who we are

ST. RAPHAEL’S IN 1953 AND TODAY

St. Raphael’s started in 1949 as a group of interested Episcopalians met with Father Brown from St. Hilary’s. In 1951, the church was granted commission status, and the first service was held in 1952.



The church structure is shaped like a cross and features a long gable roof with an intersecting gable roof near the rear. At each end of the gable ends, the building features parapets that are reminiscent of Spanish Colonial buildings.

The altar and choir pews before Ian

This is the way the church looked in the early days. Note the altar is against the wall.

Up until Hurricane Ian in 2022, much of the interior remained intact and still included the original altar, pulpit, communion rails, bishop chairs, acolyte bench, some choir pews and stalls, hand-crafted hymn boards and beach-theme-designed needlepoint kneelers. None of these items survived the water damage that Ian brought (see section on Ian). The stain-glass, awning-style church windows involve an adaptation to the tropical Florida climate and were added after the installation of air conditioning. All but one of these windows survived the storm.

St. Raphael’s Church was designated as a Historic Church in 2002.



This is the seventh structure on the island the Town has designated historical. The Town, in conjunction with the Historic Preservation Board and the Historic Advisory Committee, has presented plaques for the Smith Cottage, the Carter Cottage, The Rain Barrel, The Annex, The Historic Cottage as well as Beach Elementary School.

Hurricane Ian

On September 22, 2022, a category four hurricane swept over Fort Myers Beach damaging over 90% of the structures on the island. St. Raphael’s campus includes three buildings: the church, the parish hall, and the rectory. All three buildings were filled with over 7 feet of water. Although the buildings remained standing, all the contents were damaged. The rebuilding effort began in 2022 and is still in progress.

After Ian—Picking Up the Pieces

For the first few months after the storm, no services were held. However, in the spring of 2023, members began meeting for Sunday services in the Memorial Garden. When the summer heat became too much, we moved to Diamondhead Beach Resort who generously donated their conference room for our use. 

For a few months after Ian, we met at the Diamondhead Resort . Then in late 2023, we met in a tent on our campus.

 Rebuilding Begins

The Bishop’s Council decided to rebuild the parish hall first, then the rectory, and finally the church.  By Easter of 2024, we were worshipping in the parish hall without electricity or water. Electricity and air conditioning were finally hooked up before the end of the summer and we have been holding our worship services in the hall since that time.

See the building update for news on the rebuild.

This is the parish hall as it looked after the cleaning.