Chimes of Mission Bells | Page 4

a settlement in the northern part of Mexico, which the Spanish explorers and missionaries so decided to name after Saint Ferdinand, a King of Spain, who lived in the thirteenth century. And to this College, Father Junipero Serra and his companions came after a perilous voyage of nearly one year; for the date of their arrival was January 1, 1760; and here they began their labor! Of the nine years which Junipero Serra toiled in Mexico, six were spent in Sierra Gorda, some distance north of San Fernando, and one of the wildest and roughest of those half explored regions. And what marvels attended the labors of Serra and the other self-sacrificing sons of Saint Francis here! With Junipero Serra at the helm, the good priests learned some of the Aztec dialects in order to convert the savages. Then what followed? With the greatest patience the missionaries acquitted themselves to the task of teaching the classic, cultured language of Spain to these poor aborigines, whose languages like those of the still cruder California Indians, did not contain expressions for even the simplest words of scripture or of the liturgy of the Church. And can we wonder at this? But what were the astonishing results of the good priests' labors? They were truly God-wonders! Daily were recorded numerous conversions, and at the close of six years many Indian congregations of those regions could be heard singing the ancient Latin hymns of the Church, and in poor but intelligible Spanish supplying in their prayers and conversations what was wanting in their dialects. It was while at Sierra Gorda that Junipero Serra became afflicted with a painful sore which broke out on his right leg and which never healed in all his eventful and laborious career. Many historians allude to this sore as a "wound," but no record is extant to indicate it as such, the most authentic conclusions being that this sore was due to natural causes greatly augmented and brought on by the hardships and climatic conditions he encountered in this missionary field.
The average person would think Junipero Serra and his companions had surely satiated their thirst for missionary labors during the nine long toilsome years they spent in Mexico, far, far away from loving home, affectionate kindred and the Old World culture to which they bade farewell when the last glistening silhouette of the Spanish Coast vanished from their view in 1759, but not so! Their pilgrimage was but begun! The pilgrimage which was to blossom heavenly and earthly blessings as beautiful and countless as the flowers which jeweled the slopes and valleys they traversed. The monstrous undertaking begun so gloriously, blessed with the benison of prayers, sacrifices, tears; blessed later with superhuman success and crowned with an immortal halo for endless days!
Here we will make a slight digression for the sake of our story. In 1548, just twenty-seven years after Cortes discovered the land of Mexico, Cabrillo's expedition had sailed up the Coast of California, and in 1602 Sebastian Vizcaino had made further discoveries accompanied by two Carmelite priests, and landed on the shores of Monterey. Both of these expeditions, however, were abandoned and California remained the "mysterious vineyard," as it was called. But Vizcaino drew a map of California placing upon it the harbor of Monterey, and wrote glowing accounts of the beauty of the spot. On Point Lobos he planted a Cross, and the Carmelite Fathers named that beautiful Valley, four miles from Monterey, Carmelo, in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, venerated under the title of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Of these facts we will have occasion to speak of more fully later on in this work.
Years after these expeditions the good Jesuit Fathers established several missions in Lower California, but were recalled to Spain by King Carlos III and by this sovereign's request the Franciscan Fathers of the College of San Fernando were commissioned to take the newly vacated missions and accompany as missionaries the great and glorious enterprise of Don Gaspar de Portolá, with Vizcaino's map as guide, to further explore California and add it to the Crown of Castile and Leon.
The Father Guardian of the College of San Fernando, on receiving the letter from King Carlos, immediately appointed Junipero Serra, whose zeal and sanctity were so well known, as the Father President of the band of missionaries to set out for California. Among the missionaries who volunteered to evangelize California were Fathers Francisco Paloú, Francisco de Lasuén and Juan Crespí.
Here we will introduce a few characters, not of the missionary band, but who may well be termed faithful co-operators of their labors, men of unimpeachable honor, whose names add luster to the pages of Spanish annals. Don Jose Galvez, the Visitador General (general visitator) of the Spanish possessions in Mexico, a man