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Date: 2008-08-21

Land of Missions and Vineyards

Discovering the Franciscan Legacy in California

By Elizabeth Lev

ROME, AUG. 21, 2008 (Zenit.org).- I enjoy sun and sand as much as the next person, but a big part of my few precious weeks of vacation is being able to learn about something outside my usual realm of study.

As my job and hobby seem to be one and the same, I am always interested in Christian art and architecture wherever I go, and this year I went to explore California.

As a Bostonian, I must admit I approached our 31st state with a bit of trepidation. It seemed that, with the exception of the redwood trees, California was all about novelty.

But indeed California has an older Catholic tradition than Massachusetts, through the prolonged and self-sacrificing efforts of the early missionaries, particularly the Franciscans.

The topography of coastal California is defined by cities names for saints, a legacy of the Spanish explorations. To list these towns is like invoking a litany of saints to bestow blessing upon this beautiful and fascinating area.

From July 16, 1770, when Father Junipero Serra founded the first mission of San Diego in Alcalà in the hills above San Diego, to the last mission of San Francesco Solano founded in Sonoma in 1823 in the face of increasing hostility from secular forces, the Franciscans built 54 missions.

These churches, carefully spaced 30 miles apart, formed a “rosary of missions” along the 650 miles of the California highway, once known as “el Camino Real” (the Royal Road).

I visited San Diego, the home of Father Serra’s first mission, and heard the heroic story of the men who brought the Gospel to California. Now an active parish perched on Presidio Hill, San Diego Mission, with its creamy, pristine facade and sturdy triple bell tower, gives no indication of the trials and tribulations it has suffered in 250 years of existence.

Father Serra first established this mission on a plateau overlooking the sea, next to the Presidio or fort of the Spanish soldiers. The “first church of California,” a crude wooden hut, got off to a rocky start as the Native Americans were distrustful of the new arrivals and approached only to receive gifts or to steal from the stores.

Father Serra was content to allow the attacks and thefts as the patient priest thought a few trinkets was a small price to save a soul, but the soldiers soon lost patience and began to intimidate the Indians.

The Franciscans realized they would have to separate from their military protectors and chose a spot six miles inland closer to the Native American villages.

This decision would produce the first martyr of the missions. Father Luis Jayme moved out to the new site and successfully began evangelizing the Native Americans. But on the night of Nov. 4, 1775, two dissatisfied mission Indians incited several of the remote villages to revolt, and 800 Indians stormed the compound. Father Jayme was killed.

His tomb can still be seen in the floor of the church, a few miles from Hollywood. Here, where movie studios fabricate virtual heroes for cinematic enjoyment, Father Jayme is an example of a true Christian champion.

The Franciscans were forced to return to the Presidio, but they remained only briefly and rebuilt the other mission within the year. The mission flourished with thousands of baptisms and great effects of modernization for the area, including dams, agriculture and industry. They built a new larger structure in the distinctive white adobe brick in 1813, but disaster struck in 1834.

The Mexican Republic had won its independence from Spain in 1821. In 1834, the fledgling Mexican Congress, with strong Masonic influence, passed the Act for the Secularization of the Missions of California, which expelled the Franciscans and sold the missions to private parties.

Meanwhile, San Diego was purchased by the U.S. government and used as an Army garrison. The graceful little church was transformed into a stable where horse hooves would clatter on the tomb of Luis Jayme.

When California joined the Union in 1850, Archbishop J.S. Alemany petitioned for the return of the former mission land. In 1853, the Mission of San Diego was returned to the Church and now, restored to its former glory, serves as a reminder of the Franciscans fervent bid for the soul of California.

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Grace and Beauty Santa Barbara, about 200 miles further north along the coast, hold the distinction of being the only mission to have remained continuously in the hands of the Franciscans. It was the 10th mission of the Franciscans, and was founded by Father Fermin Francisco de Lasuen, successor to Father Serra.

Perched high in hills, it has watched over the growth of the picturesque modern town, since the first log building with the thatched roof was raised Dec. 4, 1786.

The church was soon rebuilt in adobe, but destroyed in the earthquake of 1812. The present church was one of the most ambitious projects of the missions constructed out of stone in emulation of the grand temple facades of Rome. The Renaissance had reached mission architecture.

It began with only a bell tower like the other missions, but in 1833 a matching tower was added, bringing the church into the circle of the Spanish Baroque.

One of the most striking elements of the mission churches is that while they all have a similar form, a relatively simple flat facade that arches gracefully upward as if pointing toward the heavens, each one is enlivened by individual idiosyncrasies.

Some have porches, like the Romanesque churches of Rome; some are austere and without decoration reminiscent of Franciscan asceticism. Others boast curious Moorish patterns, a distant echo of the varied and brilliant architecture of Spanish churches.

Santa Barbara not only blends the architecture of ancient Rome with Christian church building, it also draws on the resources of the new Christian community of Native Americans. Inside the church, the altar and the tabernacle are the work of the Chumash, a Native American tribe from central and southern California.

The tabernacle is striking in that it resembles at first glance the huts of the Chumash who were renowned for their basketry. But the carefully modeled Sacred Heart of Jesus and symbols of the passion speak of the native artists’ contact with European art. Other examples of Chumash art are visible in several areas of the compound.

Santa Barbara is an excellent example of how much the missions brought to California. The mission fathers built an ingenious aqueduct, which brought water from two miles away and filtered part for drinking. Part of this system is still used today by the city of Santa Barbara.

The beauty, stability and success of this mission makes its nickname well earned, “Queen of the Missions.”

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Mustard Seeds and Red Wine

As vacation also implies good food and fine wine, I found that California didn’t disappoint on either score. But amid developing a love of Pinot Noir and California cuisine, I also discovered that these bounties also owed much to the days of the missionaries.

California is synonymous with citrus fruit, and one of the joys of the table are the mountains of flavorful oranges, limes and lemons. But the orange was unknown to the Golden State until the arrival of missionaries, who brought peaches, pears, apples, olives and tobacco where they flourished in the mission gardens. The richness brought by the missionaries is best summed up by the mustard flower which blankets the entire coastline in a ribbon of gold for a brief moment every year.

As Father Serra made his way north exploring the unknown areas of California, he brought along some Spanish mustard seeds and sprinkled them as he went along. When he went to return, the seeds had blossomed into bright yellow flowers that led the missionary home.

It seems fitting that the missionary would scatter mustard seed, like Jesus’ parable where the tiny seed grew into a great tree.

This small group of men, the Order of Little Brothers, came to spread the word of God and it grew to define this vast state.

Perhaps the tree is looking a little worse for wear at the moment, but with some attention it could return to flourish one day.

But for fans of California wine, Father Junipero Serra's greatest achievement has yet to be revealed. Arriving in California, the Franciscan father soon discovered a shortage of wine, which was of course necessary for Mass.

To avoid having to wrest the small rations of wine from the soldiers, Father Serra brought the Criolla grape, known as the mission grape, to California, planting the first vineyard at San Juan Capistrano in 1779.

By 1800, vineyards covered thousands of acres, and the California wine industry was born. Napa Valley celebrates an annual “Wine Day” on Nov. 24, the birthday of Father Junipero Serra.

The rough red table wine has long since evolved into the spectacular northern California vintages, but as happens over and over again in the history of Christianity, humble origins can bear

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Elizabeth Lev teaches Christian art and architecture at Duquesne University's Rome campus. She can be reached at lizlev@zenit.org.