st. michaels historical museum and mission

The mission and surrounding land became very spiritual to me in such a way that I wrote a book called, "Miracle at St. Michaels", by author, Edward C. Spites. If you are a student of Navajo history or enjoy missions then you must stop here and take in the spiritual atmosphere that surrounds this one of a kind haven of tranquility.

History of St Michaels mission preserved well in pictures. Tour short but informative. Feel it is good for studying history of the church in southwest and Native American history here.

Turning off of Hwy 264 into St. Michael's Mission you are quite suddenly faced with a quiet, cool, verdant area that immediately puts you at ease and calms the senses. To your left is a parking area that would be worth a few minutes just to sit under a tree and relax. To your right is the lovely old church. If you're Catholic, please attend Mass... it's a treat to hear the Gospel read in the native Navajo tongue. The friars and nuns are the soul of kindness and don't mind questions. Walk around and discover the little museum, the prayer chapel, and school. Enjoy this lovely oasis in the desert, you won't regret it.

The historical indian mission church is within the jurisdiction of the Navajo Indian reservation and was completed and established in 1902. This mission was built and operated by the Franciscan Friars Minor, of Cinncinati, Ohio where together with the Sister's of the Blessed Sacrament, Bensalem, Pa, in 1898 the friars established a mission on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona at the request of Mother Mary Katherine Drexel, SBS. With Mother Katherine's support, the small ministry flourished, eventually leading to the building of the current St. Michael Church, "Mary, Mother of Mankind", built in the early 1930s. The church is still currently active, and is part of a much larger building complex made of sandstone whereas this newer, larger mission serves as centralized location to other mission churches on the Navajo Reservation today. The original indian mission church sits to the side, but functions as a musuem for an introduction to early missionary life of the original three Franciscan Friars bringing the word of Jesus Christ through Roman Catholic teachings to the Navajo people begining in the 1890s and into today.