The History of Father Junipero Serra Bl. Junipero Serra: St. Joseph to the Rescue

Apr 2, 2015

Editor'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.