Ventura Highway

Appreciating the saint-founders of our cities and churches

07/01/2024

Mt 8:18-22 When Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other shore. A scribe approached and said to him, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus answered him, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head." Another of his disciples said to him, "Lord, let me go first and bury my father." But Jesus answered him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead."

Part of our new "Yesterday, Today, and Forever Campaign" involves purchasing a new statue of St. Patrick of the Emerald Isle. And I am so pleased that some generous Irish parishioners have pledged to pay for it, which is great! Once we move the tabernacle to the center, we will place the Sacred Heart of Jesus statue where the tabernacle was, and then put the new St. Patrick where the Sacred heart formerly stood.

Now, why put St. Patrick there instead of any number of other heroic and holy saints of the Church? There are innumerable saints to choose from! Well, Immaculate Conception was originally called St. Patrick’s Church because it was founded by brave Irish immigrants who loved this new world and loved their Catholic faith. In other words, we owe those intrepid Irish a debt of gratitude and this statue is a small way to repay them.

Today is the feast of St. Junipero Serra, who, like the intrepid Irish, fearlessly founded many of the original missions along the Pacific coast that now make up the famous cities of California. St. Junipero, too, loved this new world and loved his faith! But just like recent arrivals to Immaculate Conception don’t know the history and the holiness of our founders, so many Californians are ignorant of the origins of their state. Both have roots that are deeply Catholic. Whether they know it or not, the inhabitants of the Golden State owe a profound debt of gratitude to St. Junipero Serra and at least acknowledging that debt is a small down payment toward repaying it.

From 1769 to 1784 St. Junipero Serra led a group of zealous Franciscan missionaries along the California coast and established mission churches along the way. The first one was San Diego, later followed by San Jose, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. The original name for the Los Angeles mission was Nuestra Senora de los Angeles, Our Lady of the Angels, or now shortened to just “Los Angeles,” and hence sometimes called “The City of Angels.”

How many people in or out of California know the original mission of Ventura, California was “Buenaventura” named for St. Bonaventure, one of the most brilliant early Franciscan saints and scholars? Most people today just know the song “Ventura Highway” sung by the band “America.” Or, how many are aware the coastal and costly Carmel was originally named “Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo” for St. Charles Borromeo, the saintly archbishop of Milan, Italy one of the leaders of the Catholic counter-reformation?

Who is aware that Sacramento, the capital city, was originally named for the Blessed Sacrament? In other words, just like we modern parishioners of Immaculate Conception need to remember our Irish roots, so citizens of California need to remember their Catholic and Franciscan roots and say a word of thanks today to St. Junipero Serra.

My friends, it can be hard to appreciate the life and legacy of saints like St. Junipero Serra in our modern “cancel culture.” For example, in July 2020, the statue of St. Junipero Serra was toppled in Sacramento, CA and replaced by another statue honoring Native American tribes. And there were strong protests when Pope Francis canonized Junipero Serrra in 2015. It is worth noting that if any pope would be sensitive to the plight of indigenous people, it is Pope Francis.

Of course it is a good gesture to honor the culture and history of Native Americans, as well as to stop and rectify injustices perpetrated over the years. There is still a lot of work to do in that respect. Nonetheless, those well-intentioned efforts, I believe, sometimes can go too far when they attempt to erase the past, or gloss over the good work done by heroic saints like Junipero Serra.

California would not be what is it today had St. Junipero Serra not worked tirelessly to establish 9 of the 21 missions along the California coast. The Golden State might not be so “golden.” To entirely eradicate the Franciscan history from the collective memory of Californians is a little like sawing off the branch you are sitting on. I hope they don’t go that far in California, and we certainly will not take a step down Ventura Highway here at Immaculate Conception.

Praised be Jesus Christ!