6
Blessed Junipero Serra
November 5, 2013
T
he Valley Catholic
International scholars discuss Blessed
Junipero Serra in historical context
Majorcans and Californians met (l-r) Greg Lynch, artist Elaine Morrison, Louise Stagnito,
Pedro Iriondo and Sal Stagnito.
Groups from Majorca, California meet,
celebrate Serra’s birthday
The 300 th anniversary of Blessed
Junipero Serra’s birth is Nov. 24. Two
groups met early for a celebration luncheon. One group was the “Expedition
to Junipero’s California Missions” from
Palma, Majorca.
They were on a tour of the California Missions with stops at the Serra
exhibit at the Huntington Library,
the San Diego de Alcalá Mission, the
San Juan Capistrano Mission and San
Francisco.
Tour leader Pedro Iriondo said,
“When I met Greg Lynch, then President of the USA Council of Serra
International, in Majorca last June we
talked about getting our two groups together.” On Oct. 9 the two groups met
at Little Napoli Restaurant in Carmel.
Lynch’s group, the Serra Club of Santa
Clara, welcomed the Majorcans.
The Majorcans presented lapel pins
with an image of Blessed Serra to the
Americans. The Americans presented
pins celebrating Serra’s 300th birthday
to the Majorcans.
Iriondo presented a silver replica of
a windmill, symbol of Majorca, to Greg
Lynch. Lynch unveiled a painting of
the Carmel Mission for the Majorcans.
A plaque was included to hang with
the painting in the Serra Museum in
Petra, Majorca. It read: “To the People
of Majorca from Louise and Sal Stagnito, former President of the United
States Council of Serra International,
Carmel, California, October 9, 2013.”
The Stagnitos introduced artist
Elaine Morrison whose main focus
is religious art. She lives in Monterey
and her paintings have won prizes in
international art shows and can be purchased at the Carmel mission gift shop.
-- Audry L. Lynch
(Part I of this article was published in
the Oct. 22 edition of The Valley Catholic.
This year, Nov. 24, marks the 300th birthday of Junipero Serra.)
By Audry L. Lynch
Part II
When Blessed Serra started his
ministry in Mexico City, his five missions in Mexico bore no resemblance
to the nine missions he later founded
in California. Pamela Huckins (art
and architecture historian) provided
a paper explaining that the Missions
in Sierra Gordo followed the Spanish
Basilica Model. They are similar to
each other and each façade shows the
patron saint to which each church is
dedicated.
Blessed Serra could indulge his
tastes in colors, decorations and painting because, in Mexico, he had easy access to artists and artisans. He believed
in the power of images to help convert
the native people, but in California he
had to find his own artists. He desired
paintings and sculptures signed by
their creators. Future mission builders
followed his lead.
Cynthia Lewis (Rio Hondo College)
spoke of the influences of France on art
in religious institutions. Blessed Serra
met the artist José de Páez who favored
the rococo style and who used light
and soft colors. Many wealthy women
with large dowries were entering convents so they commissioned religious
paintings from Páez. For Blessed Serra,
Páez created a huge painting of St.
Francis for one of the missions.
In California, José Refugio de
www.darlingandfischer.com • www.losgatosmemorialpark.com
Garden Chapel
(408) 998-2226
San Jose
FD -557
Campbell Memorial Chapel
(408) 379-5010
Campbell
FD-898
Chapel of the Hills
(408) 354-7740
Los Gatos
FD-940
Los Gatos Memorial Park
(408) 356-4151
San Jose
In Loving Memory
Son Le
Hedwig Loef?er
Manuel J. Salsa
Joseph Schreckenghaust
Vedasto Padilla
Maureen Raine
Marilyn Romanello
CATHOLIC
COUNSELORS
Gwendolyn Weschler
Angelita Zaragoza
Andrea Habing • Phil Hudelson • Jeff Fischer • Bill Smith • Frank Tong
www.valleycatholiconline.com
One of the many artistic renderings of
Padre Junipero Serra.
‘What did Blessed Serra
look like? There are so many
representations of him that no
one knows for sure.’
laTorre Curiel (Universad de Guadalajara/El Colegio de Jalisco) explained
that Franciscan friars viewed the
missions as active population centers.
Missionaries needed the help of the
soldiers who forced the natives to live
at the missions where they worked
hard and sometimes started to rebel.
Soldiers wanted control of the natives
and thought the priests should only
administer sacraments.
What did Blessed Serra look like?
There are so many representations of
him that no one knows for sure. Steve
Hackel (UC, Riverside) and Michael
Komanecky (curator of the Farnsworth
Art Museum, Maine) gave examples.
The huge awkward statue of him that
overlooks Highway 280 (San Mateo),
rendered by Louis Dubois, has been a
subject of controversy.
One of the first representations of
Serra was commissioned by Jane Stanford, of Stanford University, who envisioned Serra as a courageous American
pioneer. That statue was placed at the
Monterey Presidio. Governor James
Phelan ??[Z\??[?YHK?KY??? ?] YB???\??H ?X? ?[? ?[???[??]B?\????H? H[?H ?X[\?X? ?\ ?\?[?][??\?H Z[?[?? ???[??Y ?B??\??H] H[??\?Y?H KH ?X[[???X?? K ?X?Z]?[??\?\???[][?[?????HY?[????Y[????\?[?K?B?Z[?[??[???[?Y^X???] K?H??X?X[ ? ?Z]??\??H?? H?]\?H??\??[??^?][? ?\? Z[?Y[? NN
??H?[????Y?Y\?K?? ??\?????X[?X??H
?\?]???H?\?????\?]\?][KXZ[?JB??ZY H ??H? HZ\??[?\?H[?\?\? Y?K?H?Y[ ? H?\? ?] YH??\??B?\?[? H?[??\???Z\??[?[??\?Y[ ????[?H[???X][??T?H??[??[??\??K?X?Y??S? ?L?L? KM?MN??X??]N? ?\??]\?????Y? [?? ?? [?? P??X?\? ??]
M?KLNN ???