Catholic Church removes Junípero Serra statue from San Luis Obispo Mission
The Catholic Church abruptly removed a long-standing statue of Junípero Serra from the San Luis Obispo Mission on Monday, amid a reassessment of the missionary’s controversial history that includes abuses against Native Americans.
The statue was brought down by a work crew at about noon Monday to “safeguard the statute and to protect it from vandalism,” a spokeswoman for the Diocese of Monterey, which owns the Mission property, said Monday.
The statue’s removal follows weeks of protests against systematic oppression of ethnic minorities. Similar statues of the Catholic priest have been toppled by protesters in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
After the statue was removed from its base Monday and wheeled to a nearby storage room in the church, the Rev. Kelly Vandehey referred all questions to the Diocese of Monterey.
Erica Yanev, spokeswoman for the Diocese of Monterey, said the removal was for the protection of the monument. Yanev provided a news release from the California Catholic Conference that defended the legacy of Serra, who the conference said “made heroic sacrifices to protect the indigenous people of California.”
San Luis Obispo Mayor Heidi Harmon said in an Instagram post that she was pleased to see the statue removed.
“I’m reaching out to the diocese to confirm, but it appears that they have proactively taken down the sculpture of Junipero Serra,” she said.. “So grateful to see this painful reminder removed from our public space. Thank you to the church for doing the right thing and proactively taking this down.”
Serra founded SLO Mission
Junípero Serra was an 18th-century Franciscan friar who led the California mission system during the era of Spanish colonization. He founded Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa in 1772.
The Mission system’s goal was to convert the Native American population to Catholicism and Western culture. Indigenous customs and beliefs were banned, and Native Americans were subjected to well-documented abuses.
Serra was canonized as a saint by the church in 2015, a controversial move that resulted in several statues being toppled and graves damaged at the Carmel Mission, where his remains are buried.
Across the country, demonstrations that began after the death of George Floyd — a Black man who died in Minneapolis after a police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes — have grown to push for the removal of monuments to people who contributed to the oppression of minorities.
Statues of historical figures such as Ulysses S. Grant, Francis Scott Key, Theodore Roosevelt, and Christopher Columbus have either been overturned, voluntarily removed, or faced calls for their removal in recent years.
Following the toppling of Serra’s statue in San Francisco, Archbishop Salvadore Cordileone said in a statement: “What is happening to our society? 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.”
In their statement Monday, the California Catholic Conference referenced Cordileone’s statement and condemned recent vandalism.
“The movement to confront racism within our society during these past weeks has been at times challenging, but it has provided bold new hope for every American that our nation can begin to transform key elements of our racist past and present,” the statement reads. “We vigorously and wholeheartedly support a broad national coalition, especially in its peaceful dedication to eliminating racism against members of the African-American and Native American communities.”
“During the past week, the specific question of removing statues of political, military, and cultural leaders of the past has gained momentum. If this process is to be truly effective as a remedy for racism, it must discern carefully the entire contribution that the historical figure in question made to American life, especially in advancing the rights of marginalized peoples,” the statement reads.
“In calling for the removal of images of Saint Junipero Serra from public display in California, and in tearing down his statue in San Francisco and in Los Angeles, protesters have failed that test,” the conference said.
The organization said that Serra made “heroic sacrifices to protect the indigenous people of California from their Spanish
conquerors, especially the soldiers,” and that despite an infirmed leg, Serra “walked to Mexico City to obtain special faculties of governance from the Viceroy of Spain in order to discipline the military who were abusing the Indians.”
“The historical truth is that Serra repeatedly pressed the Spanish authorities for better treatment of the Native American communities,” the organization said. “Serra was not simply a man of his times. In working with Native Americans, he was a man ahead of his times who made great sacrifices to defend and serve the indigenous population and work against an oppression that extends far beyond the mission era.”
It continues: “And if that is not enough to legitimate a public statue in the state that he did so much to create, then virtually every historical figure from our nation’s past will have to be removed for their failings measured in the light of today’s standards.”
On Monday, San Luis Obispo resident Jeff Wilde posted a photo of the removal on the Facebook group SLO County Protest Watch, with many commenters supportive of the move.
“That was freaking quick!!! Go SLO!” wrote Kelli Stein.
“So glad,” wrote Jeff Mitchell.
This article has been updated to correct the spelling of Jeff Wilde’s name
This story was originally published June 22, 2020 at 3:24 PM.
