Articles by Msgr. Francis J. Weber
Bl. Junipero Serra: Word reaches the homefront
Apr 9, 2015 / 00:00 amEditor's note: This is part 15 in a series on the life of Bl. Junipero Serra in anticipation of his canonization. To read other articles in the series, click here.IN a little over a year, the Spanish realm along the shores of the Pacific had been extended over eight hundred miles, from San Fernando de Velicatá to Monterey, and three missions and two presidios had been established in the area. When news of the event reached Mexico City, everyone was jubilant. The church of the city rang their bells and the massed clangor sounded like Rome after a canonization. San Fernando, with greater claim than all the others, joined in the common jubilee, for two of her sons, Frays Junípero Serra and Juan Crespi, had planted the cross over two thousand miles away. The excited populace soon learned the significance of it all. A Solemn Mass of thanksgiving was offered in the Metropolitan Cathedral, with both the Visitor General and Viceroy in attendance. In his official statement, the Viceroy did not overlook Fray Junípero Serra's part in the dramatic occurrence, noting that the "exemplary and zealous missionary" had related the events surrounding the Christian penetration of Alta California. On October 25, 1770, thirty additional missionaries (twenty for Baja and ten for Alta California) left the Apostolic College of San Fernando. The new guardian at the college was Fray Rafael Verger and it was he who would act as Serra's superior in those formative years. Verger appreciated that he had an excellent field commander in Alta California. Concerning Serra, he wrote that the Presidente "was held in high esteem because of his learning and remarkable talents," he had come to the New World to "teach the benighted pagans of this vast kingdom the catechism and Christian doctrine." Verger and Serra were a naturally compatible unit. The two sons of Mallorcan farmers were plowing for God and Spain but both often found the ground stubborn and unreceptive. It must be understood that the spiritual and temporal conquest of California was controlled by an interlocking directorate of Church and state. The king, the Council of the Indies, the Board of Trade, the viceroy, military governor, local presidio commander, the Commissary General of the Indies, the guardian at the Apostolic College of San Fernando all jostled with the Presidente in furthering the interests of both Church and state. The union was intimate in theory and practice. The organization was tightly knit on the highest level in Spain, on the intermediate level in Mexico and on the lower level in California. Little deviation from set rules was allowed and little individual enterprise was permitted. All these officials worked hand-in-hand, sometimes harmoniously, sometimes at variance. Misunderstandings arose from variant interpretations of the law without the contestants being able to consult higher authority readily. Disputes came when clashing personalities insisted on their rights, feigned or real. The poor communications of the age and the tremendous distances involved stagger our imagination today. It took nearly a year, for example, to ask a question and receive an answer. The whole scheme worked out simply because hardy and zealous men in uniform and habit, real frontiersmen and pioneers, serving God and the king, striving to be good Christians and remaining very human in many things, bearing arms and shouldering the Cross, were willing to undergo privations and hardships to attain their goal.
Bl. Junipero Serra: On to Monterey
Apr 6, 2015 / 00:00 amEditor's note: This is part 14 of a series on the life of Bl. Junipero Serra in anticipation of his canonization. To read other articles in the series, click here.NOW that San Diego had been reinforced by the arrival of the San Antonio, soldiers and missionaries began planning for further expansion. The initial step would be a sea and land trek to Monterey. Serra opted for the former. After a long and "somewhat uncomfortable voyage", Serra and the crew members of the San Antonio arrived at Monterey on June 1st, there to rendezvous with the overland party which had completed their journey several days earlier. It was readily agreed that the formal establishment of San Carlos Borromeo Mission would take place on Pentecost Sunday, June 3rd. Early that day, Gaspar de Portolá and the others gathered under a mighty oak by a ravine running into the bay. It was thought that this tree was the same one under which the Carmelites with Sebastian Vizcaíno in 1602 said the first Mass in the area. Again it was chosen as the site for the Eucharistic Liturgy. Serra relates that after Mass Portolá observed a nicety of protocol by declaring that the "primary purpose" of the king was to extend the faith, so the cross should precede the flag. For that reason, Serra first erected the cross and founded the mission; then there followed the act of taking possession. There was also a somber note of mourning in the day's otherwise joyous festivities. One of the sailors had died aboard ship the preceding day. Serra assisted at the funeral services and the remains were buried at the foot of the mission cross. Next day, the site for the presidio-mission was chosen: a flat piece of land near the ocean, some distance east of the ravine and the oak. Serra called it "a pleasing stretch of land." Easily identifiable today, it is near the present site of the old presidio church still standing in the city of Monterey. From the very outset, Fray Junípero Serra realized that while San Carlos Mission began at Monterey, the permanent site could not be there. The first ingredient for a mission was lacking: the presence of a large Indian town, as required by the laws of the Indies. There was timber there, but no good drinking water. On June 14th, the Feast of Corpus Christi was observed. The celebration was a relief from the makeshift life they had all been leading. Serra may have magnified its beauty but to him it was real. He wrote that "it was carried out indeed with such splendor that it could have been witnessed with pleasure had it taken place in Mexico." In a letter written to officials at the Apostolic College of San Fernando, Serra repeated his qualifications for future priestly volunteers in the area: "Those who come here dedicated to so holy a work must undergo sacrifices, as everyone knows .... In these distant parts, one must expect to suffer some hardships, but these will be even more burdensome to those who are seeking every convenience and comfort." Serra obviously wanted men who were every inch apostles and he looked forward to the day when more missionaries would come and all would enjoy the "worthwhile benefits of mutual encouragement, security and solidarity." What Fray Junípero Serra looked for in others was, in himself, taken for granted.
Bl. Junipero Serra: St. Joseph to the Rescue
Apr 2, 2015 / 00:00 amEditor's note: This is part 13 of a series on the life of Bl. Junipero Serra in anticipation of his canonization. To read other articles in the series, click here.NO one can stand on Presidio Hill in San Diego and remain unmoved by the fact that here is the cradle of Christianity and civilization in California. In 1769, the area was still untrodden by Christian feet. Within a radius of ten leagues of San Diego, there were about twenty Indian villages. Frequent battles had taken place among them. Each village was governed by a chief who had but one wife at a time but dismissed her at will. Marriage followed after the groom requested the bride from the parents. At death the body was cremated amongst much weeping and the throwing of seed. The wizards or medicine men pretended to cure their patients by sucking the affected parts and extracting objects from their own mouths as if they came from the wound or sore. Upon this primitive culture the missionaries had to erect a civilized community. The immediate outlook at San Diego was bleak. The area's first institution was not a mission or presidio, but an infirmary. Twenty-one sailors and several soldiers died from scurvy and most of the survivors were ill and unfit for work. Provisions were short and several Indians on the Rivera expedition had died from hunger. The lifeline of the Spanish empire along the Californias was certainly a slender thread. In his first letter from Alta California, Fray Junípero Serra had a timely piece of advice and warning. "Let those who are to come here as missionaries not imagine that they are coming for any other purpose but to endure hardships for the love of God and for the salvation of souls."Serra turned his attention to the establishment of the mission atop Presidio Hill. On the morning of July 16th, feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the soldiers raised the cross and Serra blessed it. Christianity was officially implanted in California by a few intrepid men. The first months were unrewarding. Serra described them as a period during which he could do no more than prepare the groundwork of the elements for conversion. The local Indians frequently visited the mission and the padres gave them trinkets and gifts to win their good will. As the months progressed, great concern was felt at San Diego over the shortage of supplies. Portolá told Serra that if the San Antonio did not arrive by March 19th, the foundation would have to be abandoned. The idea of leaving San Diego was a blow to Serra. He feared that if they departed, San Diego might never again be occupied and the conversion of the Indians would never take place. He had staked his life and health on the venture. His whole nature rebelled against giving up. His natural tenacity combined with his faith in God urged him to find a way to remain. Early in March, Serra proposed that a novena of prayers be inaugurated to insure the arrival of the San Antonio. The nine days that followed were perhaps the most anxious of the friar's life About three o'clock in the afternoon of Saint Joseph's day, the almost unbelievable happened - on the horizon beyond the Silver Gate, the sails of a ship were described. The sight of that sail prevented the march south and the abandonment of San Diego, for supplies had come to California. Serra's determination and his confidence in God's timely aid had won the right to stay and plant the cross.
Bl. Junipero Serra: Rim of Christendom
Mar 30, 2015 / 00:00 amEditor's note: This is part 12 of a series on the life of Bl. Junipero Serra in anticipation of his canonization. To read other articles in the series, click here.THE third expeditionary force, the first to travel overland, departed for Alta California in mid-March of 1769. Fray Junípero Serra was to accompany the fourth and final arm of the expedition which was scheduled to leave from Loreto. Gaspar de Portolá was commander and Serra chaplain and diarist. In the opening words of his account, Serra set the tone by observing that it was a journey undertaken "for the greater glory of God and the conversion of the pagans to our holy Catholic faith." To Serra, the faith was a gift and he was determined to share it with others. When hesitation was expressed about Serra's ability to withstand the rigors of travel, because of his infected foot and leg, the decision was made to also assign Fray Miguel de la Campa to accompany the expedition. Serra would join them on the frontier. Meanwhile, officials at San Fernando College had named Fray Francisco Paloú as presidente for Baja California, an appointment that would become effective the moment Serra left the frontier for the north. Serra had been careful to provide for the spiritualities of the peninsular missions after his departure. When at last he was able to travel, it was necessary that two men lift Serra onto his mule and adjust him in the saddle. Few would have imagined that the determined friar was destined to work yet another fifteen years, accomplishing much for the Lord along El Camino Real. The worn-out mule and aging padre made their painful way from Loreto to the north. Throughout the journey, Serra kept a meticulous diary, the most valuable and surely the longest document he ever wrote. At San Borja Mission, Serra was enthusiastically welcomed by Fray Fermín Francisco de Lasuén, who would one day succeed him as presidente of the Alta California missions. The two friars spent several days planning for the present and anticipating the future. On May day, Serra moved on toward the frontier mission of Santa Maria and there, on the rim of Christendom, he caught up with Gaspar de Portolá, de la Campa and other members of the expedition. On May 13th, the small contingency arrived at Velicatá where, on the Feast of Pentecost, Serra founded his first mission. A cross was raised, bells were rung and Holy Mass was offered under the patronage of San Fernando. Few missions have been founded in such impoverished circumstances. As Serra himself noted, the celebration took place "with all the neatness of holy poverty." Several days later, when a number of Indians appeared on the scene, Serra explained the reason for his presence among them. Early in June, the Gaspar de Portolá expedition reached San Diego, where they were heartened at seeing the San Carlos and the San Antonio riding at anchor near the mouth of the bay. Serra recorded in his diary that "it was a day of great rejoicing and merriment for all .... And although this sort of consolation appears to be the solace of the miserable, for us it was the source of happiness." Serra was especially jubilant. He had traveled nine hundred miles from Loreto, two thousand miles from San Fernando, eight thousand miles from Mallorca, to reach Alta California. Now he was in the beautiful harbor of San Diego on the Pacific, ready to raise aloft the cross of Christ.
Bl. Junipero Serra: Operation Alta California
Mar 26, 2015 / 00:00 amEditor's note: This is part 11 of a series on the life of Bl. Junipero Serra in anticipation of his canonization. To read other articles in the series, click here.JOSÉ de Galvez was sent to Mexico by King Charles III for the purpose of making an official visitation of the entire viceroyalty. He arrived in 1765 and remained until 1771, years in which he gained a wide knowledge of the extensive area. Interested in knowing all about the details of missionary operations, Galvez wrote to the friars, asking for reports of their charges. With that information before him, he would then make an investigation of conditions himself. Fray Junípero Serra made out his report and forwarded it to Galvez. Then the friar started out on a tour of three missions to the north, probably to get a better idea of them himself and also to talk over future expansion of the apostolate. Galvez was unhappy about certain aspects of the temporal operations then being followed. Even before all the reports had come in, he had determined to turn the mission temporalities over to the Franciscans. He felt this measure necessary to save the foundations economically. On August 12, 1768, Galvez signed a decree authorizing the missionaries to assume complete control of their establishments. He thus entrusted Serra and his co-workers with the difficult task of bringing order out of chaos and prosperity from ruination. Throughout his years on the peninsula, Galvez kept in close touch with Serra. His appreciation of the Franciscan apostolate is obvious in a letter to the viceroy, wherein he says that "in the charity and zeal of the apostolic ministers who are in charge of the missions of this peninsula, I have found all the cooperation necessary to satisfy my desires." When José de Galvez told Serra of his determination to occupy Alta California, the Mallorcan friar immediately offered to go in person as the first volunteer "to erect the holy standard of the cross in Monterey." He assured Galvez that other missionaries would not be lacking to join in that great enterprise. This was the opportunity Serra had longed and prayed for - to reach pagan land and plant there the Faith on un-worked soil. It was, after all, the reason Serra had come to America. Galvez and Serra planned carefully for the expedition that would thrust European presence into Alta California. It was decided, for example, that the existing peninsular missions would contribute sufficient material from church and sacristy for the first three foundations. On January 9, 1769, the San Carlos was ready to set out from La Paz. Galvez, Serra and the others were on hand. Galvez told the group that it was being sent out in the name of God, the king and the viceroy to plant the standard of the Holy Cross among the heathen of New California. He charged them to preserve peace among themselves and to respect and revere their chaplain. Serra blessed the ship, its chaplain, crew and twenty-five soldiers under the command of Lieutenant Pedro Fages. The San Carlos weighed anchor on schedule and sailed to Cape San Lucas, there to start its voyage along the Pacific. A month later, similar departure ceremonies were observed for the San Antonio. Operation Alta California was in motion.
Bl. Junipero Serra: Glance at the Vineyard
Mar 23, 2015 / 00:00 amEditor's note: This is part 10 of a series on the life of Bl. Junipero Serra in anticipation of his canonization. To read other articles in the series, click here.IN the mid 18th century, Baja California was described as a land fit for three types of people: missionaries who, for the love of God and charity toward their neighbor, left the cultural ties of their homeland and elected to live in isolation and discomfort on a cheerless frontier to accomplish some spiritual good; Spaniards born in America who could make a living nowhere else and were useful there as cowboys and muleteers; the native Indians who knew no better and apparently were perfectly satisfied to be left alone. The Jesuits had built some sort of a road connecting most of the missions but even they would not have boasted of its quality. It barely served the riders and the zealous missionaries of the time. The natives of Baja California were at a primitive cultural level, for they lived solely by hunting, fishing and seed gathering and had neither letters, agriculture nor architecture. Anthropologists called such people lower nomads or marginal peoples. They were forced by circumstances to roam about within restricted areas to obtain their food. Their menu included such things as roots, grasses and seeds, birds, horses, burros, mules, dogs, cats, rats, mice, snakes and bats; walnut leaves and certain types of edible wood; leather cured and uncured; the bones of birds, sheep, goats and calves. Fish and meat already putrid were eaten without discrimination. The men went about completely naked, while the women wore clothing made of fibers and skins. Girls were taught how to make these coverings and children were expected to shift for themselves as soon as possible. No basic education was given to the children; for the most part they were allowed to do as they pleased. The boys learned how to make the bow and arrow, for the Indians, even in the mission period, always carried these arms, more valuable to them than a knife and fork in so sterile a country. The shortage of water was a problem; urine was used to wash the face where water was lacking. The Indians were well-proportioned people, of good presence, agile and fearless. Some were quick to learn, others hopelessly slow at acquiring new skills. They were great conversationalists with a sense of humor and a fund of jokes. A variety of dialects was found among them. The languages lacked expressions for Christian ideas and abstract concepts. It took no little ingenuity on the part of the missionaries to compose even the Lord's Prayer in the local dialects. There was always an economic problem at the missions, despite the great efforts of the Jesuits to impart and apply European agricultural method to the stubborn New World soil. There was never enough food to go around; so the Indians were permitted to hunt on their own to supplement the mission produce. The lack of food made it impossible to gather all the Indians into the mission settlements and this factor retarded their effective culturalization. Though Christianity had been propagated for over sixty years in the peninsula, there was still much to be done. Most of the Indians south of Santa Maria de los Angeles had come under Christian influences. To this land and to these people came Fray Junípero Serra and his companions. When José de Galvez arrived, soon thereafter, he expected to find a miniature paradise on the peninsula. In his attempts to make over the area, he simply complicated the burdens of the missionaries.
Bl. Junipero Serra: Call to California
Mar 19, 2015 / 00:00 amEditor's note: This is part 9 of a series on the life of Bl. Junipero Serra in anticipation of his canonization. To read other articles in the series, click here.ON February 27, 1767, King Charles III abruptly expelled the Society of Jesus from Spain and its colonies. The king's action was distinctly unpopular, but viceroys, governors, soldiers and missionaries had learned to be silent and obedient to their monarch. Shortly after the announcement that the Society was to leave the uninviting Peninsula of Baja California, a decision was made to entrust the orphaned Jesuit missions there to the Franciscans of the Apostolic College of San Fernando. Though college officials had little enthusiasm for the undertaking, they had no choice in the matter. Fray Junípero Serra was among the friars chosen for the new apostolate and he was also to serve as Presidente of the missions. In mid July, the small missionary contingency bade farewell to their community. Just before leaving, the superior briefly addressed the group: "Go forth with the blessing of God and Our Seraphic Father, Saint Francis, to evangelize that mystic field of labor in California entrusted to us by our Catholic Sovereign. Go forth with the comforting thought that you have as your superior, Father Lector Junípero, whom by these letters patent I name president of all Your Reverences and of the missions." On April 2nd, the friars disembarked at Loreto, the unpretentious capital of Baja California. The humble church in which they were to begin their work as successors of the Jesuits was a plain, flat-roofed building with a ceiling formed of nicely worked beams of cedar wood. Governor Gaspar de Portolá welcomed the friars. On April 3rd, they celebrated Easter with all becoming solemnity. Fifteen priests said their Masses early in the morning and later Fray Junípero Serra offered the Solemn Mass, with the others forming the choir. After Mass, the Alabado was sung. Having learned the location, distance and needs of each mission, Serra proceeded to assign his subjects to them. Though all were pleased, none knew exactly what his mission in this rough country among the poverty-stricken Indians would be like. Serra outlined a uniform method of administering the missions and then gave his subjects a paternal talk about their future work, urging all of them to labor zealously in their new vineyards. The Indian population at some of the missions was very small; in all of them there were only 7,149 Indians of all ages. Some had sufficient water from small streams, but droughts were common and the periodic locust plagues were devastating. When the harvest was good, the products included wheat, corn, beans, rice, figs, olives, pomegranates, peaches, watermelons, pumpkins, lemons, oranges, bananas and cotton. The early months were times of appraisal, adjustment and rudimentary labor, each missionary having to shift for himself. It was incumbent upon them to learn the local dialects, even though Spanish was spoken in sections. To a great extent, the peninsula of Baja California is a forbidding stretch of land projecting itself in a southwesterly direction deep in the Pacific. Even today, it has little to offer except to those tied to it by circumstance of birth or to outsiders filled with the spirit of adventure.
Bl. Junipero Serra: Priest Among the People
Mar 16, 2015 / 00:00 amEditor's note: This is part 8 of a series on the life of Bl. Junipero Serra in anticipation of his canonization. To read other articles in the series, click here.AT Jalpan, Father Serra worked for economic betterment, realizing that the more progressive it was, the more stable and beneficent would be his religious ministrations. The harvests each year under his administration were not only sufficient, but sometimes abundant. The Indians were given their own parcels of land to produce corn, beans and pumpkins; occasionally they were presented with a yoke of oxen and seeds for planting. Women were taught spinning, knitting and sewing. The Indians were encouraged to sell their wares at places like Zimapan, a mining center. Before leaving the Sierra Gorda, Serra proposed the notion of constructing a large stone church, ample enough to hold the entire congregation. Work on the edifice was scheduled for those periods of the year when the Indians were not attending to their fields. The friar worked alongside the laborers. In his torn gray habit, no one would have recognized the ex-professor of theology at the Lullian University among the crew of workers. It took seven years to complete the church, which is still used for divine worship by the descendants of the 18th century Pames. The church at Jalpan is the one remaining piece of Serra's building program during his missionary career - the mission buildings of California built under his years of presidency, with the exception of the adobe chapel at Capistrano, having given way to worthier structures. During those same years, the missionaries working under Serra's supervision erected stone churches at four other locations. Those monuments remain on the hillsides to attest to the work of Junípero Serra in establishing the faith in the Sierra Gorda. In 1758, Serra was recalled to Mexico City for re-assignment. He surely left the area with some degree of accomplishment, knowing that economic conditions had been bettered, religion was on a higher plane, splendid churches had been built, the majority of the Indians had become practical Catholics and were absorbing the essentials of a stable civilized life based on the Spanish pattern. Today the descendants of the Pames are faithful worshippers in the churches built by their forefathers. The faith of the sierra, as well as the churches, is a monument to the zeal of Serra and his confreres. For a while it looked as if Serra would be sent to the Texas missions where only recently the Indians had unleashed a general massacre, killing one friar and injuring several others. The death of the viceroy, however, changed those plans. From 1758 to 1767, Fray Junípero Serra was bound up in the internal life of San Fernando, serving the college in various capacities unrelated to Indian missions. It has been estimated that he traveled by foot no less than 5,500 miles giving missions during those years - considerable exercise for a man with foot and leg ulcers! Serra's life at San Fernando was made more austere by personal choice rather than by the rules of the Institute. Even as a youth, Serra had been serious, a quality he retained all through his life. Austerities added to a natural seriousness made him appear aloof and somewhat unapproachable. Yet he had a kindliness of spirit that became apparent as soon as one talked with him. His many penances and prayers did not destroy in him a sense of humor, and the human pleasantry he possessed is apparent in his many letters.
Bl. Junipero Serra: Sierra Gorda Missions
Mar 12, 2015 / 00:00 amEditor's note: This is part 7 of a series on the life of Bl. Junipero Serra in anticipation of his canonization. To read other articles in the series, click here.AFTER some months of intensive missionary preparation at San Fernando, Serra and a number of other friars were appointed to the Sierra Gorda region of Mexico, located in the heart of the Sierra Madre Oriental. In that vast mountainous area lived the half-wild Pames Indians. The valleys there are few and small and the arable land is studded with rocks. Then and now life in the Sierra Gorda is rugged and unpredictable, day or night, the year around. At the time of Serra's arrival, Christianity had touched the Pamas but little. Those few who had been baptized were poorly instructed. The economic and spiritual conditions that Fray Junípero Serra found in Jalpan were anything but promising. Serra found about one thousand "practicing" Catholics in the region. With Fray Francisco Palóu, his assistant, he set out to learn the language of the Pames - a challenge that taxed the Mallorcan's intellectual talents. When he was sufficiently proficient, Serra translated the body of Christian doctrine and a number of traditional prayers into Pame. Before long, he was able to preach in the language and this together with his gentle example won them over to a more civilized and Christian form of life. Serra had a sense of the dramatic and he used it to good advantage. Occasionally, for example, he would go to confession in the sanctuary of the Church in full view of the congregation, an action that had a telling effect on even the simplest mind. By example, persuasion and eloquent preaching, Fray Junípero succeeded in bringing the Indians around to their Catholic obligations so that nearly all complied with the minimum duty of the Paschal precept. Serra motivated the Indians to worship God by providing for them the splendor of the liturgy. The major feasts were solemnized with ceremonies and devotions. Christmas was celebrated in the Franciscan fashion by a mystery play similar to those of his native Petra, enacted by the children whom he trained for the purpose. And so on throughout the whole liturgical season. With this untutored people of the hills, Serra realized that visual expression of religion in dramatic form was of prime importance. If such expression was of significance in Mallorca after nearly a thousand years of Christianity, it was still more important in the sierra where the faith was only taking root. Fray Junípero began his ministry in the Sierra Gorda as missionary pastor of Jalpan. In 1751, he was named presidente of the Sierra Gorda missions, a position he held for three years. During his tenure, Serra visited the missions of his area, to comfort and sustain the friars, to oversee the general progress and to chide or encourage as the case warranted. Several times during that time he was required to visit Mexico City on business. Ever so gradually, the friar put into operation the rules drawn up by Fray Pedro Perez de Mezquia and those regulations were to become the blueprint for all the missions sponsored by the colleges of Querétaro, San Fernando and Zacatecas. Their influence was to reach as far as San Francisco in Alta California.
Bl. Junipero Serra: Mexico City
Mar 9, 2015 / 00:00 amEditor's note: This is part 6 of a series on the life of Bl. Junipero Serra in anticipation of his canonization. To read other articles in the series, click here.THE Camino Real which connected Vera Cruz with Mexico City stretched from sea level to an altitude of 7,382 feet, through tropical country, arid plains, high plateaus, across formidable sierras, in view of volcanoes and lakes, perennial snow and abundant sunshine. Though horses were available for the journey, Fray Junípero Serra and a companion from Andalusia decided to walk to Mexico City. In so doing, Serra identified with the friales andariegos (the walking friars) who were famous in the New World. The two friars began their journey without money or guide. Their breviaries were their sole possessions. They knew they could rely on the native Indian and Spanish hospitality which was still the unwritten law of the land. Walking between fifteen and twenty miles each day, the missionaries set out after Mass. They took a siesta at midday when the sun was warm and the travel most weary. Their lodging and food was sought por amor de Dios (for the love of God). New geography lessons and whole chapters of nomenclature and practical Christian charity were to be learned all along the way. During the trek, Serra's leg became swollen and he was plagued with a burning itch. He attributed the swelling to a mosquito bite, though it may have been inflicted by a chigger common to that area and other tropical regions. It was a wound that would plague him the rest of his life, at times causing critical pain. Though he left no record of his first impressions of America as he trudged along El Camino Real, Serra certainly saw and experienced much that was new and different from Mallorca. He passed lush vegetation and semi-arid plants; incipient as well as spent volcanoes; fierce-looking lava deposits; marshes and formidable river torrents; magnificent, towering mountains; strange-looking people in ponchos and guaraches; primitive, lonely shacks and terrible roads. And, socially, he was in another world. Though it had the unmistakable Spanish impress upon it, it was primarily Indian territory. It was New Spain where nature took on magnitude. With new vision and high hopes, Fray Junípero Serra came hobbling painfully into Mexico City, his new home. He arrived at the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the religious hearth of Mexico, on the evening of December 31st and there he remained overnight with prayers of gratitude to the Blessed Mother. Serra arrived at San Fernando College on New Year's Day. He had traveled from Bon Any in Mallorca to the hill of Tepeyac in Mexico, the chain of his travels linked two sacred hills dedicated to the Madonna he loved and revered. He was now six thousand miles from home. San Fernando was one of the leading apostolic colleges in the New World whose purpose was the formation of able missionaries. It was an independent, specialized institution within the framework of the Franciscan Order where friars were trained for the apostolate of the home missions and the unconverted Indian field. Here, in a sense, it was journey's end for Serra. In another sense, his road of life was just beginning.
Bl. Junipero Serra: Across the Sea
Mar 5, 2015 / 00:00 amEditor's note: This is part 5 a series on the life of Bl. Junipero Serra in anticipation of his canonization. To read other articles in the series, click here.THE ship Villasota, also known as Nuestro Señora de Guadalupe, departed from Cadiz at the end of August, 1749. Aboard was Fray Junípero Serra and nineteen other Franciscans bound for the missions. After a fairly peaceful journey at sea, the ship arrived at San Juan, Puerto Rico, on the feast of Saint Luke. Serra's first hours in the New World were spent at the hermitage of the Immaculate Conception, near the walls of the city. Puerto Rico was not to be a vacation land for the friars. He and the others were full of zeal and their first hours on American soil demonstrated their selfless industry. The friars utilized their time by conducting a mission for the islanders. It proved to be the first outlet for Serra's apostolic work in America. The cathedral was jammed to capacity. It had been nine years since a similar religious service had been held in San Juan and the local populace anxiously responded to the opportunity of renewing their spiritual lives. The Villasota left San Juan on November 1st. For another month the ship sailed through the islands and reefs of the Caribbean. There were many hardships during that sojurn, the worst of which was the critical shortage of drinking water. Serra is recorded as having noted to a companion that "the best way of saving one's saliva is to eat little and talk still less." His biographer notes that during the long voyage Serra "was always even tempered and smiling, that he never uttered the slightest complaint, that his patience was the wonder and admiration of everyone." Anchor was cast in the historic harbor of Vera Cruz, where Mexican history began, on December 6th. On the following day, Serra stepped on the continental soil of North America for the first time at "the most desired end of a long and tedious voyage." From that American counterpart of the Spanish Cadiz, Serra and his companions would spread across the great viceroyalty of New Spain.A thanksgiving celebration took place and Fray Junípero was chosen to preach at the Solemn High Mass. With his good memory for detail, he recalled the full details of their ninety-nine day voyage and the petitions to Santa Barbara for a successful arrival. During his short homily, Serra spiritualized the entire voyage with the protecting mantle of God's providence. Again his native talent and eloquence were revealed, although time and oblivion deny us the privilege of catching something of his feeling and fire. Today, the little chapel of Santo Cristo del Buen Viaje (the Holy Christ of the Safe Voyage) remains as a reminder of the days when travel was perilous and uncertain and prayer was a part of everyone's itinerary. At Vera Cruz, men of war and men of peace, soldiers of the king and soldiers of the cross, started out on their missions of force or persuasion. There began El Camino Real of the New World. There Fray Junípero Serra started out on the trail that would culminate in Alta California.
Bl. Junipero Serra: Departure for the New World
Mar 2, 2015 / 00:00 amEditor's note: This is part 4 of a series on the life of Bl. Junipero Serra in anticipation of his canonization. To read other articles in the series, click here.LATE in 1748, after much prayer and deliberation, Fray Junípero Serra wrote to the Commissary General of the Indies, asking permission for himself and Fray Francisco Pa1óu to become apostolic missionaries. On Palm Sunday, a special messenger arrived at the Convento de San Francisco with official authorization for the two friars to join a group of missionaries bound for the West Indies. Two weeks later, the friars bade farewell to their confreres, and made their way to Palma's harbor, where they boarded an English ship for the first leg of their lengthy journey. On May 2nd, they left Malaga and cruised along the hill-fringed coast of southern Spain, passing the formidable rock of Gibraltar. Five days later, they rounded the peninsula on which Cadiz is located and entered the historic harbor. There, the friars met the others who had responded from all parts of Spain to the call for evangelizing the New World. It was while waiting at Cadiz that Fray Junípero Serra wrote a letter to the parish priest at Petra, asking that he inform his parents about his becoming a missionary. That letter, referred to by one writer as the "magna carta of Serra's apostolate," reveals the friar at life's crossroads, a man who in strength of character, assisted by grace, made the irrevocable decision to leave aging parents, beloved homeland, associations of youth, cloister and community, books and university, honor and future renown for a spiritual motive based on the Gospel. By absorbing the message of that letter, one can understand the Junípero of the future. Serra asked the priest to tell his parents about the "great joy" that filled his heart at becoming a missionary. Knowing that, "surely they would always encourage me to go forward and never to turn back. Let them remember that the office of an apostolic preacher, especially in its actual exercise, is the greatest calling to which they could wish me to be chosen." "Since they are advanced in years, let them recall that life is uncertain and, in fact, may be very brief. . . . Since this is true, it will be very much to the point and most conformable to the holy will of God if they will not emphasize the very little help that I could give them with regard to the needs of this life. Rather they should strive to merit from God, our Lord, that if we see each other no more in this life, we may be joined forever in future glory.""Let them rejoice that they have a son who is a priest, though an unworthy one and a sinner, who daily in the holy sacrifice of the Mass prays for them with all the fervor of his soul and on many days applies the Mass for them alone, so that the Lord may aid them .... If I, by the grace of God, succeed in becoming a good religious, my prayers will become more efficacious, and they in consequence will be the gainers." "The same I say to my beloved sister in Christ, Juana, and to my brother-in-law, Miquel. Let them not be concerned about me now, but rather let them commend me to God that I may be a good priest and a holy minister of God." "In this we are all very interested and this alone matters. I recall the occasion when my father was so ill that extreme unction was administered to him. I, being a religious, was at home at the time, and thinking that he was going to die, we two being alone, he said to me: 'My son, let me charge you to be a good religious of your Father, St. Francis.""Now, dear father, be assured that those words are as fresh in my memory as when they proceeded from your lips. Realize, too, that in order to become a good religious, I have set out on this course."
Bl. Junipero Serra: The Professional Years
Feb 26, 2015 / 00:00 amEditor's note: This is part 3 of a series on the life of Bl. Junipero Serra in anticipation of his canonization. To read other articles in the series, click here.DURING the eighteen years that Fray Junípero Serra lived, worked and prayed at the Convento de San Francisco, Palma de Mallorca, books and study dominated the major portion of his time. Late in 1731, Serra received tonsure and the minor orders, the first steps to ordination. Then came the copious classes in theology required for reception of the ministerial priesthood. Serra was ordained deacon on Saint Patrick's Day, 1736, but the exact date of his advancement to priesthood is unrecorded. His biographer suggests that the event took place just prior to Christmas, 1737, when Serra had reached the prescribed canonical age. Aware of his pedagogical talents, Serra's superiors singled him out to be a professor within the Seraphic Order. After passing the necessary examinations, Fray Junípero Serra was awarded the coveted title "lector of philosophy." Serra began his professorial career early in 1740. Fortunately, one of his students kept a careful written transcript of Serra's lectures which is still extant. It numbered no fewer than 808 pages! According to the transcription, Serra concluded the three year course with personal note of deep spiritual import: I desire nothing more of you than this that when the news of my death shall have reached your ears, I ask that you say for the benefit of my soul "May he rest in peace," and I shall not fail to do the same for you so that all of us will attain that goal for which we have been created. Amen and farewell. ... I am no longer your professor but your most humble servant. In 1743, a year after receiving his doctorate, Serra was named to the Chair of Scotistic Theology at the Lullian University. During his tenure in that prestigious assignment, Fray Junípero Serra took preaching appointments in various parts of Mallorca. Serra was as accomplished at preaching as he was at teaching. Sprung from the country soil himself, he never lost the ability to touch his simple hearers. Generally, he preached in the Mallorcan dialect, which was akin to Catalan. His easy eloquence, resonant voice and fiery earnestness won Serra many listeners in academic circles too. His biographer recalled one panegyric delivered on January 25, 1749: Everyone was full of admiration. With my own ears I heard one of his listeners, a professor and brilliant preacher who was himself a little jealous ... exclaiming, "There is a sermon that deserves to be printed in letters of gold." In June of 1743, Serra was singularly honored by being invited to preach on the Feast of Corpus Christi in Palma's historic cathedral. That event was traditionally among the more memorable of local celebrations and only the most outstanding speakers were asked to participate. By all the reasonable standards, Fray Junípero Serra, now in his early thirties, had achieved all any friar could ever have anticipated. And there was promise of future advance¬ment in the ranks of his own Order. Seemingly none of that interested him. In the midst of this well-ordered and useful existence, Fray Junípero Serra reviewed his life and thought about the years ahead. He could not have known then that the Californias figured into his future.
Bl. Junipero Serra: Serra joins the Franciscans
Feb 12, 2015 / 00:00 amEditor's note: This is parts 1 and 2 of a series on the life of Bl. Junipero Serra. More articles will be posted leading up to his canonization in September 2015.Petra de MallorcaThe Island of Mallorca in the Balearic Isles, an independent kingdom since 1229, had been united to the Spanish crown in 1479. Christianized as early as the first century after Jesus, Mallorcans customarily greeted one another with the words "Amar a Dios I," a salutation subsequently made famous in faraway Alta California. In the delightful climate of Mallorca, agriculture and stock raising flourished, delectable fruits were gathered, various kinds of fish were caught, orange, almond and olive trees abounded and grape vines grew in enormous quantities. It was into this colorful and picturesque corner of the globe, at Petra de Mallorca, that Miquel Joseph Serra was born at one o'clock on the autumn morning of November 24, 1713. (The Mallorcan Serre becomes Serra in Catalan and Sierra in Spanish. With a few exceptions, Junípero preferred and customarily used the Catalan spelling) Antonio and Margarita (Ferrer) Serra lived in a small stone home at No. 5 Calle Barracar, in the southeastern and oldest section of Petra. They were of common stock of the area, indus-trious farmers. Neither of Serra's parents had any formal schooling. It was at home and in the fields, beside his parents, that Junípero learned something of the secrets of nature and dignity of labor. In Mallorca, the fulfillment of the Christian duty of presenting the child for baptism was as swift as it was devout. Young Serra was brought to the parish church of Saint Peter's and there christened by Father Bartolomé Llado as Miquel Joseph Serra. (The font where Serra was baptized was removed from the church in 1858 and, for many years thereafter, was used as an ornamental flower vase in the rectory garden. In modern times, it was restored to a special chapel, with a plaque indicating its connection with Serra. It has since been located in the sanctuary.) Visitors to Saint Peter's generally ask to see the Registro de Bautismos opened to Number 85 and the four line entry for Miquel Joseph Serra. The parish priest eagerly points out the year 1713 as a special "blessing" for Mallorcans. Returning to the Serra home, the god-parents handed the baby to his mother, with the words, "We return him to you a Christian." As soon as she was able, Margarita herself went to Saint Peter's for the "churching" of mother and child. And, if she followed another tradition of Petra, she took the first opportunity to ascend to the mountain-top shrine of Bon Any, there to dedicate the youngster to the Mother of God. It was the practice in those times for infants to be presented for Confirmation on the occasion of the local bishop's next visitation to the parish. So it was that on May 20, 1715, Bishop Atanasio de Esterripa administered the sacrament to Miquel Joseph. These were the humble beginnings of the man who one day would add a realm to the Church and a coastline to the Spanish empire. Serra Joins the FranciscansFranciscan influence was strong in Petra de Mallorca during the years when Miquel Joseph Serra was growing to manhood. The youngster attended the friar's primary school at San Bernardino, where he studied religion, Latin, mathematics, reading, writing and vocal music. Because of his gifted voice, Miquel was permitted to join in chanting the Divine Office on occasion. It was a friendly as well as formal relationship that existed between the families living on Calle Barracar and the friars. And it was this association that first sparked Miquel's interest in the Franciscan way-of-life. California obtained Serra because there was a San Bernardino. At fifteen, Miquel decided on the service of the Church for his career. In the fall of 1729, the young man was taken to Palma, the capital, and there entrusted to one of the cathedral's canons who supervised his religious and moral training. The name of Miquel Joseph Serra was enrolled as a student of philosophy in classes conducted by the Franciscans at the Convento de San Francisco. After a year of study, he formally requested admission to the Order. On September 14, 1730, Miquel Joseph Serra was invested with the Franciscan habit in the Convento de Santa Maria de los Angeles de Jesus. For fifty-four years, Serra would joyfully wear the garb of Francis of Assisi. During the ensuing months, Serra underwent his basic training as a Franciscan aspirant. Prayer, meditation, choral attendance, spiritual reading, silence, promptness and physical chores were punctuated only by the festivities of an occasional feastday. Serra spent what little spare time he had delving into books of asceticism and mysticism. And he took great delight reading the chronicles of the Order which portrayed histories of the Franciscan apostolate in the Spanish provinces and homeland. It was this reading that stirred in Serra the desire of one day being a missionary. The Spanish age of conquest in the New World was indeed a challenge to the spiritually venturesome. And while his initial burst of enthusiasm for an active missionary life was submerged by obedience, it never died. Serra himself chose the religious name of "Junípero." (The original Junípero was a companion to Francis of Assisi - the "Jester of God," a man of utter simplicity and celestial mirth.) When his novitiate was nearing completion, Serra cheerfully made the decision to bind himself irrevocably to God and the service of the Franciscan Order. And so, at the age of eighteen, on September 15, 1731, Miquel became Fray Junípero Serra. From then on Serra was a Franciscan forever, known in ecclesial annals as Junípero. Each year, on April 16th, Serra renewed his vows, recapturing the jubilant feeling of that inspiring ceremony at the Convento de Jesus. Shortly afterwards, Serra moved to the Convento de San Francisco, close to the sea and the cathedral. There he had another six years of studying philosophy and theology in preparation for ordination to the priesthood. To be continued.