St
Junipero defended ‘dignity of native community’
(Vatican
Radio) Pope Francis Wednesday presided over the canonization
of St Junipero Serra at Washington, DC’s National Shrine of the Immaculate
Conception. St. Junipero was a Spanish Franciscan priest known for starting
nine missions in the 18th century in what is today the US state of California.
Vatican
Radio's Seàn-Patrick Lovett is travelling with the Pope on this 10th Apostolic
Visit abroad to Cuba and to the United States.
His
tonsured head looks like it’s been in the sun. His mouth is firm and determined
with a hint of laughter lines on either side. His Franciscan habit is tucked up
around his neck placing the large, compassionate eyes in relief.
Character,
personality and holiness – in a face.
This
is the image of Junipero Serra displayed on the façade of the largest Catholic
church in the United States – the Basilica of the National Shrine of the
Immaculate Conception – on the occasion of his canonization, the first to take
place on American soil.
Looking
at his unassuming portrait it’s hard to imagine how this 18th century
Spanish friar could have had the faith (and the energy) to found 21 missions
that would become the major cities of modern-day California – names that are
now so familiar they have all but lost their original saintly significance: San
Francisco, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara…
His
own saintliness was solemnly “declared and defined” (according to the formula
of canonization) in Washington DC on Wednesday afternoon. Listening
to the ethnic rhythms of the intercultural choirs and watching the expressions
of prayer-filled devotion, any hint of the controversy that preceded the event
seemed to disappear.
“The
Church treads the dust-laden paths of history”, said Pope Francis in his homily
at the canonization Mass, “in order to encounter her children”. For Junipero
Serra that meant “defending the dignity of the native community, protecting it
from those who had mistreated and abused it”, he said.
That
“culture of encounter” was beautifully expressed during the celebration through
the variety, diversity and inclusiveness of it all: the mix of musical styles,
the readings in Native American and sign language – and another read by a young
woman with Down Syndrome.
In
this context, Junipero Serra’s motto, repeated by Pope Francis several times
during his reflections, seemed to take on a series of new and deeper meanings.
The motto (just in case you don’t know it) is: “Always go forward. Never go
back”.
Going
forward with Pope Francis in the United States – I’m Seàn-Patrick Lovett
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