rra Junipero,
a native of the island of Majorca, who was born on Nov. 24th, 1713. At
the age of 16 years he joined the order of St. Francis of Assisi, and
in 1750 he went as a missionary to the city of Mexico. It was in 1769
that he arrived in San Diego and established its Mission. Proceeding
up the coast he founded other Missions, and his desire was to name one
in honour of the founder of his order. Said he to Don Jose de Galvez,
the leader of the expedition from Mexico to California, "Is St.
Francis to have no Mission?" The answer was, "Let him show us his
port, and he shall have one." In consequence of this the San Francisco
Mission was established. The solemn mass which marked its foundation
was celebrated by Padres Palou, Cambon, Nocedal and Pena; and on the
occasion firearms were discharged as a token of thanks to God,
and also for the purpose of attracting the Indians, though it was
difficult for them to understand it. The Indians were hard to win at
San Francisco, but a piece of cloth, with the image of "Our Lady
de Los Dolores," on it, was exhibited to them and it produced a
marvellous effect. Pictures seem to have a peculiar attraction for the
savage mind. In the Church of Guadaloupe, Mexico, you may see a large
painting of the Mexican Virgin with Indians crowding around her.
The effect of pictures is well illustrated by a scene in the ninth
century, as when, in answer to the request of Bogoris, King of the
Bulgarians, the Emperor Michael, of Constantinople, sent to him a
painter to decorate the hall of his palace with subjects of a terrible
character. It was Methodius, the monk, who was despatched to the
Bulgarian court on this mission, and he took for his theme the Last
Judgment as being the most terrible of all scenes. The representation
of hell so alarmed the king that he cast aside his idols, and many of
his subjects were converted. The Franciscans in their work both in
Mexico and in California understood well the value of pictures in
convincing the untutored mind. Hence it was the custom to have
pictures of heaven and hell on the walls of the Missions. They were
better than sermons. The name of the Mission here was at first, simply
San Francisco de Asis. Then in time Dolores was added to indicate
its locality, because it was west of a Laguna bordered with "Weeping
Willows" or because three Indians had been seen weeping in its
vicinity. Naturally the title of the Virgin would be applied to the
Mission,--N