Angelus News | July 29, 2022 | Vol. 7 No. 15
On the cover: A pilgrim walks on his knees outside the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in 2019. For our special pilgrimage issue, on Page 10 Mike Aquilina writes on how the urge to leave everything and travel afar is as old as Christianity itself. On Page 14, Elise Ureneck recounts the unexpected graces of her last pilgrimage with her late mother, and on Page 16, California historian Stephen Binz points the way to the pilgrim path in our own backyard. On Page 20, Pasadena native Jenny Gorman Patton tells of finding the healing she needed, rather than the one she wanted, at the Marian shrine of Lourdes, France.
On the cover: A pilgrim walks on his knees outside the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in 2019. For our special pilgrimage issue, on Page 10 Mike Aquilina writes on how the urge to leave everything and travel afar is as old as Christianity itself. On Page 14, Elise Ureneck recounts the unexpected graces of her last pilgrimage with her late mother, and on Page 16, California historian Stephen Binz points the way to the pilgrim path in our own backyard. On Page 20, Pasadena native Jenny Gorman Patton tells of finding the healing she needed, rather than the one she wanted, at the Marian shrine of Lourdes, France.
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
The apostle of California<br />
SoCal Catholics have an opportunity<br />
for pilgrimage in their own backyard —<br />
tracing the path of St. Junípero Serra.<br />
BY STEPHEN J. BINZ / PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEPHEN J. BINZ<br />
Bell tower of Mission San Diego in San Diego.<br />
At the heart of pilgrimage is a<br />
longing that has fascinated and<br />
compelled the human spirit<br />
from time immemorial. And this<br />
ancient practice is experiencing a<br />
growing attraction and taking on new<br />
forms today. In fact, America now has<br />
its own pilgrim way: the road connecting<br />
the California missions of St.<br />
Junípero Serra, canonized in 20<strong>15</strong>.<br />
In ancient times, pilgrimage often<br />
involved distant travel along hazardous<br />
roads and across perilous<br />
seas. Today, Christians continue to<br />
make long journeys along ancient<br />
pilgrimage routes — the path of Jesus<br />
through Galilee to Jerusalem, the way<br />
of the early martyrs in Rome, and the<br />
Camino of Santiago de Compostela<br />
— seeking the transforming power<br />
that seems to reside in these sacred<br />
places.<br />
But such distant travel is not necessary<br />
to experience a pilgrimage. More<br />
and more people are discovering that<br />
a journey in the way of America’s<br />
great missionary saint, the apostle of<br />
California, is a superb way of absorbing<br />
his saintly passion and love for the<br />
Gospel. Travelers today, like pilgrims<br />
of old, are experiencing a transforming<br />
journey along the Camino — the<br />
pilgrim way.<br />
St. Junípero’s motto — “¡Siempre<br />
Adelante!” (“Always Forward!”) — expresses<br />
his courageous life, bringing<br />
the good news of Jesus Christ to the<br />
Native Americans of California. By<br />
traveling his Camino with a pilgrim’s<br />
heart, we can prepare ourselves to<br />
continue, in our own way, the journey<br />
forward that he began in California<br />
from 1769 to his death in 1784. By<br />
embodying his spirit on pilgrimage,<br />
we can become more missionary in<br />
our discipleship and more evangelical<br />
in our Catholicism.<br />
Traveling the Camino<br />
The missions — 21 in number, beginning<br />
in San Diego and stretching<br />
to Sonoma, north of San Francisco<br />
Bay — were the inspiration of St.<br />
Junípero. As he envisioned them, the<br />
16 • ANGELUS • <strong>July</strong> <strong>29</strong>, <strong>2022</strong>
Change language