Pope Francis in a solemn act and exercising full Authority as the Vicar of Christ canonizing St. Junipero Serra, the Founder of California
Pope Francis: Imitate Saint Junipero Serra, be trailblazers for Christ
By Mary Rezac
Washington D.C., Sep 23, 2015 / 03:42 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis made history Wednesday by performing the first-ever canonization on U.S. soil, of St. Junipero Serra.
A tapestry featuring an image of Blessed Junipero Serra hangs outside the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception before Pope Francis arrives for Mass and the canonization of the Spanish missionary Sept. 23 in Washington. (CNS photo/Bob Roller) See POPE-SERRA-MASS Sept. 23, 2015.
St. Serra, a Franciscan missionary from Spain, founded nine Catholic missions in California, most of which would go on to become the centers of major cities in the state.
The trail-blazing life of this priest, Pope Francis said in his homily at the Sept. 23 Mass of Canonization said at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., should be a call to all Christians to never grow complacent, and to always go out to proclaim the Gospel with joy.
Pope Francis gives his first ever Mass in the U.S., where he will officially declare Junipero Serra a saint. The canonization of the 18th-century missionary is taking place at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on September 23, 2015.
“He was the embodiment of ‘a Church which goes forth’, a Church which sets out to bring everywhere the reconciling tenderness of God,” the Pope said.
Saint Junipero Serra was born in 1713 on the Spanish island of Majorca in the Mediterranean. He left his position as a university professor to become a missionary to the New World, helping to convert to Christianity many of the indigenous community, and teaching them new technologies.
Pope Francis presides over a Canonization Mass for Friar Junipero Serra at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington September 23, 2015. REUTERS/Tony Gentile – RTX1S4X3
The priest’s mission work often took place despite a painful ulcerated leg which is said to have been caused either by cancer or a spider bite soon after his arrival in Mexico. He died in 1784 at Mission San Carlos Borroméo del Carmelo in what is now the state of California. St. John Paul II beatified Father Serra in 1988.
“Junípero Serra left his native land and its way of life,” Pope Francis reflected. “He was excited about blazing trails, going forth to meet many people, learning and valuing their particular customs and ways of life. He learned how to bring to birth and nurture God’s life in the faces of everyone he met; he made them his brothers and sisters.”
Pope Francis raises the chalice as he celebrates the Canonization Mass for Friar Junipero Serra outside the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington September 23, 2015. REUTERS/Jim Bourg
Although some have raised concerns about St. Junipero Serra’s work with Native Americans, Pope Francis joined many others who insist that Serra worked tirelessly to protect the rights and dignity of the people whom he served.
“Junípero sought to defend the dignity of the native community, to protect it from those who had mistreated and abused it. Mistreatment and wrongs which today still trouble us, especially because of the hurt which they cause in the lives of many people,” Pope Francis said.
The saint also had a motto which inspired his life and work: “Keep moving forward!”
“Something deep within us invites us to rejoice and tells us not to settle for placebos which simply keep us comfortable,” the Holy Father said, reflecting on the words of St. Paul.
“At the same time, though, we all know the struggles of everyday life. So much seems to stand in the way of this invitation to rejoice.”
Pope Francis arrives at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception for the canonization mass for Junipero Serra on Wednesday, September 23, 2015.
“Jesus gives the answer. He said to his disciples then and he says it to us now: Go forth! Proclaim! The joy of the Gospel is something to be experienced, something to be known and lived only through giving it away, through giving ourselves away.”
St. Junipero Serra was the kind of person who knew this and lived it on a daily basis, Pope Francis said. He was constantly being shaken out of complacency by embracing the joy of proclaiming the Gospel to all people.
“For him, this was the way to continue experiencing the joy of the Gospel, to keep his heart from growing numb, from being anesthetized. He kept moving forward, because the Lord was waiting,” he said.
“He kept going, because his brothers and sisters were waiting. He kept going forward to the end of his life. Today, like him, may we be able to say: Forward! Let’s keep moving forward!”
SOURCE: Catholic News Agency: Canonization of St. Junipero Serra
Pope Francis canonizes Father Junipero Serra, saying he defended Native Americans
Pope Francis called Father Junipero Serra a defender of “the dignity of the native community,” as the first pope from the Americas canonized the 18th century missionary known as the Apostle of California on Wednesday while celebrating his first Mass in the United States.
The ceremony to name a new Catholic saint, the first to take place on U.S. soil, came nearly 250 years after the Spanish Franciscan friar redefined the culture and history of the far West.
Serra evangelized indigenous people – sometimes with harsh methods – and established the church mission system that defined the Spanish colonial era in California.
In a sermon to 25,000 people crowded outside the ornate Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the largest Catholic church in the country, Francis addressed the missionary’s controversial legacy by portraying him as a protector, not an oppressor, of early Californians.
Serra “sought to defend the dignity of the native community, to protect it from those who had mistreated and abused it,” the Argentine-born pope said, speaking in Spanish from an altar outside the basilica. “Mistreatment and wrongs that today still trouble us, especially because of the hurt they cause in the lives of many people,” he said.
Serra’s critics did not organize any protests at the canonization ceremony. Some opponents said there was no use in trying to sway the church or the immensely popular pope at this point.
Before Francis spoke, the crowd roared as the glass-topped “popemobile” weaved among them on large paths. The 78-year-old pontiff took two laps along the main thoroughfare that separated the media from assigned seats, waving fitfully as the throng rose and cheered.
Many had waited hours in the open sun to see him, and medical teams rushed to help several who passed out. Large choirs performed liturgical and gospel music before the ceremony, shifting effortlessly from Aaron Copland to psalms.
For all its historical implications, the canonization Mass came hours after Francis made his first formal visit to the White House and challenged Americans of all faiths to address the modern problems of global warming, illegal immigration and the conflict over traditional families and cultural values.
“Climate change is a problem that can no longer be left to a future generation,” Francis told 11,000 people who gathered on the White House’s South Lawn for his welcoming ceremony. “When it comes to the care of our ‘common home,’ we are living at a critical moment of history.”
In a later meeting with U.S. bishops, Francis acknowledged “the pain of recent years” resulting from the church’s sexual abuse scandal, a poignant reminder during his six-day visit to Washington, New York and Philadelphia that many American Catholics have yet to forgive the church.
The nation’s capital, normally blase when world leaders visit, has been electrified by the arrival of Francis, who is making his first appearance in the United States. After dire warnings of the potential for historic traffic tie-ups, many downtown streets were eerily empty midmorning as people stayed home or took public transit to work.
One politician sought to nominate Francis for a Nobel Prize, and many tried to capture his glow. A bus driver sang gospel music while ferrying visitors to see the pope.
After the pontiff left the White House, people locked in dense crowds on the National Mall cried, snapped photos and bragged with certainty that he had locked eyes with them as he rolled along in his popemobile.
“He is our pope,” said Miriam Villatoro, a 40-year-old Guatemalan immigrant who cleans houses, as she stood for more than hour in line to watch Francis deliver Mass and canonize Serra. “He is the one we’re waiting for.”
Villatoro, who brought her two sons and her husband, was especially thrilled that Francis would speak in Spanish, the native language for her and millions of other Latinos who constitute the fastest-growing segment in the American Catholic Church.
“It’s like the voice of the immigrants,” she said.
Pope John Paul II beatified Serra in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican on Sept. 25, 1988. Serra, he said at the time, “sowed the seeds of Christian faith amid the momentous changes wrought by the arrival of European settlers in the New World.”
In his homily Wednesday, Francis painted Serra as “the embodiment of ‘a church that goes forth.’”
“He was excited about blazing trails, going forth to meet many people, learning and valuing the particular customs and ways of life,” he said. “He learned how to bring to birth and nurture God’s life in the faces of everyone he met.”
Lesa Truxaw, director for worship for the Diocese of Orange, flew in from Costa Mesa. She wore a large crucifix made of gems and carried a card depicting Father Serra beside the mission he set up in San Juan Capistrano.
“We are No. 7,” she said proudly, alluding to the nine missions Serra founded in California after he arrived near San Diego in 1769. They were primarily designed to convert natives to the Catholic faith.
The church went on to establish 12 more from San Diego to San Francisco. Serra’s name can be found on streets, schools, parks, a freeway and statues up and down the state.
But to many Native Americans, Serra is a symbol of the mission system’s oppression.
Converted natives were kept separate from those who had not embraced Christianity, and some missions flogged and imprisoned those who tried to leave.
Critics say his legacy includes forced labor that supported the missions, which were crucial to Spain’s ambitions in the region. Spanish troops garrisoned near some missions were blamed for spreading syphilis and other diseases that devastated local communities.
Serra’s defenders say he must be viewed as flawed but depict him as a devout theologian who loved the people with whom he shared the gospel. They also point to efforts he made to protect natives from rape and other depredations by Spanish soldiers.
“He was a man of his times,” Truxaw said. “There is controversy. I don’t think we can whitewash that. I hope that, the indigenous, we can reach out to them and heal the hurt.”
Serra’s remains are buried under the sanctuary floor at the Mission San Carlos Borromeo in Carmel-by-the-Sea.
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times: Canonization of St. Junipero Serra
Pope Francis’ Homily at the Canonization Mass for the Rev. Junípero Serra
Following is the text of the English translation of Pope Francis canonizing the Rev. Junípero Serra, a Spanish-born Franciscan friar, the first canonization in the United States. The text of the homily, which the pope gave in Spanish, was prepared for delivery and released by the Vatican:
Rejoice in the Lord always! I say it again, rejoice! These are striking words, words which impact our lives. Paul tells us to rejoice; he practically orders us to rejoice. This command resonates with the desire we all have for a fulfilling life, a meaningful life, a joyful life. It is as if Paul could hear what each one of us is thinking in his or her heart and to voice what we are feeling, what we are experiencing. Something deep within us invites us to rejoice and tells us not to settle for placebos which simply keep us comfortable.
At the same time, though, we all know the struggles of everyday life. So much seems to stand in the way of this invitation to rejoice. Our daily routine can often lead us to a kind of glum apathy which gradually becomes a habit, with a fatal consequence: our hearts grow numb.
We don’t want apathy to guide our lives… or do we? We don’t want the force of habit to rule our life… or do we? So we ought to ask ourselves: What can we do to keep our heart from growing numb, becoming anesthetized? How do we make the joy of the Gospel increase and take deeper root in our lives?
Jesus gives the answer. He said to his disciples then and he says it to us now: Go forth! Proclaim! The joy of the Gospel is something to be experienced, something to be known and lived only through giving it away, through giving ourselves away.
The spirit of the world tells us to be like everyone else, to settle for what comes easy. Faced with this human way of thinking, “we must regain the conviction that we need one another, that we have a shared responsibility for others and for the world” (Laudato Si’, 229). It is the responsibility to proclaim the message of Jesus. For the source of our joy is “an endless desire to show mercy, the fruit of our own experience of the power of the Father’s infinite mercy” (Evangelii Gaudium, 24). Go out to all, proclaim by anointing and anoint by proclaiming. This is what the Lord tells us today. He tells us:
A Christian finds joy in mission: Go out to people of every nation!
A Christian experiences joy in following a command: Go forth and proclaim the good news! A Christian finds ever new joy in answering a call: Go forth and anoint!
Pope Francis celebrates Mass at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception for the Canonization Mass for Friar Junipero Serra in Washington on September 23, 2015. Photo courtesy of REUTERS/Brian Snyder
*Editors: This photo may only be republished with RNS-POPE-SAINT, originally transmitted on Sept. 23, 2015.
Jesus sends his disciples out to all nations. To every people. We too were part of all those people of two thousand years ago. Jesus did not provide a short list of who is, or is not, worthy of receiving his message, his presence. Instead, he always embraced life as he saw it. In faces of pain, hunger, sickness and sin. In faces of wounds, of thirst, of weariness, doubt and pity. Far from expecting a pretty life, smartly-dressed and neatly groomed, he embraced life as he found it. It made no difference whether it was dirty, unkempt, broken. Jesus said: Go out and tell the good news to everyone. Go out and in my name embrace life as it is, and not as you think it should be. Go out to the highways and byways, go out to tell the good news fearlessly, without prejudice, without superiority, without condescension, to all those who have lost the joy of living. Go out to proclaim the merciful embrace of the Father. Go out to those who are burdened by pain and failure, who feel that their lives are empty, and proclaim the folly of a loving Father who wants to anoint them with the oil of hope, the oil of salvation. Go out to proclaim the good news that error, deceitful illusions and falsehoods do not have the last word in a person’s life. Go out with the ointment which soothes wounds and heals hearts.
Mission is never the fruit of a perfectly planned program or a well-organized manual. Mission is always the fruit of a life which knows what it is to be found and healed, encountered and forgiven. Mission is born of a constant experience of God’s merciful anointing.
The Church, the holy People of God, treads the dust-laden paths of history, so often traversed by conflict, injustice and violence, in order to encounter her children, our brothers and sisters. The holy and faithful People of God are not afraid of losing their way; they are afraid of becoming self-enclosed, frozen into élites, clinging to their own security. They know that self-enclosure, in all the many forms it takes, is the cause of so much apathy.
So let us go out, let us go forth to offer everyone the life of Jesus Christ (Evangelii Gaudium, 49). The People of God can embrace everyone because we are the disciples of the One who knelt before his own to wash their feet (ibid., 24).
The reason we are here today is that many other people wanted to respond to that call. They believed that “life grows by being given away, and it weakens in isolation and comfort” (Aparecida Document, 360). We are heirs to the bold missionary spirit of so many men and women who preferred not to be “shut up within structures which give us a false sense of security… within habits which make us feel safe, while at our door people are starving” (Evangelii Gaudium, 49). We are indebted to a tradition, a chain of witnesses who have made it possible for the good news of the Gospel to be, in every generation, both “good” and “news”.
Today we remember one of those witnesses who testified to the joy of the Gospel in these lands, Father Junípero Serra. He was the embodiment of “a Church which goes forth”, a Church which sets out to bring everywhere the reconciling tenderness of God. Junípero Serra left his native land and its way of life. He was excited about blazing trails, going forth to meet many people, learning and valuing their particular customs and ways of life. He learned how to bring to birth and nurture God’s life in the faces of everyone he met; he made them his brothers and sisters. Junípero sought to defend the dignity of the native community, to protect it from those who had mistreated and abused it. Mistreatment and wrongs which today still trouble us, especially because of the hurt which they cause in the lives of many people.
Father Serra had a motto which inspired his life and work, a saying he lived his life by: siempre adelante! Keep moving forward! For him, this was the way to continue experiencing the joy of the Gospel, to keep his heart from growing numb, from being anesthetized. He kept moving forward, because the Lord was waiting. He kept going, because his brothers and sisters were waiting. He kept going forward to the end of his life. Today, like him, may we be able to say: Forward! Let’s keep moving forward!
SOURCE: New York Times: Pope Francis Homily at Canonization of Junipero Serra