Chimes of Mission Bells | Page 4

Spain and all Europe were filled
with stories of the New World since the discovery of America by
Columbus in 1492, and several other Spanish discoveries in later years,
among which must be remembered that in 1521, Hernando Cortes, one
of the great Spanish explorers of the sixteenth century, explored the
hitherto unknown land of Mexico, and as Spain always accompanied
her conquests and explorations with her missionaries to evangelize the
heathens, at the time that Father Junipero Serra set sail for the New
World, which was in 1759, there were in Mexico an archbishopric and
several missions conducted by Spanish priests, among them a well
established Franciscan College in San Fernando, 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