Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Catholic News

Home

Home
Catholic
Religion News
Bl. Junipero statue in the Capitol is safe – for now

Bl. Junipero statue in the Capitol is safe – for now

Last updated on: July 3, 2015 at 6:42 pm by CNA Daily News

Bl. Junipero statue in the Capitol is safe – for now 2015-07-03T18:42:00+00:00 CNA Daily News

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Los Angeles, Calif., Jul 3, 2015 / 12:42 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- An effort to remove the statue of Bl. Junipero Serra from the U.S. Capitol has been set aside for the time being.

A statue of Franciscan missionary and saint-to-be Father Junipero Serra has stood in the U.S. Capitol since 1931. However, a proposal in the state legislature would have removed it and replaced it with a statue of astronaut Sally Ride, the first American woman to travel to space.

According to the L.A. Times, a vote on the proposal was postponed after the senator who authored it noted the timing of Pope Francis’ trip to the United States this fall, where he will formally declare Bl. Serra a saint. The senator has requested that the proposal be re-considered at a later date.

State legislatures have the authority to decide which two statues will represent their state at the U.S. Capitol.

Bl. Serra’s statue is currently in the National Statuary Hall Collection. His statue cradles a church in his left arm and holds a cross aloft in his outstretched right arm. The website of the Architect of the Capitol, which maintains the statue, describes Fr. Serra as “one of the most important Spanish missionaries in the New World.”

Several lawmakers had objected to the proposal to remove the statue given Bl. Serra’s upcoming canonization, questioning the message that it would send.

The resolution to remove the statue had already passed the state senate, by a 22-10 vote.

Bl. Junipero Serra played a leading role in California history, helping to convert thousands of native Californians to Christianity and teaching them new technologies. The eighteenth century priest founded many of the missions that would go on to become the centers of major California cities.

In a May 2 homily, Pope Francis called Bl. Serra “one of the founding fathers of the United States, a saintly example of the Church’s universality, and special patron of the Hispanic people of the country.”

The Pope will canonize Father Serra Sept. 23 during his visit to Washington, D.C. The priest was beatified Sept. 25, 1988 by Saint John Paul II.

The proposal to remove the statue of the soon-to-be saint was shelved following a heavy campaign to save it. A Spanish-language website, 'Salvemos a Serra', or 'Let's Save Serra', had called on Californians to write their legislators in opposition to the resolution.

“U.S. Hispanics need your support to maintain the presence of our first saint in the U.S. Capitol,” the website said.

'Salvemos a Serra' had also asked supporters of Bl. Serra to sign English- and Spanish-language petitions on the website CitizenGo.org. More than 47,000 did so.

The petitions ask legislators to “defend the memory of this Founding Father of California who protected the Native Americans and had a key role in the formation of this country.”

The petitions were posted by Alejandro Bermudez, executive director of Catholic News Agency.

“In a state that counts Hispanics as its largest ethnic group, California’s elected leaders are about to banish the first and one of the only two Hispanics from statuary hall,” Bermudez said in a May 22 essay at the Latino media website NewsTaco.

“To add insult to injury, they plan to go on the record with this just in time to welcome the first Latin American pope in history to the United States,” he added. “It’s quite the insult to the Pope, who will visit the Capitol and canonize Serra during his September visit–making him the first saint to be named by a pope on American soil.”

Some activist groups have attacked Bl. Serra as a symbol of European colonialism and have characterized the missions as engaged in the forced labor of Native Americans, sometimes claiming Bl. Serra himself was abusive.

Many of Bl. Serra’s defenders vigorously dispute the claims, noting the many natives he helped during his life, and their outpouring of grief at his death.

Previous Post

July 3, 2015

Evangelizing evangelicals – why Pope Francis loves to meet with charismatic movements

Next Post

July 4, 2015 Rebuilt from the ashes: The story of an American basilica

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Americas Asia - Pacific Europe Middle East - Africa Uncategorized US Vatican

Select a Month November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who built an ark to survive the flood?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Moses Jacob Abraham Noah