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Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone is set to offer exorcism prayers at the statue’s former site Oct. 17.
SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — Catholics in California rallied in a peaceful demonstration Tuesday evening at the former site of a statue of St. Junipero Serra, which a group of activists defaced and pulled down earlier this week.
The riot at which the statue was destroyed took place Oct. 12 at Mission San Rafael Arcángel in San Rafael, CA, north of San Francisco Bay.
Father Kyle Faller, parochial vicar at the mission, led a rosary and addressed the crowd of 75-100 people Oct. 13, many of whom held signs saying “Free the Mass,” in reference to the city’s COVID-19 restrictions on public worship, which San Francisco’s archbishop has called unjust.
Fr. Faller also led a Litany of Reparation for the statue’s destruction, as well as the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel. Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone is set to offer exorcism prayers at the statue’s former site Oct. 17.
“Let this be a time for all of you to take courage and not be afraid, as our great Pope St. John Paul II said,” Fr. Faller told the crowd.
“This is what it means that our faith is not restricted to private life or in a church itself. Our faith is meant to be lived in the church but also on the streets, in our homes, in our workplaces.”
St. Serra, an 18th-century Franciscan priest and missionary, is viewed by some activists as a symbol of colonialism and of the abuses that many Native Americans suffered after contact with Europeans. However, historians say the missionary protested abuses and sought to fight colonial oppression.
While many Native peoples did suffer horrific abuse, activists tend to conflate the abuses the Natives suffered long after Serra’s death with the period when Serra was alive and building the missions. Pope Francis canonized Serra in 2015 during a visit to the United States.
Continued below.
After St. Junipero Serra Statue is Destroyed in California, Catholics Gather to Pray
SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — Catholics in California rallied in a peaceful demonstration Tuesday evening at the former site of a statue of St. Junipero Serra, which a group of activists defaced and pulled down earlier this week.
The riot at which the statue was destroyed took place Oct. 12 at Mission San Rafael Arcángel in San Rafael, CA, north of San Francisco Bay.
Father Kyle Faller, parochial vicar at the mission, led a rosary and addressed the crowd of 75-100 people Oct. 13, many of whom held signs saying “Free the Mass,” in reference to the city’s COVID-19 restrictions on public worship, which San Francisco’s archbishop has called unjust.
Fr. Faller also led a Litany of Reparation for the statue’s destruction, as well as the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel. Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone is set to offer exorcism prayers at the statue’s former site Oct. 17.
“Let this be a time for all of you to take courage and not be afraid, as our great Pope St. John Paul II said,” Fr. Faller told the crowd.
“This is what it means that our faith is not restricted to private life or in a church itself. Our faith is meant to be lived in the church but also on the streets, in our homes, in our workplaces.”
St. Serra, an 18th-century Franciscan priest and missionary, is viewed by some activists as a symbol of colonialism and of the abuses that many Native Americans suffered after contact with Europeans. However, historians say the missionary protested abuses and sought to fight colonial oppression.
While many Native peoples did suffer horrific abuse, activists tend to conflate the abuses the Natives suffered long after Serra’s death with the period when Serra was alive and building the missions. Pope Francis canonized Serra in 2015 during a visit to the United States.
Continued below.
After St. Junipero Serra Statue is Destroyed in California, Catholics Gather to Pray
