Photos: Mission San Rafael Arcángel

Mission San Rafael Arcángel was originally used as a hospital for Native Americans. The mission chapel, right, was rebuilt in 1949 next to a church built on the site of the original chapel. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Sept. 3, 2014 12:24 PM PT

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San Rafael, designed to be a hospital, was among the last missions built and the first to close. The idea was to serve ailing neophytes (as the padres called baptized converts and laborers) from San Francisco.

The mission is located in San Rafael, in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

A statue of Father Junípero Serra, a Spanish Franciscan friar who founded the first nine of California’s missions, looks over the garden. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Holy water awaits visitors near the entrance of Mission San Rafael Arcángel. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

The altar at San Rafael Arcángel. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

One of the mission’s original bells hangs from a wooden rafter. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

The view of the altar as you enter the mission. St. Raphael is the patron saint of good health and travelers. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

The view from the altar looking to the back. There is an organ on the second level and confessionals on the first floor. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)