mission San Gabriel but the padres and soldiers had been tipped off. Twenty conspirators were captured, including one of the leaders, a young woman shaman named Toypurina. The Toypurina Mural in Los Angeles honors her.
  • The legendary mountain man, Jedediah Smith, who was the first American to reach Alta California by land in 1826, initially arrived at Rancho de la Puente, an outpost of Mission San Gabriel. He was then escorted to the mission where he met with Fr. Jose Sanchez.
San Gabriel Arcángel Settlers Arrive 1776
San Gabriel Arcángel Settlers Arrive 1776
San Gabriel Arcángel Mission Toypurina Mural
San Gabriel Arcángel Mission Toypurina Mural
San Gabriel Arcángel Jedediah Smith Arrives
San Gabriel Arcángel Jedediah Smith Arrives

Interesting Facts

  • In 1846, what remained of the mission estate was granted to Messieurs Reid and Workman on the condition that they pay all remaining claims to the mission creditors and support the mission's padres without obstructing community access to the church. The title granted to Reid and Workman was deemed invalid by the U.S. Land Commission in 1855, and the property returned to the Church in 1859.
  • San Gabriel was located astride three prominent trails. Settlers, military expeditions, and travelers frequently stayed at this mission, which had turbulent relations with the Native Americans because of the large military presence.
  • San Gabriel had the largest vineyard in Spanish California and was the botanical source of many of the vines planted in the other missions in the chain. The area became an important center for wine in the 1880's.
  • Missionaries from San Gabriel guided the development of the Church of our Lady of the Angels at the pueblo (town) of Nuestra Señora la Reina de Los Angeles, founded in 1781. This historic structure has been restored.
San Gabriel Arcángel An Early California Vineyard
San Gabriel Arcángel An Early California Vineyard
Nuestra Señora Reina de Los Angeles
Nuestra Señora Reina de Los Angeles

For Additional Information

  • McGinty, A. (2001). Mission San Gabriel Arcángel. (PowerKids Press series on the Missions of California)
  • Sugranes, E. (1921). The History of Mission San Gabriel
  • Engelhardt, Z. (1927). San Gabriel, and the Beginnings of Los Angeles. (The definitive early history of the “The Pride of the Missions”)