Articles by Msgr. Francis J. Weber
Presidente on the Move
Jun 22, 2015 / 00:00 amThis is part of a series on Junipero Serra. To read the full series, click here. THE long and complicated controversy about Fray Junípero Serra's authorization to confirm was finally settled in December of 1780. The viceroy was advised by his counsel that "Serra was not to be impeded from administering the sacrament in the towns of the missions entrusted to the Observant Fathers of their Apostolic College." Moreover the viceroy was told that Serra "is to be given those aids necessary to that end which he might request and need, and as a result of this measure," the Presidente was to be notified immediately. It had been a struggle of wills. The Caesaro-papistic administration of the Catholic monarch whom Serra often described as "the most pious in the whole world" had interfered with the sacramental work of the Presidente for over a year. But now confirmations could again proceed. On October 7, 1781, Carmel experienced a slight earthquake. Serra reported that the only damage sustained was the breaking of a flask of brandy at Santa Clara which "the poor Fathers were saving for an emergency." Several weeks later, the Presidente was called upon to perform a duty he had never met before, that of bringing spiritual comfort to a man destined for execution. Juan Antonio Labra, a presidio soldier, had been condemned to death by the governor because "he broke the seventh commandment." He must have stolen a goodly amount to merit the death sentence, Neve ordered him to be hung, but since no hangman was available, the sentence was commuted to shooting. Serra resumed his confirmation tours. Upon arriving at Santa Clara, he laid the cornerstone of the new adobe church. The original site of the mission had proven too low and suffered heavy inundations. Hence the new edifice was being built at a new site, about a mile and a half south of the original foundation. After the ceremony, Serra and Fray Juan Crespi immediately set out for Carmel. After only a short jaunt, Serra's mule shied and threw him into a field. As the Presidente described it, "the mule which was carrying this cargo threw him with a lively thrust." His companions rode into nearby San Jose to get the doctor. Serra was in considerable pain, especially in one of his hands and in the ribs. When the doctor arrived, he assured the friar that all his bones were in place. The following day, Serra continued his journey, though with difficulty. He mended well, and shortly thereafter could write that "little by little, I was relieved of the pain and now all is past. Blessed be God!" Serra's student and long-time companion, Fray Juan Crespi, became ill after the return to Carmel. None of the usual remedies worked and the sixty-year old Indian missionary passed away on January 1, 1782. Next day, after a requiem High Mass, Crespi's remains in a redwood coffin were lowered by Serra into a grave in the sanctuary near the main altar. The Mallorcan born friar had followed Serra into the Sierra Gorda, then to Baja California and finally to Alta California. His missionary career was not particularly colorful, but it was solid and continuous. His early explorations will always be his chief title to fame. Herbert Eugene Bolton said that in Crespi's diaries "the human toils, the adventures, the thrills, the hopes, the fears of three historic journeys on the Pacific Coast are embalmed." So the first of the Mallorcan triumvirate of Serra, Palou and Crespi was now gone. His remains still rest at San Carlos Mission in Carmel, alongside those of his devoted teacher and mentor.
Voice for American Independence
Jun 18, 2015 / 00:00 amThis is part of a series on Junipero Serra. To read the full series, click here. THE effect on far-away California of the move for American Independence has yet to be adequately documented, for communications were practically nonexistent. As a province, the destinies of California were totally interlinked with those of its Spanish mother country. By virtue of the so-called Family Compact between the Bourbon crowns, Spain joined France, on June 23, 1779, in the war against England on behalf of the American colonies. It was a calculated risk. Victory would mean autonomy for England's New World possessions, thus resulting in the appearance of a dangerous neighbor, in America, and the eventual loss, perhaps, of Spain's colonial empire. Fray Junípero Serra learned about the hostilities while visiting San Francisco. He was asked to offer public prayers for the favorable outcome of the Spanish maneuvers and to collect one peso from every Indian in support of the war effort. In deference to the wishes of Madrid officials, Serra informed his fellow missionaries, on June 15, 1780, that "because we are in a special manner indebted here to the piety of our Catholic Monarch, who provides for us as his minister chaplains, and poor Franciscans . . . and because we are interested in the success and victory of his Catholic armed forces . . . I most earnestly ask in the Lord that as soon as you receive this letter you be most attentive in begging God to grant success to this public cause which is so favorable to our holy Catholic and Roman Church and is most pleasing in the sight of the same God Our Lord." Noting that "our Catholic Sovereign is at war with perfidious heretics," [i.e., the English], Father Serra felt that "we should all be united in this purpose and display how we are one in spirit, an especial reason for offering to God Our Lord our most pleasing if poor prayers." The missionaries were directed to recite, at the principal Mass on Sundays, the litany of the Blessed Mother or the saints along with the psalm, verses and prayers prescribed by the Rituale Romanum for "time of war." At the conclusion of the services, all were instructed to say the Credo three times "to help to soften the pride of our enemies who surround us on all sides and who, from time to time, threaten us." To what extent the struggle for American independence actually affected the California scene is unknown. The Pacific area was not attacked for England had enough to do on the Atlantic coast with her rebellious colonies. One of the few references to the cause was recorded by Benjamin Cummings Truman in 1867, while on a visit to Mission San Juan Capistrano. There Father Joseph Mut reportedly showed him "an old record kept by Padre Gorgonio [Gregorio Amurrio]" which bore the words: We prayed fervently last evening for the success of the colonists under one George Washington, because we believe their cause is just and that the Great Redeemer is on their side. That comment dated May 7, 1778, is now a valuable piece of "fugitive" California.
Confirmation Controversy
Jun 15, 2015 / 00:00 amThis is part of a series on Junipero Serra. To read the full series, click here. THE so-called "Confirmation controversy" was long a source of agitation to Fray Junípero Serra and the other missionaries in Alta California. Worse than that, it infringed on the spiritual welfare of the neophytes because it threatened to deprive them of the sacrament. By virtue of the Patronato Real, papal briefs issued in favor of New Spain required the royal pase before they could be implemented. In addition, the viceroy or his delegate also enjoyed the privilege of issuing the pase in his designated territory. Governor Felipe de Neve was not unwilling to affix his pase to the document from Pope Clement XIV authorizing him to confirm, but Serra did not have in hand the document. It was at the Franciscan headquarters in Mexico City. The Presidente and the governor held several lengthy conferences about the issue, but the governor insisted that he had to comply with the directives of issuing the pase only on presentation of the official documents. Throughout this entire case, neither Serra nor the officials at San Fernando College ever brought up the question as to whether a papal document treating purely spiritual things actually depended on the royal pase for its use and execution. Had such an argument been used, the missionary work might have been greatly hampered. The friars had to fit their activity into the strong regalism of the eighteenth century if they wished to accomplish anything at all. They were consistently careful that all the negotiations were conducted in a friendly manner. It was a battle of wits over the interpretation of the Patronato. Serra's conscience was clear. He confirmed by the delegated authority of the pope. Hence the confirmations he conferred were valid and licit. As far as the royal patronage was concerned, Serra at no time denied that it applied, but he maintained that its demands had been met. The Presidente also used the practical argument that spiritual damage and scandal would result if he ceased to confirm. It was a delicate situation. Had he been hot-headed and loose of tongue, he might have stirred up trouble among the people. He was careful to be prudent, lest the disagreement leak out to them. Neve represented the strongly regalistic position of the king. As vice-patron of the king over the province of California, he had been vigilant from the start concerning the royal pase. At first, like Serra, he presumed the pase had been given and even told Serra he could confirm. However, when he received the royal cedula of November 23, 1777, tightening up the operational directives of the Patronato Real the governor felt obliged to direct Serra to stop confirming until the actual papers arrived. It was a matter of interpretation. Neve interpreted the matter strictly, Serra did so liberally. Writing later about the matter, Fray Francisco Palou imputed no evil intentions to Neve. He said "we are not to believe that the governor did this through malice, but as he had no advisor near, he acted according to his best judgement, presuming that this was what he ought to do." Nor did Serra calumniate Neve. He merely called him sagacious, a quality which the Presidente on another occasion said he would have to match with the wisdom of the serpent. It was obvious enough that the vexing question, and it was a terribly important one to the friars, could not be settled on Monterey. For a while, at least, the conferral of confirmation would have to be halted.
The Visitation Northwards
Jun 11, 2015 / 00:00 amThis is part of a series on Junipero Serra. To read the full series, click here. UPON returning to San Diego, Fray Junípero Serra found that the area was still a dangerous frontier mission. But he did have the privilege of confirming three of the former pagan Indians who had killed Fray Luis Jayme. The Presidente confirmed at San Diego on twelve days until October 18th. Most of those were Indians, a few Spaniards, among the latter the sons of the presidio commander, Jose Francisco Ortega. Altogether six hundred and ten confirmations were administered. At San Juan Capistrano, Serra confirmed 163 persons. He was delighted with the progress made in two years at this "new planting," and he praised the work of the Indian interpreters. He found one hundred and twenty-five Christians actually living at the mission. Then on to San Gabriel, where a goodly number of Indians were awaiting to receive the sacrament. Hastily, the Presidente completed his work and then journeyed on through the San Fernando Valley, the hill country of present-day Ventura county, across the Santa Clara Valley and its river to the place of Asumpta, where he ardently desired a mission. The arduous passage along the beach and cliffs of the Channel came next, through modern Santa Barbara, past Gaviota and Point Conception. Serra recorded no incidents along the way. He must have ridden for he made the long journey in seven days. At San Luis Obispo and San Antonio, the Presidente again confirmed. By the time his journey was completed, Fray Junípero Serra had administered the sacrament to no fewer than 1,897. By the time Serra arrived back at San Carlos, to celebrate Christmas, he was "completely worn out." But he noted that "during my extensive journey, I encountered no mishap or adverse effects." It was successful in every way, especially spiritually. There were many problems of an economical nature facing the friars. Feeding and clothing the Indians was difficult in the early days. The catechumens and the baptized Christians, according to the mission system, were to live in the missions. Therefore the friars had to proceed cautiously, so they would not accept more converts at anyone mission than they could provide for. Hence, in the early years, baptism was often deferred unless there was danger of death. The number of baptisms often depended on the bushels of beans, corn and wheat available to feed them. And, to further complicate matters, the governor could determine whether or not double rations were to be allowed. The "double ration" helped to a great extent to bridge the scarcity of food. For example, Fray Fermin Lasuén at San Diego stated in 1777 that by means of the double rations, he was able to maintain five Baja California Indians, shepherds, interpreters, the sick, some orphans and a few laborers. Ultimately, all rations were suspended to the missions and somehow the foundations managed to survive, though with some difficulty. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise, because it forced the friars to work even harder in their attempts to make each establishment self-supporting. Problems, problems everywhere could have been Serra's lament. Yet the tone of his letters indicates that stubborn resiliency built into the fabric of truly great people. Once, when complaining about the governor's unreasonableness, the Presidente noted that "this gentleman has the special grace of divesting me of any self-love I might still possess."
Authority to Confirm
Jun 8, 2015 / 00:00 amThis is part of a series on Junipero Serra. To read the full series, click here. WITH the arrival of the Santiago at Monterey, in June of 1778, Fray Junípero Serra received authorization from Pope Clement XIV to administer the Sacrament of Confirmation to the neophytes of Alta California. It was a privilege the Presidente had sought in view of the precedent in Baja California. Serra also learned that California and the other northern provinces in the viceroyalty of New Spain had been erected into a separate political unit called a commandancy general. Teodoro de Croix had been named to head the new entity. The new commandant general was to control the military, political, judicial and financial affairs of the jurisdiction. From then onwards, Serra would make his appeals to headquarters in Sonora instead of to Viceroy Bucareli. California and Serra would now be deprived of Bucareli's generosity and sympathy toward the mission enterprise. This latest division of government complicated the structure of church-state relations. The College of San Fernando remained in Bucareli's jurisdiction and the supply ships provisioning California still sailed out of San Blas, also within the viceroy's command. The new governor, Felipe de Neve, served directly under de Croix who was starting afresh as far as knowledge of the area was concerned, a fact that would necessarily cause delay in rendering decisions. De Croix was a quick study. He soon came to realize that Fray Junípero Serra had zeal, true religious spirit, prudence in governing the missions and treating with the Indians, as well as solicitude for the general welfare. At Carmel and Monterey, Serra announced receipt of the faculty to confirm and set a date for the ceremonies - the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, June 29th. The adults were to be instructed as to the nature of the sacrament and sponsors were to be sought among the soldiers, servants, workmen and Baja California Indians living in the area. On the morning of June 29th, Serra sung a High Mass, had the doctrina recited and preached on the nature of the sacrament. He carefully explained how he, a simple priest, had been specially empowered to confirm in the absence of a bishop. Then the Presidente proceeded to administer the first confirmations within the limits of the present State of California. After the ceremonies, he started a new book of records, his Libro de Corfirmaciones, in which he inserted a copy of the decree authorizing him to confirm. Then, in his own hand, Serra entered the facts of each individual, giving the name, age, place of origin and name of sponsor. Meanwhile, the governor added a "little grain of pepper ... as a condiment" to the occasion by questioning whether the missions were canonically subject to the bishop of Durango or Guadalajara. The suggestion would later blossom into a full blown controversy. On August 24th, the seventh anniversary of the planting of the cross in the Carmel Valley, Serra set out by sea for San Diego. It was a long voyage which ended only in mid September. Though the Presidente went south primarily to administer the Sacrament of Confirmation, he was also there to console and aid the missionaries in their many problems. Theirs were uphill labors, trying to rebuild the Christianity that had almost been wiped out and attempting to make the economically poor mission prosper.
Two Additional Missions
Jun 4, 2015 / 00:00 amThis is part of a series on Junipero Serra. To read the full series, click here. FRAY Pedro Font's description of the future San Francisco, written on March 28, 1776, is something of a classic: Indeed, although in my travels I saw very good sites and beautiful country, I saw none which pleased me so much as this. And I think that if it could be well settled like Europe there would not be anything more beautiful in all the world, for it has the best advantages for founding in it a most beautiful city, with all the conveniences desired by land as well as by sea. Juan Bautista de Anza's exploring party planted a cross on the white steep rock overhanging the Golden Gate where he proposed to establish the presidio. From there, the company rode over hills and through valleys and brush in a southeasterly direction, where they came upon two lakes and a delightful creek. This area they called Arroyo de los Dolores, because it was the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. Font considered that place "the best for establishing on it one of the two missions" projected for the San Francisco area. The future San Francisco Mission, or Dolores as it came to be known popularly, had indeed a pretty setting. The padres chose their sites with very practical ideas in mind, but they never overlooked the element of beauty. The presidio was founded on July 28th. Four days later, work was inaugurated on the mission itself and it is that date which is generally accepted by historians as the official foundation for San Francisco Mission. There is no mention of formal ceremonies: a cross raising, a blessing or other ceremonies, but the founding of a mission did not always follow the same pattern. Formal ceremonies for the taking possession of the presidio occurred on September 17, the Feast of the Stigmata of Saint Francis. The cross was hoisted, blessed and venerated and Fray Francisco Palou celebrated Holy Mass. Then the officers took formal possession in the name of the king. All entered the presidio chapel singing the Te Deum. During the ceremonies, bells were rung, muskets fired and salvos of artillery thundered from the fort. This was the founding of San Francisco. Saint Francis had found and occupied his harbor. On October 3, Palou had blessed the chapel for the new mission. For that gala occasion, the wooden building was adorned with flags and bunting from the ship San Carlos. Six days later, the mission was formally inaugurated. After Mass, a statue of Saint Francis was solemnly carried in procession and placed on the altar. Fire-crackers and rockets added to the festivities. Mission bells pealed forth across the lake. Palou was now established as a missionary as far north as Spain's power had reached, over a hundred miles further into pagan country than Fray Junípero Serra had yet penetrated. Surely the Presidente was there in spirit. Fernando de Rivera reached San Francisco on November 26th. He carefully inspected the sites of the presidio and mission and was pleased with both. He then determined to go ahead with the establishment of Santa Clara in order to fulfill the directives of the viceroy. An expedition set out for the Rio de Gualadupe, about forty miles southeast, at the northern end of the Santa Clara Valley. They arrived at their destination, a place known as "the Laurel," on January 7th. Five days later Fray Tomas de la Peña raised and blessed the cross at California's eighth mission. With the founding of Santa Clara, the establishments ordered by the viceroy for the bay area - a presidio and two missions - were accomplished facts. A famous son and daughter of the thirteenth century Italian town of Assisi, Francesco and Chiara, now became well known on the Pacific coast of North America.
The Ball Begins Rolling
Jun 1, 2015 / 00:00 amThis is part of a series on Junipero Serra. To read the full series, click here. FRAY Junípero Serra supervised the rebuilding of San Diego Mission during the deep fall of October 1776. It was necessary to put the 7,000 adobe bricks into place ahead of the approaching rainy season. On October 25, 1776, with Fray Gregorio Amurrio, eleven soldiers and an equal number of mules bearing packs and provisions, Serra set out for the valley of Capistrano. There he found the cross erected earlier by Lasuén still standing. He had the bells which were buried, unearthed and hung from beams, ready to call the heathens to their new Christian home. An enramada was set up and an improvised altar placed within it. There, on November 1, 1776, the feast of All Saints; Serra sung a High Mass and declared California's seventh mission founded. Serra described Capistrano as a "place with abundant water, pasture, firewood and timber," as well as an area containing plentiful Indian rancherias. The Presidente selected Amurrio and Fray Pablo de Mugartegui as the missionaries for the place, declaring that both were men of "zeal, talent and religious spirit." As a result of their labors, he hoped to see rapid progress made. On November 3rd, Serra set out for San Gabriel to get a few Christian Indians to serve as interpreters and preceptors of the pagan Indians at Capistrano and to bring provisions and a herd of cattle for the new foundation. While returning to San Juan Capistrano, Serra had a narrow escape. With a single soldier and a San Gabriel Indian, he was ahead of the pack train. Suddenly they came face-to-face with a hostile group of natives, painted and armed, ready to strike. The Gabrieleno Indian yelled out to them in their own tongue, telling them not to kill the padre and warning them that there were soldiers close behind. The ruse worked and the Indians desisted. Serra did not shun the attackers. When they had been pacified, he called to them, traced the sign of the cross over them all, and gave them glass beads. Later, when the Presidente related the incident, he said that he thought surely the end had come. After the establishment at San Juan Capistrano was firmly rooted, Serra returned to San Gabriel and then moved on northward to San Luis Obispo with Fray Fermin de Lasuén as his traveling companion. Passage along the Santa Barbara Channel at that time of year was even more a problem than usual. The winds blew and the rains came down in torrents. The sea was rough and the surf rolled over the sands to the very foot of the mountains. As a result, the friars and their party had to take to the hill trail along the cliffs above it. Serra related how kind the Indians were to him. Physically weak, he was unable to walk and had to be carried. Of this assistance he wrote: "I could not and cannot repay their charity and their labors as I desire." All of this increased the love he had long had for the Canaliños. The Presidente probably spent Christmas at San Luis Obispo. He later convinced Lasuén to take on the post of missionary at San Diego. Though at first reluctant, Lasuén eventually "bowed his neck to the yoke." Early in January, Serra reached his headquarters at San Carlos Borromeo. During his absence, the friars there had baptized twenty-three more persons, bringing the total number of christenings at San Carlos to 441. Also during that time, the presidio of San Francisco and Missions San Francisco and Santa Clara had been founded. There were now eight rungs on the mission ladder.
The Presidente Moves On
May 28, 2015 / 00:00 amThis is part of a series on Junipero Serra. To read the full series, click here. IN mid 1776, Fray Junípero Serra sailed south to the desecrated San Diego where he hoped to formally re-establish the mission. Since it was the dry season of the year, favorable to building, he hoped to finish the work before the rains began. Unfortunately Fernando de Rivera, who was also at San Diego, had the work suspended when word reached him that the Indians were regrouping for another attack on the mission. Though it was likely only a rumor, he decided it would be better to halt reconstruction, at least temporarily. There were also economic problems at San Diego. The mission had no food of its own for the padres and the neophytes except the surviving cattle. Rations for the handful of sailors, soldiers and friars were sparse, to say the least. Since he was thwarted in his attempt to rebuild the mission, Serra found other ways to occupy himself at San Diego. He gathered and examined the church goods ruined by the fire, among them a silver chalice with its paten and spoon. He shipped them back to San Fernando College for repair or replacement. Many of the mission's articles were still in the hands of the Indians who participated in the destruction of the buildings. On September 16, 1776, Serra inscribed a new baptismal register, writing therein a concise history of the early days at San Diego in 1769. He later entered the names of the sixteen persons who had been baptized there. Other names were added later, as the friars could recall them. One item that Serra salvaged was the complete catechism in the Diegueño language which had been composed by Fray Luis Jayme. During his stay in San Diego, Serra observed that in each village there was an Indian religious instructor and many catechists. A large number of youngsters knew how to serve Mass and a soprano choir sang the Asperges and other music "to perfection." In September, military reinforcements arrived at San Diego, causing great rejoicing at the presidio. Serra had the bells rung in honor of the event and, on the feast of Saint Michael, he sang a High Mass "for the health and well-being" of the viceroy. Serra received three letters from Bucareli which the soldiers delivered. The first stated that the royal treasury would willingly bear the expenses of delivering supplies by land and sea for the missions to be founded in the San Francisco area. The second said that twenty-five additional soldiers were being sent to California to reinforce the mission guards. The third letter, dated April 3, 1776, ordered that the Indians guilty of the November massacre and fire be treated with kindness and pardoned, and that Missions San Diego and San Juan Capistrano were to be re-established. Serra passed along the information about clemency for the Indians to Rivera and thus prevented any further action being taken against them. Rivera gave orders to proceed with work at the two sites. He addressed the soldiers, urging obedience in assisting with the many chores that were inseparable from founding a mission. The Presidente wrote to the viceroy, telling him of the "pleasure, happiness and consolation" that had resulted from his directives. He assured Bucareli that "we shall pursue with all our strength the work we have begun." Once more fired with zeal and energy, Fray Junípero Serra was now ready to go forward again.
Serra and Washington
May 25, 2015 / 00:00 amThis is part of a series on Junipero Serra. To read the full series, click here. THE handsomely-fashioned bronze likeness of Fray Junípero Serra, located in the Statuary Hall of the nation's capitol, appropriately faces the one depicting George Washington. Surely there was something more than coincidence in the proximity of the two great pioneers, one the "Father of his Country," the other a "Father" of his Church. George Washington (1732-1799) and Junípero Serra (17131784) were contemporaries in ideals as well as in time. They worked for a common cause, each in his own sphere. In 1776, the year associated with the Declaration of Independence, Fray Junípero Serra established the Mission of San Francisco beside the Golden Gate. By the time of his death, less than a decade later, a new nation had been born. While George Washington and his patriots fought for independence, Fray Junípero introduced Christian civilization into an area that would eventually join forces as the thirty-first member of the American commonwealth. At the time there was little more than a vast wilderness and a few French colonies between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Chances are that Washington gave very little thought to California. When Spain entered the war with the English, the "perfidious heretics," Serra's sentiments identified immediately with those of Washington. He asked his fellow missionaries, in 1780, to be "most attentive in begging God to grant success to this public cause which is so favorable to our holy Catholic and Roman Church." Personality-wise, Washington and Serra were resourceful innovators, stern disciplinarians and exemplary pacesetters, the one dedicated to his people in the civil realm, the other to serving them in the religious sphere. Both men fit into the category of "charismatic" leaders. Washington and Serra fulfilled their particular commissions, not alone by mandate, but rather by virtue of dynamic personalities which instilled an incredible loyalty and devotion among their respective peoples. Though George Washington and Junípero Serra differed considerably in their religious convictions, secular vocations and human endowments, the qualities they shared are exceedingly more impressive than the ones they differed in. "Great places make great men," Oliver Wendell Holmes once observed. Washington and Serra, each in his own way, proved the enduring wisdom of Holmes' aphorism. As widely divergent as were their concepts about God, George Washington and Junípero Serra would surely have identified their sentiments in that beautiful prayer subsequently composed by John Henry Newman: God created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission - I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created rue for naught. I shall do good; I shall do His work. I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it - if I do but keep His Commandments. Therefore will I trust Him. Whatever, wherever I am. I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him: in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him; in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. He does nothing in vain. He knows what He is about. He may take away my friends; He may throw me among strangers. He may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide my future from me - still He knows what He is about.
A Pause for Reflection
May 21, 2015 / 00:00 amThis is part of a series on Junipero Serra. To read the full series, click here. DURING 1776, a significant year in American history when political and social experiments were being tested on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, the Juan Bautista de Anza expedition marched north through the mission territory of Alta California and occasioned a survey of the development up to that time. The mission system in California was only seven years old in 1776. For the moment, San Juan Capistrano did not exist. San Diego lay in ruins, awaiting resurrection; because of its poor resources for agriculture, many of its converted Indians still lived in their rancherias and were often Christian in name only. San Luis Obispo, San Antonio, San Carlos and San Gabriel were relatively prosperous. Though the early days at San Gabriel had been difficult, by 1776 the mission was flourishing. It was built in the midst of broad plains; abundant water was at hand; pasture was plentiful; forests of live oaks provided timber for firewood and building. The mission had horses, cows, pigs, sheep and chickens. In his diary, Fray Pedro Font says that the cows were fat, the milk rich and the mutton finer than any he had ever tasted. Another friar had called San Gabriel the Promised Land and Font echoed him. In 1776, all roads led to San Gabriel; southeast the overland route was now open all the way to Mexico City; north to San Francisco; south to San Diego and Baja California. This was the gateway to coastal California. The buildings at San Gabriel were still rather primitive. Some were made of adobe, but most were built of logs and tule. The friars lived in a long shed where grain was also stored. The church was a rectangular edifice. Eight soldiers lived in the guardhouse. About five hundred Indians resided in native huts close to the mission, an aqueduct running between their homes and the mission. The mission system which Font found in operation at San Gabriel was the pattern upon which all the other missions were based, a system begun in Texas, followed in the Sierra Gorda and then transmitted to Alta California. Attracted to the missions by the padres, the Indians lived as catechumens until they were ready for baptism. During this period, they were taught the elements of the Catholic faith, were fed and clothed, taught to work and to follow the routine of mission life. If, after several months they had learned the catechism and desired to become Christians, they were baptized. Thereafter they were required to live permanently at the mission and to learn to live a fuller Christian life in the pattern of Spanish culture. Converts were given permission to visit their pagan relatives for a few days at a time; it gave the Indian a change of routine and the mission Indians often brought more of their relatives and friends to the mission. Runaways who had been baptized were sought out and returned to the mission. After sunrise, the Indians assembled at the sound of the bell, assisted at Mass, and recited with the padre the doctrina a compendium of Christian doctrine and prayers. At the conclusion, the Alabado was sung. Breakfast, preceded by grace, consisted of atole (porridge). Afterwards, the morning's labors were assigned, each Indian going to his work under the supervision of a padre who often worked alongside. At noon, the Indians ate their pozole (a stew of barley, beans and other ingredients) in common. A short period of labor in the afternoon was concluded with the Indians assembling again to recite the doctrina. This was the California of 1776.
Martyrdom at San Diego
May 18, 2015 / 00:00 amThis is part of a series on Junipero Serra. To read the full series, click here. THE Franciscans were especially lavish in bestowing their blood and virtue on the Church in California. Prominently etched onto the Golden State's martyrology are the names of six outstanding friars whose testimony for Christ is forever a monument to Christian endurance and bravery. Fray Luis Jayme (1740-1775), a native of the tranquil farming village of San Juan de Mallorca, was immensely pleased when the Presidente of the California Missions appointed him to what would be his first and last assignment, San Diego de Alcala. A clever and talented friar, Jayme's earliest efforts at San Diego were devoted to mastering the complexities of the local native language. Once he had gained a facility with its vocabulary, he was able to compile a Christian catechism. The extreme scarcity of water, combined with the proximity of the military personnel, induced Fray Luis to ask for and receive permission to move the mission from its original site, atop Presidio Hill, to the valley where it is presently situated. The new location proved eminently more practical. Almost immediately there was a notable upsurge in the number of conversions which by 1775, numbered 431. Such success obviously infuriated the devil who seems to have held the natives at San Diego in bondage during aboriginal times. In any event, a plan was hatched by a handful of pagan sorcerers and others to rid the area of all traces of Hispanic influence. At about 1:30, on the brilliantly lit night of November 4, 1775, 600 or more warriors from some forty rancherias silently crept into the mission compound. After quietly plundering the chapel, they set fire to the other buildings. The crackling of flames soon awakened the two missionaries, the guards and the Christian neophytes. Instead of running for shelter, Fray Luis Jayme resolutely walked toward the howling band of natives, uttering the traditional Franciscan greeting: "Amar a Dios, hijo". In a frenzied orgy of cruelty, the Indians seized him, stripped off his garments, shot eighteen arrows into his body and then pulverized his face with clubs and stones. The attack on the mission was only terminated when a well-aimed shot from a musket unnerved the Indians and caused them to flee in panic. Early next morning, the body of the thirty-five year old missionary was recovered in the dry bed of a nearby creek. His face was so disfigured that he could only be recognized by the whiteness of his flesh under a thick crust of congealed blood. The friar's mangled body was initially buried in the presidio chapel. When the new church at the mission was completed, it was re-interred in the sanctuary. There it rested until November 12, 1813, when it was transferred to the third and final church. Reaction of Fray Junípero Serra to the news of his confrere's death speaks volumes about the attitude of the early friars. Far from being saddened or disappointed the Presidente said: "Thanks be to God; now that the terrain has been watered by blood, the conversion of the San Diego Indians will take place." It was a paraphrase of Tertullian's sanguis, semen Christianorum which freely translated says that "the blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church." Immediately Serra wrote to Bucareli, reminding the Viceroy that he had earlier asked "that in case the Indians, whether pagans or Christians would kill me, they should be pardoned." He wanted that request renewed. In addition he wanted "to see a formal decree from Your Excellency for me and the other religious, present and future, and it will give me special consolation to have it in my hands during the years that God may deign to add to my life." Thus would be avoided the mistakes of San Saba (in the Texas missions) where reprisals against the Indians had totally stalled the missionary work among them. Serra sadly recalled that "there in San Saba the soldiers are still in their presidios and the Indians in their paganism."
Complexities of Mission Life
May 14, 2015 / 00:00 amThis is part of a series on Junipero Serra. To read the full series, click here. FRAY Junípero Serra's zeal and determination to establish more missions continued unabated into 1775. He still wanted four missions to be founded between Monterey and San Diego as a "ladder" for better communications. Two of these, San Buenaventura and Santa Clara, should be located along the populous Santa Barbara channel. At the very least, San Buenaventura should be located there. That particular mission was Serra's great desire, yet, he wrote, "despite all I have done to have it established, I have not been able to see it realized." Word arrived at Monterey in June of 1775, ordering the establishment of two missions and a presidio in the San Francisco area. Captain Juan Bautista de Anza was coming for that purpose with soldiers, settlers and supplies. The news "filled me with joy," Serra told the viceroy by letter. The Presidente continued to urge the establishment of a mission along the Santa Barbara Channel. He described the passage as dangerous and the natives as numerous and spirited. With Pedro Fages, he had witnessed an encounter with them at the Rincon in 1772, and recently there had been a battle at Dos Pueblos where the Indians attacked the Monterey pack train. Volleys of Spanish bullets answered the flying arrows of the Indians. The baptismal register of San Carlos Mission between May 11, 1774 and the end of 1775 does not merely record baptisms. Serra added many interesting notes which help reconstruct not only the spiritual activity but the general history and statistics of the area. Of the one hundred and ninety-four baptisms administered from Serra's return from Mexico until the end of 1775, he personally performed one hundred and seventy-one. As a matter of fact, Serra baptized the very first one who was prepared. Most of the Indian infants as well as the adults came from the towns of the Carmel Valley - San Francisco, Santa Teresa, San Miguel, San Carlos, San Jose and other smaller places. Of particular interest is entry no. 350, which shows Serra was deep in the Santa Lucia mountain country, inland from Big Sur: On May 9, 1775, in the rancheria of Xasauan in the sierra about ten leagues from this Mission of San Carlos de Monterey, toward the east, I baptized privately an adult about ninety years of age in danger of death, married, and who is captain of the Excelen territory and its rancherias, called Pachhepas, and I gave him the name Miguel Gregorio. The greater part of the natives of both sexes of that rancheria were present at the baptism and they gave signs of happiness on seeing their new chief now a Christian and offered good hope of imitating him. I sign, giving testimony thereto, Fray Junípero Serra. Besides the naval men whom Serra honored from time-to-time with sponsorship of those to be baptized, he frequently employed the soldiers, the servants, the skilled workmen and their wives to act as sponsors. Thus can be seen the people whom the Presidente had brought to California on the Santiago frequently mentioned in the Carmel register 'book. Conspicuously absent from the register is the name of Fernando Rivera y Moncada. Serra's difficulties with the commander were fairly well pinpointed by his biographer who put it this way: When Serra proposed something, Rivera refused to accede; after delaying a month or so, he would usually do what was requested. Then (and now), such human tactics were annoying, to say the least.
Problems along El Camino Real
May 11, 2015 / 00:00 amThis is part of a series on Junipero Serra. To read the full series, click here. FOR Fray Junípero Serra, the period from March, 1773 to May, 1774 was a time of joy, progress and triumph. His letters were full of warm gratitude, ebullient optimism and bright hopes. The California enterprise was going well. But soon minor problems began to surface. The discontent was occasioned by Fernando de Rivera, the new commander, whom from the beginning Serra considered a roadblock to the program so harmoniously projected by the viceroy. Serra lacked enthusiasm for Rivera from the very moment he had heard of his appointment and now at Monterey he became convinced that he had not been in error when he judged that he could never expect much cooperation from the commander. Jose de Galvez too had his misgivings about Rivera as a military leader, as well as about his willingness to take the initiative. Rivera had received the same instructions as Serra and had copies of the same documents prepared by the viceregal government. However, government in practice is one thing, in theory is another. No matter what had been decreed in Spain or Mexico, ultimate success in California depended upon the cooperation of the commander and the Franciscan Presidente. The sad fact is that despite the viceroy's generosity, both Serra and Rivera did at times lack the necessary wherewithal to forge ahead, due mostly to the great distance between California and its sources of supply. Serra was certainly the greatest enthusiast for the prosecution of the California conquest. Through all negotiations he always appeared as the incurable optimist. His zeal and sincerity had won over Antonio Bucareli. But Serra was realistic enough to realize that not everyone shared his goals and methods. The Presidente felt that after five years of operation, the Alta California missions were in as good shape as those of Peninsular California and, of course, his plans were to perfect them. He was forever trying to keep lighted the three fires he had enkindled: at Monterey, at the palace and at the college. Despite the fact that Serra had gone to Mexico principally to have Pedro Fages removed and to have substituted for him a successor who would work with him harmoniously, that purpose was not attained with the appointment of Rivera. Disputes and misunderstandings were almost continuous. That anything was accomplished at all is nothing short of a miracle. Serra's aim was to found as many missions as possible for the prime objective of converting the Indians, as is plain from reading his numerous and pleading letters. He especially wanted to see San Buenaventura, so long delayed, become a reality. His idea was to build ten or eleven missions in his lifetime and thus have a ladder with conveniently placed rungs. (He always referred to the series of missions as a ladder, each one a rung, something one climbed up and down with no little labor). Sometime prior to mid 1774, Serra proposed to Rivera the founding of San Buenaventura. He later wrote that his request was refused with "such reasoning" that if a hundred additional soldiers were added to the presidios, Rivera would still offer the same negative objections. The Presidente was more than willing to take the plunge. He felt that without taking a calculated risk, nothing would be accomplished. He recalled that the reason for Spain's presence in California was to convert and civilize the Indians. He could see no reason for delay when there was a probability of success. It was a clash between Rivera's "military prudence" and Serra's "spiritual imprudence.' But Serra was a pragmatist. After broaching the subject in a humble way, pleading for the cause that was close to his heart, he let the matter drop. But he never for a moment doubted that eventually he would get his way. And he did.
Apostolate in Action
May 7, 2015 / 00:00 amThis is part of a series on Junipero Serra. To read the full series, click here. FERNANDO Rivera arrived at Monterey on May 23, 1774, to assume the commandancy from Pedro Fages. Fray Junípero Serra and Rivera were old acquaintances, having first met in Baja California in 1768. It was a transition that brought fresh hope to the frontier. Serra now settled into the daily routine of life along the waters of Carmel Bay. He took special interest in the baptisms at San Carlos. By August 24th, two hundred and forty-five persons had been christened, seventy-two of them children over eight years of age. The Presidente's great hope for the future was the children. He noted that "the spectacle of seeing a hundred young children of about the same age praying and answering individually all the questions asked on Christian doctrine, hearing them sing, seeing them going about clothed, playing happily ... is, indeed, something moving, a thing for which God is to be thanked." Harvest time for 1774 was approaching and Serra could tell the viceroy that the Indians of Carmel Valley, with a few Baja California natives working among them, were applying themselves in field, orchard and woodland. The collected grain was brought to the mission storehouse from which it was rationed daily to the converts and catechumens. While the harvest was in progress, large schools of sardines appeared in Carmel Bay and it was too good an opportunity for the Indians to miss. After all, they had been fishermen long before they had become farmers. So a compromise was arranged. The Indians harvested in the morning and fished in the afternoon, keeping up the double occupation for twenty days. The fish were dried in the sun. Juan Evangelista, the faithful companion of Serra during the long journey to Mexico City, wanted to send the viceroy a present in the name of his parents. Serra encouraged the idea and a barrel of dried sardines was dispatched to Antonio Bucareli. The viceroy received the gift, was impressed and acknowledged the kindness of Juan. On one of the Sundays during the harvest season, the white sands of Carmel Bay presented a picturesque spectacle. It was a day of rest. The Indians searched the rocks looking for birds that lived on sardines. Describing the scene to Bucareli, Serra said the groups of picnickers looked like gatherings of rancherias; "it was like sitting in a beautiful theatre." That summer, the Santiago was sailing north along the coast. The expedition's objective was to reach the sixtieth parallel, but it succeeded in getting only as far as the fifty-fifth. The standard of the cross was placed on Queen Charlotte Island, now part of Canada. Using the language of the naval men in describing the voyage, Serra spoke of the padres aboard the ship as "going to Russia." They were indeed in the sphere of Russian influence. Juan Evangelista married, on December 2, 1775, Thomasa Maria of the rancheria of Ichxenta, with Fray Junípero Serra witnessing the ceremony. Their married life was short for Thomasa was buried on August 1, 1778 and Juan followed her to the grave nine days afterward. Serra kept himself busy at Carmel. Every phase of mission life called for his time and attention. The Indians, soldiers, colonists, crops, buildings, mules, ships from San Blas, his own missionaries, the military governor, the viceroy - all these matters fell under his guidance in differing ways. The Presidente complained that his life was being consumed in writing letters. He was becoming more of a scribe than he should. But, as Presidente, "the solicitude of all the churches" came under his care and this called for the frequent use of quill and paper.
Home to Carmel
Apr 30, 2015 / 00:00 amThis is part of a series on the life of Junipero Serra. To read the full series, click here. AFTER completing his affairs in Mexico City, Serra, Fray Pablo Mugartegui and the Indian Juan Evangelista set out for California. They arrived at San Diego after a forty day voyage, on March 13, 1774. Serra found the padres at San Diego Mission in good health and working hard. Spiritually the foundation had prospered and in economic statistics the mission could show a crop of wheat, an increase in cattle and milk in abundance. The Presidente heard much of what had transpired in his absence. California had almost succumbed to famine, but despite the shortage of food, progress had been made. Like other missions, San Diego had problems. The first year, flood waters destroyed the crop. The second year, when seeds were planted further away from the river banks, water was scarce and the crop perished. It was then that it was decided that an inland valley location would prove a better site and Serra authorized the change. The new location proved better for reasons other than agricultural too. Serra had a great deal to tell his confreres of his successful dealing with the viceroy. He was able to promise a better future because Bucareli had taken a personal interest in the missions. On March 22nd, a surprise expedition arrived at San Gabriel in the person of Juan Bautista de Anza, Fray Francisco Garces and others. The incredible had happened. The mission had been reached overland from Sonora. Bucareli had asked Serra about the feasibility of the route and the Presidente recognized its value and optimistically endorsed it. Serra left San Diego on April 6th. The forty leagues to San Gabriel took six days, longer than usual because of the heavy rains and mud along the road. On the 23rd, Serra, Juan Evangelista and several others set out for San Luis Obispo. Enroute he met Anza. The two great men spoke of mighty plans for the future. Father Maynard Geiger thought the spot of that meeting should be commemorated by a plaque which might read: "Here on April 28, 1774, Anza and Serra, builders of an empire, met and conferred about the California-to-be." After a brief respite at San Luis Obispo, Serra proceeded on north to San Antonio. Then on to Monterey and Carmel. Fray Francisco Palou related that Serra's arrival caused an outbreak of joy on the part of everyone because of the success he had achieved. Serra wrote to the viceroy that "after so many journeys by land and sea, I am here well and safe in the mission of Monterey so greatly favored by Your Excellency. Now all the land, heretofore so melancholy and miserable, is rejoicing because of the abundant provisions and most fitting measures with which Your Excellency has consoled us." The supply ship had arrived too and "all past sufferings were turned into joy, declared Serra. Chocolate and tortillas, ham and flour, oil and wine were there for all. And Juan Evangelista was back among his people with stories of what he had seen and heard in a distant land. Serra had indeed reason for gratitude to the viceroy. And he expressed it in another letter: "If the opinion of many persons is true that conservation is no less a benefit than creation, these provinces ought not to be less obligated, nor consider themselves less indebted to the piety and zeal of Your Excellency than to those who began the colonization and spiritual conquest." Serra had never looked for smooth sailing on rough seas or smiling fields on desert terrain. He expected to meet hardships and difficulties, but he was also determined that they would not needlessly remain forever.
Government Responds to Serra
Apr 27, 2015 / 00:00 amThis is part of a series on the life of Junipero Serra. To read the full series, click here. AFTER receiving Fray Junípero Serra's representación, Viceroy Bucareli called a meeting of the viceregal council to consider the points spelled out by the Presidente. On May 13, Serra was informed that his 'proposals had been mostly approved. Serra considered that he had obtained everything he had asked for; still more important, he had gained a powerful and benevolent friend at court who would be useful and cooperative in the years to come. The most significant of the council's grants to Serra was that which stated that "the government, control and education of the baptized Indians should belong exclusively to the missionaries." The friars were to have a parental relationship with the Indians in economic affairs, in correction and in education. Pedro Fages was removed from office, to be replaced by Fernando Rivera de Moncada. The overland expeditions were to be undertaken, immoral soldiers were to be removed upon the request of a missionary, prices would be regulated and weights standardized. The padres' mail would come in separate packets and their official correspondence would enjoy governmental frankage. A doctor, blacksmiths, carpenters, bells and vestments would be provided. Serra's request for a hundred soldiers was considered excessive and he was asked to submit further reasons for that and other needs to the council. Another session of the viceregal body was called to consider everything that had been negotiated since the first meeting. In a note to his nephew, Serra said that "His Excellency has attended to all my requests and has granted as much as I have asked for. Through this, I hope, with God's help, a speedy and enlarged expansion of our holy Faith and of the dominions of our Catholic Monarch." Serra's busy months in Mexico City were coming to a close. He had taken care of a great variety of business items. Among other things, he had commissioned one of the more famous painters of the time, Joseph Paez, to do oil paintings of the patron saints of the California missions so far established. When the Presidente was ready to leave for California, the College of San Fernando took particularly good care of him, for there were misgivings as to whether he would reach his destination. The guardian gave him as companion Fray Pablo de Mugartegui who, at the same time, was to serve as chaplain of a new frigate bound for California waters. Serra set out on his journey in September of 1773. Before leaving, Serra asked permission to do what he had done twenty-four years earlier when he left Palma, namely, to perform an act of humility and of esteem toward all his brethren assembled in community. He received permission to kiss the feet of all, from first to last, begging pardon for all the faults he might have committed. Serra asked his brethren to commend him to God for they would never see his face again. "In California is my life," he had once written, "and God willing, there I hope to die." His biographer later wrote that "he touched the hearts of all in such a way that they shed copious tears. They were edified at his great humility and fervor in undertaking so long a journey at an advanced age and in such poor health that he was almost unable to stand." He was off again, but not before writing his nephew to report that "I am restored to health and am brought back ... and feel ready to set out on my journey back to that vineyard of the Lord."
The Presidente and the Viceroy
Apr 23, 2015 / 00:00 amThis is part of a series on the life of Junipero Serra. To read the whole series, click here. FRAY Junípero Serra and his traveling companions reached the Franciscan college at Mexico City on February 6, 1773. Shortly thereafter, he sought a personal interview with Viceroy Antonio Bucareli at the Palacio Nacional, just east of the zocalo, Though still suffering from a near-fatal fever contracted en-route, the little man from Mallorca, who was the spearhead of the spiritual conquest in the king's most recently acquired territory, was to deal directly with the alter ego of Charles III. Bucareli received Serra cordially and listened with interest to what he had to say. The viceroy had been briefed beforehand by letters which Serra had sent to his college from Tepic. Bucareli told Serra to put all his petitions in writing and to present them formally to the court. Impressed with Serra's zeal and his knowledge of affairs, the viceroy told him he would cooperate in any way possible. Serra was heartened over the meeting, for Bucareli's attitude was one of warmhearted interest. He had obtained a friend at court of whom none was higher. Once more Serra had gone forward and not turned back. The gate of the viceregal palace was a gate of victory for Serra and all of California. Upon returning to San Fernando College, Serra began writing his report about the problems and needs of Alta California. The representacion was finished and signed on March 13th. It was an interesting document and it formed the basis for the first significant legislation for early California, legislation that would affect Indians, soldiers, military commanders, naval men, post office officials, missionaries, colonists, the college, the palace and the Council of the Indies in Spain. The twenty-two points in the report covered practically every phase of activity about the missionary enterprise. Serra devoted the greatest amount of space to the military governor of Monterey and why he should be replaced. Unless Pedro Fages were removed from office, the development of the missions would be impaired. Serra suggested Jose Francisco Ortega as a replacement, noting that "insofar as I have observed, in commanding soldiers he is firm without being offensive, is prudent and judicious." To better satisfy the soldiers, Serra suggested that a warehouse be built for them, that the price of goods be regulated, and their annual pay increased. He suggested, furthermore, the recruitment of married soldiers. Each mission was to have a majordomo, or missionary soldier, who would supervise, under the padre, the manual and economic duties at the missions as had been done in Baja California. Serra asked that the "immemorial custom" be restored in California whereby the management, command, punishment and education of the baptized Indians and those ready to receive baptism remain under the friars exclusively. Only crimes of blood were to be reserved to the military. All punishments then would be inflicted only after prior consultation with the missionary in charge. The Presidente's report covered many other aspects of the missionary program in Alta California. In concluding his representación, Serra promised to abide scrupulously by the decisions of the government. The document is, in many ways, a remarkable expose of needs and difficulties, frankly expressed. Serra made definite, concrete proposals and showed himself a man of practical affairs. He sought legislation that covered every possible mission relationship and, in so doing, he became the sponsor of the first body of laws to govern early California.
Bl. Junipero Serra: Case for the Friars
Apr 20, 2015 / 00:00 amEditor's note: This is part 18 in a series on the life of Bl. Junipero Serra in anticipation of his canonization. To read other articles in the series, click here.BY the time Fray Junípero Serra left San Diego, it had become evident in California, Mexico and even in Spain itself that the strained relations between the military and religious in that faraway province had resulted in an embarrassing and dangerous impasse. Governor Pedro Fages was young, gruff, rigid and new to America. He was inexperienced in governing a mission territory. Zealous in the service of the king and in upholding the dignity of the military profession, he was a disciplinarian whose methods, instead of improving his men, often made them worse. For his part, Serra was zealous, dynamic and seasoned in mission experience. Position and preferment he voluntarily cast aside. A naturally impatient man, the Presidente was frustrated by imperfect conditions. Serra felt that conversions would not be unnecessarily delayed if the agencies of conquest were really interested in souls. Optimistic, courageous and willing to take chances, Serra had great faith in the providence of God. Delays, vexations and disappointments weighed heavily on him. Some of the soldiers were lazy, inept, disorderly and scandalous. The lack of food supplies, sufficient mules and personnel and of Christianized Indians as helpers prevented a more rapid development of the missions. While Galvez had determined the salient features of the conquest and its manner of operation thereafter, too much was left to individual caprice, especially with the rapid change of personnel in high places. Antonio Maria Bucareli recognized the problems in California and on March 18, 1772, he suggested to Fages that he, "preserve harmony with the missionary Fathers and let them freely perform their apostolic work, assisting them with all means possible so that they may attain, as soon as possible, the reduction of those to whom they desire to preach." Disharmony between the agencies of conquest was apparent at all levels of the governmental hierarchy. And, at that psychological moment, Serra decided that the atmosphere could be cleared only by a personal conference. This turned the tide. His decision to go to Mexico was one of the wisest of his life. There is no doubt that the core of the entire California enterprise was the establishment of missions for the conversion and civilization of the Indians, even though a political consideration had been the occasion of effecting the conquest. The Christianization process was to be implemented by tried missionary methods; the friars became the principal agents of the peaceful conquest. Their rule over the Indians was to be complete, except in certain criminal matters. "What soldiers are closer to the arrows than we?" wrote Serra in 1773. The development of the soil, the furtherance of animal husbandry, the teaching of the trades, the development of the arts, the introduction of European social and domestic habits, the gradual formation of towns, the propagation of religion and morality, all of this was the work of the missionary. For these ends, the government provided wide jurisdiction and often generous help, for his labors were recognized as a benefit to the state as well as to the Church. What Serra was seeking in Mexico City was not so much new laws and methods, but rather a return to the smoother, non confrontational approach used so successfully in the Sierra Gorda, Texas and other areas.
Bl. Junipero Serra: Return to Capital
Apr 16, 2015 / 00:00 amEditor's note: This is part 17 in a series on the life of Bl. Junipero Serra in anticipation of his canonization. To read other articles in the series, click here.ON August 24, 1772, the first anniversary of the planting of the Cross in the Carmel Valley, Fray Junípero Serra, Pedro Fages and several others left Monterey for San Diego. It was to be Serra's first overland trip along California's El Camino Real. On this trip he came to know the complete coast of California from Monterey south and made mental notes that helped him fashion his chain or ladder of missions. Much of what Serra saw on the trip determined his future course of action. At San Antonio, Serra found a small Christian community of about a dozen Indians. The Presidente was encouraged and realized that as soon as the food situation became better and the undesirable soldiers were removed, San Antonio would become a model outpost. The party moved on south and on September 1st, on the slope of a hill within the shadow of San Luis Obispo Peak, Serra raised the cross of California's fifth mission. Fray Jose Cavaller was left behind as resident missionary. Circumstances dictated leaving only a handful of guards at San Luis Obispo and Serra noted later that it would have been a foolhardy venture had it been for any reason other than the sheer love to convert the Indians. Fortunately, as he said, God "did not abandon the agents of so holy an enterprise." On September 11th, the party arrived at San Gabriel, and Serra was able to personally see the mission for the first time. He was delighted with the place and the progress that had been made. Though he remained only two days, Serra declared that it was "without doubt the most excellent mission site so far discovered. Once it is sufficiently developed, it will be able, doubtless, to sustain not only itself, but all the rest." By the time of his arrival at San Diego, the Presidente had seen nearly five hundred miles of new territory. He now had a better perspective and a fuller knowledge of his extensive mission field. Ever so gradually, the relationship between Governor Pedro Fages and Fray Junípero Serra began deteriorating. Lines of authority were not well drawn and even more poorly interpreted. Serra found himself at the crossroads of the mission enterprise. The vexations, delays, bickerings, misunderstandings and restrictions of the past two years had come to a peak in San Diego. The major question then was - would he go ahead, stand still or retreat? On October 13th, the Presidente met with the missionaries at San Diego and stated his opinion that one of them should go to Mexico in person to see the Viceroy and lay the whole matter of mission administration before him. The friars agreed and decided that Serra was the person to go unless his age and infirmities prevented him from doing so. Inasmuch as the San Carlos was then in the harbor, the Presidente decided to leave on the ship when it left for San BIas. As his companion for the long journey, Serra chose Juan Evangelista, an Indian he had baptized a few years earlier. On October 20th, the return to Mexico began under the patronage of Our Lady of Guadalupe, "the sovereign Queen of Angels and the Mother of Navigators." It was the beginning of a journey that would alter the course of California's history. As Serra sailed southward along the coast, he reviewed his time in Alta California. Five missions had been founded, even though some of them were still in a precarious state. The Presidente felt that unless the laws were enforced and a change in personalities was made, the greatly desired mission progress would never be attained.
Bl. Junipero Serra: Time Marches On
Apr 13, 2015 / 00:00 amEditor's note: This is part 16 in a series on the life of Bl. Junipero Serra in anticipation of his canonization. To read other articles in the series, click here.LIKE most great leaders, Fray Junípero Serra was impatient. He once observed that "I do not say that everything must be done in one day but I do think that the ship should sail when the wind is favorable." Progress at Monterey must have been excruciatingly slow by Serra's standards. It was only on December 26, 1770 that the Presidente performed his first baptism there. By the following May, twenty Indians had been received into the Church, but it was a long process catechizing them. The arrival of ten additional friars in March of the following year augured well for it meant that the founding of new missions would not be long delayed. On July 8th, for example, Serra, two of his fellow friars, seven soldiers, three sailors and a few Indians from peninsular California left Monterey for the Valley of the Bears in the Sierra de Santa Lucia. Studded with oaks, the valley had a river running through it that was filled with water even during July. Serra chose a spot upon which the Mission of San Antonio de Padua should be temporarily founded - leaving the exact locale of the mission's future site to circumstances. The bells were hung from an oak and an improvised altar was set up in an enramada on the Feast of Saint Bonaventure. In the beautiful sun-warmed valley of the oaks, Serra was seized with rapturous enthusiasm. He began to ring the bells and to them added the evangel of his clarion voice: "Come, you pagans; come to the Holy Church; come, come to receive the Faith of Jesus Christ!" For the next eight days the soldiers worked at building the necessary shelters for themselves and the missionaries and on the following Sunday Mass was offered for the first time in the improvised chapel which Serra had determined upon as the correct site for the mission. The account of Serra's enthusiasm at the establishment of the mission is in accord with his fervid character and his missionary zeal. Given the valley's picturesque setting and the long-enforced idleness at Monterey, no doubt he gave full vent to his pent-up emotions. Returning to Monterey, Serra set about transferring San Carlos Borromeo from the presidio to the banks of the Carmel River, with its view of the beautiful bay and rocky Point Lobos. On August 24th, he blessed the cross and sang the first Mass on the site. Frays Pedro Benito Cambon and Angel Somera were appointed by Serra to establish the mission named for San Gabriel where the Montebello hills enclose the southern boundary of the San Miguel Valley. That site too was well chosen. There was plentiful water for irrigation and nearby, to the east, were the San Gabriel and Rio Hondo rivers. There was a dense oak forest to the northwest, which supplied abundant acorns for the Indians and wood for the mission. The initial buildings at San Gabriel were completed in the shortest possible time. Unhappily, it was not long before dark shadows fell over San Gabriel. An altercation between the soldiers and the Indians occurred during which the local chief was killed. That unfortunate event, coupled with the immoral conduct of several soldiers, caused great anxiety for Serra and the other missionaries. How any conversions at San Gabriel were effected under such circumstances is little short of miraculous. Gradually, with the transferal of the more unsavory soldiers, the moral climate improved and, as Serra reported to the Viceroy, "the padres began to breathe easier after their long period of affliction."