St. Anthony of Padua Fraternity Bulletin
Vol. 13 No. 5   May 2008

Franciscan column
by Kim

In March of this year, I decided to take one last family vacation before my son, C.J. went away to finish his train engineering schooling. I mentioned that I thought it was a good idea, but oh the griping (I don’t like flying, why can’t we go to grandma’s and so on.) As part of the trip (we went to California), we visited the San Juan Capistrano mission that Father Serra founded centuries earlier when the Franciscan priest would travel a day on foot. Their ending location was where the next mission went up.

Some of the remains of some of the other missions remain, but San Juan Capistrano is the biggest and most renowned (read: tourist trap) thanks to the swallows that return from Argentina each year. We looked in vain for the swallows, but did not see any. I asked one of the gardeners where they might be. She showed us a swallow’s nest that had been built 3 years earlier, but sadly, the swallows avoid the mission now because of the build-up of the surrounding areas. Nevertheless, we were impressed with the size of the mission and its encompassing design.

The vision that the Franciscans used, would be relevant today. It was designed with gardens (citrus, vegetables), a church (the original was partially destroyed by an earthquake), a chapel (Mass is still said there daily), a school and working areas (furnace etc.). This self-sustaining system was enclosed with walls (to protect against invaders). The build up of the surrounding area is separated now by these walls.

We were given headsets to listen to the history and stories of the mission. One of the stories involved the bells. These bells were used to notify the city’s inhabitants of when a death occurred. They could tell by which bell was rung the sex of the person who died and their age was also "tolled." This communication system was revolutionary for its time. No cell phones, radios, TVs etc. They relied on the Church for their communication.

For all the griping that the family did about the vacation destination, travel and expense, I think they were glad they went. We saw and learned many different things. I think they now have a better appreciation of what the early church was like in the United States and a deeper sense of Franciscan history.