St Ignatius College - Ignatian Yearbook (San Francisco, CA)

Page 11 text:

PJTHS OF THE PADRES 9 remained unvisited, save when some lone tempest tossed bark was hurled against its shores or driven by adverse winds into the fog shrouds of its beaches. Rumors of a Russian migration from the frozen realms of Alaska in- cited the Spaniards to action. Galvez was instructed to send tvvo expeditions, one by land and one by sea, into California. This long desired opportunity was seized with joy by the Franciscan friars and especially by Father Junipero Serra, the future founder of Monterey and Carmel. In all ages men have been raised up by God, filled with the holy spirit, who, being sent forth by the Church, have brought new nations to the fold of Christ for the advancement and glory of Mother Church. Augustine Went forth at the request of Gregory and planted the cross in Kent. St. Patrick, the slave boy, carried the Gos- pel to Ireland. St. Francis sailed to Goa, and dispelled the misery and darkness of the Indies with the light of the Faith. And here the name of .lunipero should adorn the illustrious list. For despite the fact that men have never manifested to gerra a gratitude, commensurate with his incalculable deserts, they have recognized that only by his tireless, dauntless efforts, was the spiritual and material glory of California made possible. The land and sea expeditions set forth. lVe may easily imagine the hardships of the explorers aboard their ships, the weary sea nights, the ravages of dread scurvy, the anxious hours of prayer amidst the thundering sweep of the storm. And what must have been the trials of that little band of land explorers, driving their herds be- fore them through the parched deserts of lower California? Can we not see Padre Serra, hampered by his long gown footsore and exhausted, yet ever whispering a word or cheer to the slowly marching soldiers. The fruits of the labors of Serra and Don Gaspar de Portola were the missions of San Diego and San Carlos. The latter is more generally known as Carmel mission.

Page 10 text:

5 Tl-Ili lG.N'.J7'lflN architecture. Rather, let us recognize in the missions the wisdom and adaptability of a wonderful institution. The narration of the years of slow progress, of the untold hardships, the discouraging failures, the painful journeys, the perilous voyages experienced and endured before the final establishment of the missions is CalCula'C6d to awaken in us a knowledge of what the missions rep- resented in the development of the VVest3 to suggest to us the cost of California in effort, in life and in goldl to impress us with the realization that California was not only the cradle of Pacific civilization but also the culmi- nating point of two centuries of military toil and mis- sionary progress. Truly we may with some appropriateness apply to the missionary era in California what the poet of Mantua sang of the foundation of Rome. Ta1ztae molis eraf R0- lllfl11rlIl'l1f conderr g81'Lf6111.n It was through Mexico and the trails of Sonora and Lower California that the ever advancing line of missions and missionaries found a way into the mountains and valleys of California. Mexico was first discovered in l5ll, nineteen years after the discovery of America by a Spanish navigator. At that time Mexico was the seat of the famous and magnificent empire of Montezuma. lVe first learn that the conversion of the natives was an object of the Mexican conquest, when we read in the re- port of Cortez to the emperor, dated 152-l, the following: I have sent to supplicate Your Imperial Majesty that you have the goodness to provide for this end religious persons of good life and example. fn advancing the pale of civilization from coast to coast in Mexico and in founding the pueblos of the new country, a padre always accompanied the explorers. Although it had always been the intent of the Spanish authorities in Mexico to explore and colonize California, even as late as 1768 the sea coast and valleys of our state

Page 12 text:

IO THE IGNA TIQ-1 N Years of such toil and patience resulted in the establish- ment of a long chai11 of famous missions, along the 'lEl Camino Real. To recite the names of these missions from San Diego in the south to Sonoma in the north is to recite a most beautiful Litany of the Saints. VVhy do We not learn more of this wonderful period? Nllhile engrossed in the temporal activities of their missions, while attending to the field, the table and the Hock, while leading with gentle hand the strange, sad, melancholy savage along the paths of labor, the Cali- fornia missionaries bore ever in their hearts a Wonderful zeal for their higher spiritual duties. Their temporal labors were but the means by which they accomplished their nobler supernatural purpose. The feeble Indian mind could not grasp the most fundamental and primary truths: the dull edge of their intellects could not penetrate the simplest abstract problems, Their inherited slowness of comprehension convinced the wise Franciscan that, not along the path of knowledge, but along the path of honest labor and wholesome toil should the neophyte be led. Many calumnies have been uttered against the mission- aries: much criticism of the mission system has been made. An unprejudiced, diligant inquiry, however, will disclose only that which was appropriate, noble and in- nocent, will only increase the glory of the humble padres of California.. After reverting even for a moment to the mission days, after awakening memories that hover about ivied walls and lonely sanctuaries, we can not without a pang of regret turn from those warmful, interesting scenes of mission history to the cold, crumbling adobe that to-day marks in silence the old grounds and the old days. And yet all is not lost. There yet remains a beauty thriving in ruins, an enchantment surrounding whitened walls, a romance Filling the California breeze, The mis- sions are impressive still,