Mission San Miguel Arcangel

Mission San Miguel Arcángel was founded on July 25, 1797 by Father Fermin Lasuen, the sixteenth mission in the California mission chain. It was named for St. Michael the Archangel. It is located in the town of San Miguel, California, in San Luis Obispo County.

In 1846 Governor Pio 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 left to find gold as a participant in the California Gold Rush. The mission was a stopping place for miners coming from Los Angeles to San Francisco. The mission 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 Arcangel and Mission San Antonio de Padua were returned to the Franciscan order[?]. Since then, the mission has been repaired and restored.

Today the mission continues to serve the town as an active parish church. It has one of the best preserved interiors and gives one of the best examples of old mission life.

See also: California mission