L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 20 L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018 LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE D ear Readers,  Our C a l i f o r n i a M i s - sions was the title of a Social Studies text book, issued to all California Public School students, back in the days when I was in the fourth grade. As you may hazily recall Father Junipero Serra (1713-1784) was b o r n i n S p a i n . H e b e c a m e a priest in the Franciscan Order in 1730. At that time in history, the Spanish government was colo- nizing much of the New World. A respected scholar and teacher i n h i s o w n c o u n t r y , F a t h e r Juniper Serra wanted something more. He traveled to Mexico w i t h S p a n i s h e x p l o r e r s a n d became a missionary there. He lived among the Mexican Indi- ans and taught them Spanish and Christian principles. Then the Spanish government asked him to manage some missions in Baja, California. In 1769, right before the 13 American colonies won their independence from England, Father Junipero Serra began to settle Upper California for Spain. He founded 9 mis- sions in California, before his death, including Santa Clara de Asis. *** I will focus on Santa Clara since March is the month when International Women's Day, "La Festa delle Donne," is cele- brated and Santa Clara Mission w a s t h e f i r s t M i s s i o n t o b e named after a woman. Clara de Asis was a life-long friend of St. Francis. Her name was Clare. When she was a young noble- woman, Clare was so strongly influenced by Francis of Assisi, she decided to live as he did. She refused to get married, and instead, left her home to become a follower of Francis and live a l i f e o f p o v e r t y , p r a y e r , a n d work. So, Francis started a sec- ond order for women, aka "the Poor Clares," and Clare became its "abbess" or leader. Santa Clara de Asis Near the southern end of San Francisco Bay, on the edge of a world famous fruit growing sec- t i o n , s t a n d s M i s s i o n S a n t a Clara, dedicated to St. Clare, foundress of the Poor Clares, the second order of St. Francis. I n 1 8 5 1 B i s h o p A l e m a n y o f Monterey (later Archbishop of San Francisco) assigned care of the place to the Jesuits. From such humble beginnings grew the University of Santa Clara. In 1926 a disastrous fire destroyed the prosaic frame chapel, which had been erected in 1885. The modern replica is a faithful rep- resentation of the original Mis- sion. *** I t a l i a n C o n n e c t i o n s a l s o abound at Santa Clara Mission because at the 1850 urging of Bishop Joseph Alemany a jesuit priest, Fr. John Nobili, (born April 28 1812 in Rome, Italy - died March 1, 1856 in Santa Clara, Calif.) was the founder of S a n t a C l a r a U n i v e r s i t y i n 1851.  To this day, generous iota- Americans have contributed to major restorations and building expansions at the University. It was Fr. John Nobili, born Pietro Antonio Nobili, an Italian priest of the missionaries in the Oregon Territory, that Bishop A l e m a n y a p p r o a c h e d t o s e e about turning Mission Santa Clara (founded in 1717) which had fallen into serious decay, into a college. This meant trans- ferring the Mission parish from Franciscan ownership to Jesuit o w n e r s h i p , s o o n M a r c h 1 9 , 1 8 5 1 , ( S t . J o s e p h ' s D a y ) M i s s i o n S a n t a C l a r a a n d i t s adjacent lands became the first college of higher learning in the new state of California. Today a restored Mission Santa Clara serves as a student chapel and spiritual heart of Santa Clara University. Visit Santa Clara University, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, California. *** More about the Missions: Early in the sixteenth centu- ry, while Hernando Cortès was b l a z i n g h i s r e m a r k a b l e r o a d across Mexico, the region to the northwest came to be known generally as California. That s a m e i n t r e p i d c o n q u i s t a d o r began the exploration of Lower California, identifying it as a peninsula rather than an island. The first recorded visit to Upper California is that made by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo in 1532. During his epochal voyage that was to carry him around the world, Sir Francis Drake piloted h i s G o l d e n H i n d a l o n g t h i s r u g g e d s h o r e , p a u s i n g l o n g enough to take formal posses- sion of the region, which he christened New Albion. Fearful of her English rival on the seas, Spain commissioned Rodriguez Cermeno in 1595 to survey the Pacific Coast from Cape Men- docino southward. Sebastian Vizcaino's, however, was the most important of the earlier sailings. After establishing the permanent base of La Paz in Baja California, Vizcaino visited Alta California and during the y e a r s 1 6 0 2 - 1 6 0 3 n a m e d S a n Diego, Santa Barbara and dis- covered the Bay of Monterey. The actual occupation of Cali- fornia, however, was deferred some fifteen decades longer. Only when Russia threatened her possession from the north, did Spain finally move to the formal colonization of this last outpost of her far-flung empire. When Carlos III commanded his viceroy in Mexico to pro- ceed to the occupation of what has since become known as the Golden State, Spain was con- cluding three centuries of benef- icent and benevolent coloniza- tion. The manner of occupation in this new adventure was the m i s s i o n s y s t e m w h i c h h a d p r o v e n i t s e l f t o b e t h e m o s t effective manner of winning the natives simultaneously to the C r o s s o f C h r i s t a n d t o t h e Crown of Spain. The fist expedi- tion into a given locality count- ed a small band of soldiers and a group of Catholic missionaries, who in the case of California, were Franciscan priests of the Apostolic College of San Fer- nando in Mexico City. The mili- tary personnel was to found a presidio, which would hold the settlement for the flag of Spain against hostile natives and from any attacking foreign force. The Padres were to establish mis- sions, wherein the natives would be imbued with the Catholic Faith and instructed in the arts and crafts.  In two generations, a hundred and forty Padres baptized over ninety thousand people With the wealth gleaned from field and flock, from tree and vine, their twenty-one missions fed and housed and clothed over twenty thousand Native Americans in the most prosperous year. A b r u p t l y t h i s p r o g r e s s o f i n c r e d i b l e p r o p o r t i o n s w a s brought to an abortive halt. With the secession of Mexico from Spain the administration of Cali- fornia and her glorious missions fell into unsympathetic hands. A premature directive secularized the missions during 1834-1836. The land, health and stores were by law to be distributed among the local population, but almost invariably were seized, or quick- ly acquired, by unscrupulous schemers.  Then came the Gold Rush a n d i n 1 8 5 1 , C a l i f o r n i a w a s admitted to the union as the 31st S t a t e . T h e m i s s i o n e r a w a s over.

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