(George Lavender/KQED) Its author, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, called the removal "the latest example" of how "a renewed national movement to heal memories and correct the injustices of racism and police brutality in our country has been hijacked by some into a movement of violence, looting and vandalism." But Serra’s defenders say that Serra was actually an advocate for native people and a champion of human rights. CNA Staff, Jun 29, 2020 / 01:45 pm MT ().-After a mob tore down statues, including a figure of St. Junípero Serra statue, in a San Francisco ⦠A statue of Father Junípero Serra outside the San Gabriel Mission. Statues or other monuments to Father Serra are found on the grounds of several other mission churches, including those in San Diego and Santa Clara. We provide news about the Church and the world, as seen through the teachings of the Catholic Church. At Catholic News Agency, our team is committed to reporting the truth with courage, integrity, and fidelity to our faith. The statues were torn down Friday evening from Golden Gate Park, by a group of about 100 people. A priest in the Franciscan order of the Catholic Church, Father Serra was charged with leading the development of the California mission system beginning in 1768. ⢠Media related to Father Junipero Serra by Douglas Tilden at Wikimedia Commons Archbishop performs exorcism where St. Junipero Serra statue was toppled By Brandon Showalter, CP Reporter Follow Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, head of the archdiocese of San Francisco, stands at the site where Father Junipero Serra's statue once stood in San Franciscoâs Golden Gate Park. A statue of JunÃpero Serra was installed in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, in the U.S. state of California. In 2017, Gomez praised Serra as an overlooked American founder. Activists just toppled the Junipero Serra statue in Golden Gate Park here in San Francisco, Now they’re onto Francis Scott Key, slave owner and writer of the Star Spangled Banner pic.twitter.com/Ykv0hFMZvK. In 2018, San Francisco’s city government removed a statue of the saint from a prominent location outside City Hall. Father Junipero Serra was an 18th-century Spanish missionary priest and the father of the California mission system. The statue of Junipero Serra was also toppled Friday night, Serra established the California Missions and is ⦠Catholic News, San Francisco, California, Junipero Serra. This monument, a tribute to Father Junípero Serra, was erected near Camellia Grove in Capitol Park in 1965. San Francisco Archbishop Outraged Over Toppling Of Golden Gate Park Junipero Serra Statue SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF/AP) â San Francisco Archbishop Salvadore Cordileone has voiced harsh criticism of protesters who toppled a statue of Catholic missionary Junipero Serra in Golden Gate Park during a weekend Juneteenth demonstration. [1] Other statues of JunÃpero Serra were involved as the protests expanded to include monuments of individuals associated with the controversy over the genocide of indigenous peoples in the Americas. Almost two weeks ago, a mob of about 200 people vandalized and toppled a statue of Father Junípero Serra in Pelosiâs hometown of San Francisco in Golden Gate Park. / This is sacrilege. A statue of Catholic missionary Father Junipero Serra was pulled down in San Francisco park on Friday. The cross heâs holding, the rosary around his belt, none of these were treated with respect. A statue of Father Junipero Serra in downtown Los Angeles was toppled on Saturday. ... Francis Scott Key and former President Ulysses S. Grant were overturned in San Franciscoâs Golden Gate Park. (Credit: Cbl62/wikimedia. A violent horde toppled a CA statue of a great missionary and Catholic saint, Father Junipero Serra in San Francisco. A statue of Catholic missionary St. Junipero Serra was toppled in a San Francisco park Friday, along with statues of Francis Scott Key and Ulysses S. Grant. It had first been erected in 1907 and sculpted by Douglas Tilden. SAN RAFAEL, Calif. (KGO) -- The fallout continues following the desecration of a statue of Father Junipero Serra outside St. Raphael Church in San Rafael. By Evan Symon, June 22, 2020 5:13 pm During the weekend, two statues of Father Junipero Serra, a Spanish priest who established several missions in California in the 1770âs and helped lead to the settlement of the state, were removed by protesters in Los Angeles and San Francisco. The arts commission started the removal process after demonstrators clashed over the removal of a Confederate statue in Charlottesville, Virginia, last August. A statue of Junipero Serra rests face down at Father Serra Park, across the street from Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles Saturday, June ⦠Around the country, protestors and rioters this week have pulled down statues of historic figures. Pope Francis canonized the Franciscan missionary Pope Francis in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 23, 2015. [ citation needed ] A statue on Serra Avenue was removed by the city of Carmel on June 24, 2020 for safekeeping after some other statues in California were removed by protestors. A statue of Serra was torn down by demonstrators in San Franciscoâs Golden Gate Park on June 19, and one was torn down in Los Angeles on the same day. KTVU. During the eighteenth century, the saint founded nine Catholic missions in the area that would later become California, many of those missions would go on to become the centers of major California cities. BY CC 2.0, After St. Junipero Serra statue is torn down, San Francisco archbishop says protests being ‘hijacked’ by violence, After St. Junípero Serra statue torn down, Archbishop Cordileone offers exorcism prayers, San Francisco archbishop performs exorcism at site of destroyed St. Junipero Serra statue, Argentine boy saved from stray bullet by crucifix, Pope Francis at Epiphany Mass: ‘If we do not worship God, we will worship idols’, Father Michael Pfleger, activist Chicago priest, faces claim of abusing minor, ‘Amen’ is not gendered, and ‘A-woman’ is nonsense, Hebrew scholar says, Man who filmed 'prank video' at Mass in Canada charged with hate crime, The College of Cardinals in 2021: Who could vote in a future papal conclave. He learned how to bring to birth and nurture God’s life in the faces of everyone he met; he made them his brothers and sisters.”. In one case, the priest intervened to spare the lives of several California natives who had attacked a Spanish outpost. Serra himself was abusive. To support it is to cease to be Catholic.â [2], List of monuments and memorials removed during the George Floyd protests, "Demonstrators Topple Statues in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park", "Historical statues toppled as rage spills into San Francisco's Golden Gate Park", Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument, Florida's Tribute to the Women of the Confederacy, Christopher Columbus (Columbus State Community College), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Statue_of_JunÃpero_Serra_(San_Francisco)&oldid=997646727, Monuments and memorials removed during the George Floyd protests, California articles missing geocoordinate data, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 1 January 2021, at 15:40. They note the many native people he helped during his life, and their outpouring of grief at his death. CC BY SA 4.0) CNA Staff, Jul 16, 2020 / 12:55 pm (CNA).- ⦠| ⦠St. Junípero Serra fought to protect my ancestors â and bring them the Gospel of Jesus Christ Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, head of the archdiocese of San Francisco at the site where Father Junipero Serra's statue once stood in San Franciscoâs Golden Gate Park. Activists just toppled the Junipero Serra statue in Golden Gate Park here in San Francisco Tags: “He was excited about blazing trails, going forth to meet many people, learning and valuing their particular customs and ways of life. WHY FATHER SERRA IS A SAINT Andrew Galvan points to the entry for his great-great-great-great-grandfather in an early baptismal registry for Mission San Francisco de Asís, also known as Mission Dolores, in San Francisco. “Junípero sought to defend the dignity of the native community, to protect it from those who had mistreated and abused it,” the pope said in his homily at the Mass of canonization. A statue of the saint remains displayed in the U.S. Capitol. Credit: scupperssf/wikimedia. When you subscribe to the CNA UPDATE, we'll send you a daily email with links to the news you need. “Remembering St. Junípero and the first missionaries changes how we remember our national story. Last week, a statue of Father Junipero Serra at Father Serra Park in downtown Los Angeles was toppled, as was a statue of Serra at San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, along with statues of ⦠All that remains is the concrete base. CNA Staff, Jun 20, 2020 / 09:41 am MT (CNA).- A statue of Catholic missionary St. Junipero Serra was toppled in a San Francisco park Friday, ⦠SAN RAFAEL (AP) â The archbishop of San Francisco performed a short exorcism ceremony Saturday outside a Catholic church where protesters had earlier toppled a statue of Father Junipero Serra, saying the ceremony was intended to drive out evil and defend the image of Serra. Statues of St. Junipero Serra deserve to stay Home; ... was an abolitionist but also continued genocidal policies against the Indians. St. Junípero Serra statue torn down in San Francisco Park by Catholic News Agency June 20, 2020; Person attempts to decapitate statue of rnSt. The statues ⦠The statues were torn down Friday evening from Golden Gate Park, by a group of about 100 people. While some protests have torn down the statutes of Confederate figures, as part of a call to end systemic racism, other statues have also been torn down from prominent locations, including one of George Washington. ⦠2 statues removed, one more in works Biographers note that Serra frequently intervened for native people when they faced persecution from Spanish authorities. âWhat is ⦠A statue of Catholic missionary St. Junípero Serra was toppled in a San Francisco park Friday, along with statues of Francis Scott Key and Ulysses S. Grant. LATEST June 21, 6 a.m.: San Francisco Archbishop Salvadore Cordileone criticized the pulling down of the Junipero Serra statue in Golden Gate Park. A statue of Spanish missionary Father Junipero Serra in downtown Sacramento, California, ... Last month protesters pulled down Serra statues in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Statue of St. Junipero Serra in Golden Gate Park. CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec. “In his appeals, he said some truly remarkable things about human dignity, human rights and the mercy of God,” the archbishop added. Catholic leaders gathered for a peaceful demonstration in San Rafael Tuesday with a message of forgiveness to protesters who tore down the statue of Father Junipero Serra Monday. The statue in Golden Gate Park was first placed in 1907, and was crafted by well known American sculptor Douglas Tilden. This twitter user wrote, âThey pulled down a statue of St. Junípero Serra in San Francisco. View of Father Serra Statue and California Street from steps of Ventura City Hall. CNA Staff, Jun 20, 2020 / 09:41 am MT (CNA).- A statue of Catholic missionary St. Junipero Serra was toppled in a San Francisco park Friday, along with statues of Francis Scott Key and Ulysses S. Grant. RELATED: Christopher Columbus statue removed at Coit Tower in San Francisco. Serra helped to convert thousands of native Californians to Christianity and taught them new agricultural technologies. The memorial was toppled during the George Floyd protests in June 2020. Other California cities have moved Serra statues to avoid their toppling, or plan to do so. A statue of St. Junipero Serra, which was defaced and torn down by protesters Oct. 12, at Mission San Rafael Arcangel in San Rafael, California. America’s first beginnings were spiritual,” Gomez said in a 2017 homily. [2] Demonstrators also toppled or otherwise vandalized the statues of Francis Scott Key (author of the lyrics to The Star-Spangled Banner), Ulysses S. Grant, and a group consisting of Don Quixote and his companion, Sancho Panza kneeling to honor their creator, Cervantes. A gathering of Indigenous people from the Miwok Tribe tore down a statue of Junipero Serra in San Rafael, Calif., on Oct. 13, 2020. Critics have lambasted Serra as a symbol of European colonialism and said the missions engaged in the forced labor of Native Americans, sometimes claiming Bl. Grant, whose statue was removed, urged ratification of the 15th Amendment, which assures African-Americans the right to vote, and in 1870 created the federal Department of Justice in order to prosecute the Ku Klux Klan. “Mistreatment and wrongs which today still trouble us, especially because of the hurt which they cause in the lives of many people.”, “Junípero Serra left his native land and its way of life,” the Pope continued. 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