California Mission
Pilgrimage
I have been teaching fourth grade in
California for twelve years. That means
California history, the high point of which, for us, is Father Junipero Serra
and the California Missions. For years
my wife and I had been talking about making a family pilgrimage to see all 21
Missions. This year, everything finally
seemed to fit. And, with the upcoming
canonization of Father Serra, the timing seemed perfect. We began on Good Friday and finished on
Divine Mercy Sunday. I wanted to write a
chronicle of our trip, and my wife suggested I post it on the blog for the
benefit of others who might be interested.
So that is what I am doing.
We planned to see three Missions a day
on most days, which meant early starts in the morning. Each day, during our periods of driving, we
listened to one spiritual CD (from Lighthouse Catholic Media, for
example). If the kids wanted more to
listen to, we chose Catholic music, to help keep the prayerful tone of the
pilgrimage. After the third Mission each
day, they could request secular music, or we could watch television at our stop
for the evening, or whatever. At each
Mission, we prayed indulgenced prayers, which included an Our Father, Apostle’s
Creed, and asking Blessed Junipero Serra, and the patron of the Mission to pray
for us. One of our sons also made sure
we did not forget to pray for the souls of all those buried at or associated
with each Mission when we were there, as well.
During the trip we also read the book “Father Serra, Brave Adventurer,”
an excellent recount of his life for children.
Okay, I think that basically covers
the format of our trip, so I will begin where we did, on Good Friday. We live in Orange County, just north of
Mission San Juan Capistrano, so we began our pilgrimage with the three Missions
south of us, spent Good Friday night at home, and hit the road for real on Holy
Saturday.
Day One: Good Friday
Mission San Luis Rey
Our first stop was Mission San Luis
Rey, in Oceanside. The “King of the
Missions” is large and impressive. Besides
being special for starting our pilgrimage, we learned some things that we would
appreciate for the rest of the trip.
First, you can purchase a “Mission Passport,” and each Mission will give
you a stamp to acknowledge your visit. A
couple of Missions even give little gifts to visitors with completed passports
(San Luis Rey promised us a bumper sticker when we were finished). We also learned that our children were going
to be hard to pry away from the fountains that can be found at every
Mission. Besides the beautiful church,
Mission San Luis Rey also boasts the oldest pepper tree in California, which is
worth seeing if you’re there. San Luis
Rey is used by a Franciscan community and often hosts retreats.
Crucifix shrouded for Good Friday
Oldest pepper tree in California
Mission San Diego
Mission San Diego is special because
it is the first Mission founded by Fr. Serra.
There is also a memorial to the first martyr of California, Father Pedro
Jayme, who was killed by California Indians.
Although the relationship between the priests and natives was generally
friendly, and the Franciscans were great protectors of the Indian population
(Father Serra’s body was available for viewing for three days after his death
to allow all the Indians who loved him so dearly to be able to pay their last
respects), there was at times friction between the natives and the Spaniards in
general.
Mission San Diego was also special to
us because we attended Good Friday services there. We almost missed them, however, because we
were waiting in the old Mission church, which is used by the parish
community. However, the services were
held in the St. Francis chapel, at the back of the property. Be sure to check where to go if you plan to
attend Mass at Mission San Diego.
Marker on the spot of Fr. Jayme's martyrdom
Mission San Juan Capistrano
We had been to Mission San Juan Capistrano
many times. As a fourth grade teacher, I
have gone every year for a field trip and could probably host a tour
there. That was good because, due to it
being Good Friday, the Mission was closed by the time we got there. The new Mission basilica was in the middle of
Good Friday services, so we said a few prayers outside the church and vowed to
come back when we returned home in a week.
