USA > California > San Diego County > San Diego county, California; a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 5
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This freak, as it was generally regarded by worldly minded people, was so dis- pleasing to his family that his father threatened, if he persisted, to disinherit him. But neither his father's threats, the gibes of his former friends and companions, nor the popular ridicule which attributed his eccentricities to a species of lunacy, could turn him from his purpose. The more he was opposed, the more firm lie became in his determination to cast everything aside and follow Christ. Though a youth of but twenty-four years, he formally renounced his right of inheritance, divested himself of every particle of property, even stripped himself of his ordi- nary clothing and assumed as his garment a cloak of the simplest and coarsest material he could find. He not only reduced himself to the condition and clothed himself in the garb, but he followed the life of a beggar as the only one in which to practice piety and fulfill what he conceived to be the commands of his Divine Master. He sewed his garment with packthread, to make it still coarser than it was. He ate his scanty food with ashes strewn upon it. He slept upon the ground with a block of wood or stone for a pillow. He scourged himself cruelly, and in the most rigorous seasons rolled himself in snow and ice to extinguish the fires of sensual lusts. He went about seeking opportunities to perform acts of humility. He frequented the hospitals and kissed the feet and washed the sores of the sick and especially of those who, like many of the objects of Christ's minis- trations, were leprous. He fasted, prayed and preached. He shed tears so copiously as to become almost blind, and in nearly every conceivable way he cultivated what to others must have appeared the most abject misery.
Among his many religious enterprises the one which he deemed most neces- sary and from which he hoped to obtain the best results, was to visit the Holy Land. To accomplish this purpose he joined the crusaders and in 1219 reached their camp at Damietta in Egypt. With them he remained until the failure of
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their arms, and during his stay he found many opportunities of testifying his earnestness and devotion prominently before the Christian world. Upon his return to Italy, his enthusiasm increased rather than diminished. He gave him- self up more ardently than ever to prayer and religious exercises. His ardor became rapture; his rapture, ecstasy. He imagined that he received visits and communications from Christ and the saints, and so earnest and constant was his devotion that, according to the legend, he was rewarded with the impression of the stigmata-in other words, he was supposed to be so entirely given up to piety and godliness and to be so perfect in the imitation of Christ as even to bear, like him, the marks of crucifix and passion.
A persistent life of this kind, in whatever light it might be looked upon in these days, could not fail in those to attract attention and challenge admiration. Was it not truly the life of one who was laying up treasure in heaven and doing all that was required by the scriptures to inherit eternal life? Had he not sold all that he possessed, given to the poor, taken up his cross and followed Christ? Was there not every reason to believe him sincere, and, if sincere, was it possi- ble for any one to pursue more strictly either according to the spirit or the letter, the directions of holy writ? Believed to be sincere and living in an age of faith, he could not fail to have followers as well as admirers. Prominent men, partak- ing of his spirit, desired to imitate him and become his companions. A rich mer- chant, in whose house he had once been a guest, first led the way by selling all his estate, distributing it among the poor and associating himself in the devotions and labors of his friend. A canon of the cathedral church followed the example thus set and by degrees the company increased into the commencement of a great order. The new members as they came in adopted the same dress that Francis wore, a robe of coarse gray serge, tied about the waist with a hempen rope, and with the dress they also adopted for the conduct of their lives the main prin- ciples upon which their founder regulated his own. These, in addition to celi- bacy and repression of the fleshly lusts, were humility, voluntary mendicancy, abhorrence of controversy, a disposition in all possible cases to reconcile disputes and act as peacemakers and, above all and including all, devotion to the church and propagation of the Catholic faith. The beginning of the order under these circumstances dates from August 16, 1209, and its progress was so rapid that in 1219 it numbered over five thousand members. In 1223 it was confirmed by a papal bull. It was first among the mendicant orders. In 1226 the death of Francis and in 1228 his canonization served to swell its numbers. As it became better known and especially on account of the strict vows of poverty which its members were required to take, it became a great favorite with the people and continued to grow larger and larger. In less than fifty years after the death of the founder, it counted over two hundred thousand members with eight thousand colleges and convents. In the course of the next five centuries, while the number of its members remained about the same, its colleges and convents increased more than threefold and spread into every quarter of the globe.
In the New World the Franciscans had the first missionaries and commenced the first permanent missionary establishments. Several of their priests had accompanied Columbus on his second voyage. As early as 1502 they founded a college in San Domingo. They took part, generally speaking, in every expedi- tion and kept equal pace with every conquest. As the Spanishi boundaries Vol. 1-3
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advanced there were, therefore, newer and newer Franciscan establishments erected, and when it is considered that such men as Cardinal Ximenez, Bishop Las Casas and many others who wielded great political as well as ecclesiastical powers were members of the order and took an interest in its missions, it may easily be understood how important a part these establishments played in the settlement and government of the country. But of all these foundations the largest and most important in America was the college of San Fernando in Mexico. This institution had been founded so early and carried on with such vigor and success that at the time of the expulsion of the Jesuits it was in the full strength of its maturity and in excellent condition in respect to resources, to take charge of new enterprises. It had just succeeded in establishing a number of missions in the Sierra Gorda of Mexico and under circumstances of so much difficulty as to merit and obtain great credit, and these establishments being now in successful operation, it had missionaries of ability and experience at its serv- ice for new undertakings. When, therefore, the expulsion of the Jesuits was resolved upon and the care and extension of the California missions recommended to the college of San Fernando, it unhesitatingly accepted the trust and at once prepared to execute it.
Between the Franciscans and the Jesuits there was no very cordial feeling. The Franciscans may not have intrigued for, may not even have specially desired the downfall of the Jesuits, but there can be no doubt that they willingly entered into the general plans which involved their destruction. Long before any public intimation had been given and before the Jesuits themselves had any idea of the impending expulsion, the Franciscans had taken measures to fill their places and administer their estates. Before Gaspar de Portola and his soldiers had gone off for the purpose of tearing the old priests of the peninsula from the arms of their wailing converts, the college of San Fernando had been informed of what was to take place and invited to prepare its members for the new enterprise. And there was no backwardness on its part in taking advantage of the invitation thus tendered. On the contrary, it immediately accepted the services of a chosen number among the candidates, who had offered themselves as missionaries to replace the Jesuits, placed those so accepted under the presidency of one of the ablest, most active, most devoted missionaries that ever lived or labored, and at once sent them off to take possession of the new field about to be opened and ordered them without delay to enter upon and prosecute their labors.
The extraordinary man, thus named as president of the new establishments and who afterwards became the founder of Alta California, was Father Junipero Serra. He had already become prominent on account of services performed in the Sierra Gorda and seemed to fit into the new station to which he was thus called as if he had been made for it. No sooner was he called than he assumed the office and no sooner had he assumed the office than he commenced work in earnest. He collected together his little band of priests and at once proceeded to Tepic on the way to San Blas, from which point he intended to sail over to Loreto. But upon arriving with his party at Tepic in the latter end of August, 1767, he found that the ship bringing the exiled Jesuits from California had not yet arrived and that there would necessarily be a considerable detention before he and his fel- lows could reach their destination. Under these circumstances, being unwilling to remain idle and seeing an opportunity of preparing his companions for their
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future work and of giving them some practice in their vocation, he established temporary missions in the neighborhood and kept busily employed until the arrival at San Blas, about the middle of February, 1768, of the expected ship and its melancholy freight of exiles. But no sooner had the vessel discharged one set of passengers than it prepared to take on board the new company. It was on March 12, 1768, that the Franciscans embarked, and after a favorable voyage, they arrived in the harbor of Loreto on the night of Good Friday, April I, 1768. The next morning they landed. Proceeding at once to the mission church they began to celebrate their advent into the country with masses and thanksgivings to Our Lady of Loreto, who remained for them, as she had been for the Jesuits, the patroness of the spiritual conquest. These ceremonies lasted several days, at the expiration of which the fathers set out, each for the separate mission to which he had been assigned. There were sixteen of them in all, being the same in number as the Jesuits, who had been expelled and whose places they were to supply.
The transfer of the missions, thus accomplished, was by no means the whole of the plan which had been adopted by Charles III and his councilors in reference to California. If it had been, there would probably have been little or nothing in the time and occasion worthy the name of a new era in the affairs of the coun- try. But as a matter of fact, this transfer was only preliminary to a far more important and difficult part of the same general plan, which was no less than the immediate occupation and settlement of all those extensive regions, north of the peninsula, that had at any time been visited by Spanish navigators. The inten- tion was as soon as the necessary forces and supplies could be collected, to hasten several expeditions consisting of Franciscan priests and royal soldiers acting in harmonious conjunction into those distant regions, commencing with San Diego and Monterey as initial points, and to leave nothing undone until the entire north- west coast should be unquestionably subjected to the Spanish jurisdiction. Such was an integral portion of the instructions transmitted from Madrid to the Marques de Croix, then viceroy of Mexico, and brought over by Jose de Galvez, who had been named visitador-general or inspector and charged with the superin- tendence of their execution. When, therefore, the Franciscans sailed to the peninsula and assumed charge of the Jesuit missions, it was only the initiative of the extensive plan referred to. The remaining portion of the plan, so far as the Franciscans were concerned, was to await the arrival of Galvez, who was to follow with the military and other forces, and then joining all the forces together, to advance the Spanish standard northwestward as contemplated.
JUNIPERO SERRA
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Junipero Serra, the president and leader of the Franciscans in California, was very much such a man as St. Francis might have been if he had lived in the eighteenth century. There was the same earnestness, the same persistency, the same devotion. Junipero may not have heard as many voices or seen as many visions ; he may not have been as original as Francis, but he was in every respect as pure in his motives, as strong in his character and as great in his actions. Had he lived in the days of Francis he would doubtless have thought and acted much as Francis did. Perhaps similar eccentricities would have been recorded of and similar extravagancies attributed to him, but he would also probably have been
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the founder of one among the first of orders and recognized as one among the first of saints.
He was born at the village of Petra in the island of Majorca on November 24, 1713. His parents were laboring people but so well thought of by the clergy that the boy was received at the church of the place, gratuitously instructed in Latin and taught to sing. Thence when he grew older he was removed to the city of Palma, the capital of the island, where he continued his studies and advanced rapidly. From a very early age he seems to have chosen the vocation of a priest. At seventeen he assumed the habit and at eighteen became a monk professed, taking the name of Junipero instead of that of Miguel Jose, by which he had been baptized. In his studies the books he most affected were the lives of saints and chronicles of apostolic labors, which produced such an impression upon his mind that he resolved to become a missionary and felt willing if neces- sary, to shed his blood for the salvation of savage souls. This desire, however, was not for some time to be gratified; on the contrary he turned his first atten- tion, in obedience to orders received from his superiors, to the teaching of theol- ogy. He became a professor, taught for three years with great applause, had many students and earned and obtained the degree of doctor. At the same time he practiced himself in literary exercises and preached sermons, some of which were said by his admirers to be worthy of being printed in letters of gold. He was exceedingly devout, his zeal fervid, his imagination active, his command of language great, his voice sonorous, in fine all the circumstances were such that he could not fail to produce a great effect. But such an effect was not what he specially desired. His early idea of becoming a missionary still possessed him and still predominated, and as soon as an opportunity presented itself of enter- ing the missionary field, he was quick to seize it. In his earlier youth he had been small of stature and feeble of constitution, but as he advanced in life his health improved, he grew physically tall and strong, and when he finally became a missionary in fact, he found himself capable of bearing almost any amount of hardship and fatigue and in every respect admirably qualified for the sphere he had chosen.
Among his friends and admirers in the island of Majorca was a brother priest named Francis Palou, who became the companion of all his subsequent travels and struggles and afterwards his biographer. At first Junipero had kept his project of becoming a missionary a profound secret even from his friend, but as soon as Palou obtained an inkling of it, he also resolved to become a mission- ary, and from that time the two took their measures in conjunction. They together tendered their services for any missionary enterprise that might offer itself, but it was a time when missionaries were not wanted, and it seemed doubt- ful whether they would receive a call. It happened, however, shortly afterwards that the college of San Fernando in Mexico required recruits and enlisted thirty- three Spanish priests for labor in America. Of these when the time for embar- kation approached, five became frightened at the prospect of crossing a stormy ocean they had never seen, and upon their declining to proceed, the places of two of them were offered to and joyfully accepted by Junipero and Palou. They at once, after an affecting leavetaking from their companions, set sail from Majorca for Malaga and thence proceeded to Cadiz, from which place they set sail for America on August 28, 1749, and arrived at Vera Cruz after a tedious voyage of
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ninety-nine days, including a stoppage of fifteen at Porto Rico. During the passage three strong points of Junipero's character exhibited themselves and attracted the attention and admiration of his fellow passengers. The first was the uncomplaining patience with which for two weeks before reaching land he suffered the tortures of thirst; the second was the zeal with which, during his stay at Porto Rico, he established a mission and devoted himself without rest to his self-imposed duties; and the third was the intrepidity he displayed in the midst of storm and imminent danger of shipwreck.
From Vera Cruz to Mexico the distance is one hundred Spanish leagues. For this road it had been provided that convenient transportation should be fur- nished, but upon the arrival of the ship at Vera Cruz, neither carriages nor animals were on hand, and it was uncertain how long it would take until they would be. There was nothing to do for those who could not get on otherwise except to wait. But Junipero's zeal admitting of no delay, he requested and obtained permission to make the journey on foot, and finding a strong and reliable fellow pedestrian, the two immediately set out together. Being, however, as might be supposed, but badly provided for such a journey, it was only by the help of entirely unexpected succor furnished by benevolent persons along the road that they managed to get through, and Junipero overexerted himself to such a degree as to cause an ulcer in one of his legs, which troubled him for the remainder of his life. Notwithstanding this injury, which might have taught him that he was not exempted from the ordinary laws of nature, he was still disposed to regard himself as the object of miraculous interposition and even went so far as to believe that on two occasions he had been relieved by no less a person than Saint Joseph, or some devout man whom Saint Joseph had espe- cially sent for that particular purpose.
It was on January 1, 1750, that Junipero first set his foot in the college of San Fernando. He remained there five months and then proceeded to a remote spot among the crags of the Sierra Gorda to the northward of Mexico, where a mission had been founded six years previously. It happening at the same time that there was no missionary at that place, he had offered his services and joy- fully accepted the appointment that followed. Palou accompanied him as assist- ant, and the two lived and taught there for the next nine years. They were obliged of course to learn the language of the Indians, but in doing so they also taught them Spanish. More than this and much more important than this, they taught them to cultivate the ground, raise cattle, sell the surplus yield and clothe themselves. With this sort of guidance the mission soon became a model for all the country round about, and particularly so after Junipero had managed with the help of his willing converts, to build a new church unprecedentedly large and magnificent for those remote regions.
From the Sierra Gorda Junipero returned to the city of Mexico, having meanwhile consented to take the place of a missionary on the extreme northern frontier, who had been killed by the Apaches. But while he was making arrange- ments to proceed to the country of those bloodthirsty savages, his plans were disturbed by the determination of the government to send a military expedition and chastise them before anything else should be attempted. Under these cir- cumstances, Junipero remained at the capital and other places populated by Spaniards and spent the next seven years of his life in endeavoring to convert
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the sinners he found there instead of seeking savage souls in the wilderness. He preached often and fervently during these years, and many stories are told of the wonderful effects he produced. On one occasion, as Palou relates, while exhorting his hearers to repentance, he drew forth a chain and uncovering his shoulders, began to scourge them so unmercifully that all the audience shuddered and wept. Suddenly a man among those who heard and saw him, being entirely overcome by his feelings, jumped up and cried out, "It is I, miserable sinner, and not the father that should do penance for my many sins." At the same time rushing to the pulpit, he seized the chain and, disrobing, smote himself with such force that in the presence of the congregation he fell to the floor and soon after- wards expired. On another occasion a woman among his hearers, who had lived a scandalous life, was made to feel her offenses so poignantly that she forthwith abandoned the partner of her guilt. This partner, unfortunately, was a man either of too violent an affection or too weak a brain, for, instead of accepting the situation or struggling against it, he gave way to despair and put an end by suicide to his existence. Upon hearing what he had thus done, the poor woman could not contain her grief. She tore her hair and putting on the coarsest apparel, made a public pilgrimage through the streets, crying out in her great sorrow for the forgiveness of her sins-thus presenting a spectacle, says Palou, which edified all who witnessed it and caused the gain of innumerable conversions to the church.
While Junipero thus produced a great effect upon others, his zeal and devo- tion produced an equally great effect upon his own character. He came to regard himself as under the especial protection of heaven. When on his way from Vera Cruz to Mexico, as has been already seen, he believed that Saint Joseph reappeared and ministered to his wants. But in these latter years, Saint Joseph alone was not enough, and he convinced himself that not only Saint Joseph but the Saviour also and the Virgin Mary reappeared, and for no more important an object than to give him a single night's entertainment. The occasion was a certain evening on a journey in the province of Huasteca. The road was desolate, the sun had gone down, and it seemed as if Junipero and his companions would be compelled to pass the night under the open sky, then they unexpectedly beheld a house near the roadside. At the door stood a venerable man with his spouse and a boy child. They received the travelers with great hospitality, spread before them a meal prepared with remarkable cleanliness, and kindly kept them over night. In the morning, after tendering their thanks, the missionaries pursued their journey. But they had not gone far, when, being met by a troop of muleteers and asked where they had passed the night, they answered, "At the house by the wayside," pointing towards the place. The muleteers in the greatest astonishment replied that there was neither house nor inhabitants at any place along the road, where- upon Junipero and his companions, without calling in question the assertions of the muleteers, came to the conclusion that their entertainers could have been no others than the holy family.
A still more remarkable exhibition of his faith occurred at one of the religious services he performed during this part of his life. It appears that in some man- ner or other the wine, used in taking the sacrament, had become poisoned, and Junipero soon after drinking it, was seriously affected. He would have fallen to the floor if not caught by an attendant. Being at once removed to the sacristy,
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one of his friends came with an antidote. But Junipero refused to touch it. And for this refusal the only reason he had to give was that as the bread and wine he had taken had, as taught by the church, been converted into the body and blood of Christ, how, after such divine food, could he be expected to swallow a draft so nauseating as an antidote? In other words he was so completely and entirely credulous and believed so implicitly in everything that could be con- sidered a part of his religion that, in comparison therewith, he had no thought or consideration for his comfort or even for his life.
A man such as has been thus described, devout, zealous, indefatigable, believ- ing himself an instrument chosen by God and under the especial protection of heaven, one who entered with every faculty he possessed into his work and felt with his whole soul that therein lay his happiness and salvation, could not fail to make a great missionary. These his characteristics and this his fitness were so well known that, when the proposition to take charge of the missions and prosecute the further spiritual conquest of California was made to the college of San Fernando, its ready acceptance was in great part due to the fact that it possessed a man so eminently well qualified to superintend and manage the busi- ness. Its acceptance was based upon the faith that Junipero would assume such superintendence and management, and it was not mistaken in the man. Though he was at the time thirty leagues distant from the city of Mexico and ignorant of what was going forward, he was at once named president of the Californian mis- sions, and no sooner did he hear of his appointment than he joyfully accepted it. He now felt that he had a grand opportunity for extensive and widespread use- fulness in his chosen vocation, and he congratulated himself upon the fact that it was offered him, as it were by Providence, without solicitation or indication of wish on his part. And he was so zealous and impatient to get to work that he could hardly wait for the completion of proper arrangements before he set out with his subordinate and assistant missionaries for Loreto. He arrived there, as has been seen, and received the delivery of the Jesuit missions, in the beginning of April, 1768.
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