Founded: September 8, 1771
Founder: Father Pedro Cambon and Father Angel Somera
Status: Active Roman Catholic Church
Indian tribes native to surrounding area: primarily Tongva; also Serrano, Cahuilla
Nickname: The Pride of the Missions
Location: 428 South Mission Drive, San Gabriel, CA 91776
Website: missionsangabriel.org
Google Map
San Gabriel was one of the busiest of the missions, located at the junction of three major trails. The mission settlement became the seed of modern-day Los Angeles.
The first few years, however, were difficult. One of the mission soldiers raped the wife of a local Indian Chief. The Chief led an attack against the mission, and was shot and killed. The remaining attackers fled but relations between the mission and the surrounding Indians were hostile for many years.
Key Events
1771 – Mission founded.
1812 – the San Juan Capistrano earthquake heavily damaged the mission and destroyed the original campanario (bell tower). The the new campanario features the three original bells that have the “crown of Spain” on top.
1819 – San Bernardino Asistencia founded as a sub-mission.
1834 – Mission secularized.
1859 – Mission returned to the Catholic church.
1908 – The Claretian Missionaries assumed the stewardship of Mission San Gabriel Arcángel.
2020 – Fire destroyed the mission roof and heavily damaged the mission.
2023 – Mission reopened after extensive repairs and restoration.
The Mission Fire of 2020
On July 11, 2020, a fire broke out in the choir loft of the mission church. The fire destroyed the roof of the church and heavily damaged the interior, including the altar and pulpit. Because renovations were underway at the time, many of the mission’s artifacts had been moved to storage, and therefore escaped damage.
The fire was ultimately determined to be caused by arson, and an arrest was made.
Following a multi-million dollar fundraising effort and extensive restoration, the missions church reopened in July, 2023.
Visiting the Mission
The church at San Gabriel Arcángel is one of the most interesting in the mission system. The beautiful façade at the end of the building is actually not an entrance; the doorway to the church is on the long “side” wall. The south entrance was initially the main entrance but because the street ran alongside that part of the building, they changed the “front doors” to the east entrance for safety reasons.
There is also a campanario, or bell wall, featuring six bells, and a museum of mission artifacts. The oldest bells were cast in Mexico City in 1795.
The mission has a notable series of paintings representing the Stations of the Cross. The origin of the paintings is unknown; they are reputed to have been created by a Tongva mission neophyte named Juan Antonio, possibly at Mission San Fernando, in the early 1800s – though art historians have cast doubt on this story. It is clear that the artist (or artists) had access to European paintings as a model, but painted in a style much more typical of native artists. The paintings were exhibited in 1893 at the World’s Columbia Exhibition in Chicago.
The Mission in the Media
Mission San Gabriel Arcángel was featured in the TV program Death Valley Days (1953). It also appeared in A Yoke of Gold (1916), a silent film.
Nearby Attractions
While you are in the area, we recommend a visit to Los Angeles Chinatown, an important cultural and historic site.
