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Procession honors Serra, Ventura mission founder
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Eric Parsons / Star staff Virginia Schofield and her dog Sashi watch a procession led by San Buenaventura Mission parishioner Eddie Ramirez, center, and Orlando Angelia, a visiting priest.
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Photos by Eric Parsons / Star staff Virginia Schofield and her dog Sashi watch a procession led by San Buenaventura Mission parishioner Eddie Ramirez, center, and Orlando Angelia, a visiting priest.
Led by their new pastor, parishioners of San Buenaventura Mission marched down Main Street on Sunday afternoon in honor of the mission's founder, Father Junipero Serra.
The procession was part of a yearlong celebration of the landmark's 225th anniversary and a welcome for Father Jim Anguiano as church leader. The Ventura native will take the place of the Rev. Damian Fernand, who will stay on as the church's senior priest.
Anguiano, 52, grew up in Sacred Heart Parish in Saticoy. He graduated from St. Bonaventure High School, then went on to Ventura College and St. John's Seminary in Camarillo. After earning a Master of Divinity, Anguiano was ordained in 1982.
Before accepting a six-year tenure at the Ventura mission, Anguiano served as pastor of St. Anthony Church in El Segundo.
As pastor of the mission, he will be responsible for the Catholic parish, its Holy Cross School, and promoting and maintaining the mission as a tourist attraction.
On Sunday, he joined the procession, carrying a shepherd's crook carved by a parishioner. The group gathered in front of City Hall before the statue of Serra, then walked to the church on Main Street.
During a service afterward, John Vaughn, former minister general of the worldwide Franciscan Order, discussed Serra's legacy. San Buenaventura was the ninth California mission founded by the Franciscan priest and the last before he died from the bite of a poisonous snake in 1784.
Serra is both an iconic and controversial figure. He is undergoing the lengthy process of the Catholic Church's canonization for sainthood, a move opposed by some.
American Indians and academics criticize the harsh conditions of mission life for Indians, including beatings that Serra supported.
"A professor of mine once said, Never remove a human being from his context,' " Vaughn said. "We cannot judge him by the standards of today."
Posted by Tom_Johnston on July 2, 2007 at 6:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I think the behavior of people such as Father Serra needs to be evaluated on both the context of our time and that of his....or whoever it is that we sit here and armchair quarterback.
No doubt that the "Chistianizaton" of the New World, often by Catholics, but other denominations as well had it's abuses and moments of glory.
Whatever all the erratta of this era...these are the works of Man. There is nothing divine about any of it. Man (and I do mean men..not women) have greatly influenced the churches of all stripes, often not to the will of the God they would purport to serve.
I'm not a Catholic, not hardly even a "Christian" whatever that means (ask ten denominations..get ten different answers)..but I'll venture that Father Anguiano, as a man of this time and this era is a man of good will...well, we have to hope that he is...kind of a faith thing there...
Good luck to him and his parish in this time.
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