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<p>In 2016, <a href="https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/cotidie/2016/documents/papa-francesco-cotidie_20160503_making-our-way.html">Pope Francis meditated</a> on the many ways to journey. He said that in life there are spiritual mummies, misguided wanderers, those who go astray, and those who stop midway. The Holy Father went on to quote St. Teresa of Ávila to accentuate what baptized Christians are to do each day: “We are walking in order to arrive at the encounter with Jesus.”</p>
<p>During Jubilee 2025, an encounter is happening through an expression of hope: Eucharistic pilgrimages.</p>
<p>The<a href="https://www.eucharisticpilgrimage.org/"> Eucharistic Pilgrimage Drexel Route</a> has been making its way from Indianapolis to Los Angeles. Another Eucharistic Pilgrimage,<a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.caminodecalifornia.org/__;!!GfxeEQ!Tg-H3pu6jYGoHos8kiYWC_jYv3mgaQENrE-15s2Tnq48XOJR0yp9X_FNtBgfFu-duml-hOFuVNVJE2ffjN8%24"> Camino de California</a>, started at Mission San Francisco Solano (at Sonoma) on June 6. Its pilgrims met up with their fellow sojourners, who started in the Midwest the weekend of Corpus Christi. Camino de California pilgrims have been following the California Missions Trail.</p>
<p>The 21 California missions, started by St. Junípero Serra (1713-1784), dot the nation’s most populous state for 800 miles. The first, Mission San Diego de Alcalá, was consecrated in 1769. The last, Mission San Francisco Solano, popularly known as Mission Sonoma, was founded in 1823.</p>
<p>St. Junípero Serra, the Mallorcan-born Franciscan priest, entered San Diego in 1769 and founded the first of nine during his tenure as Father President. He was 57 years old when he was given the opportunity to fulfill his dream of bringing the gospel to the nations.</p>
<p>One does not have to go to Mexico City, Spain, Rome or Jerusalem for a meaningful pilgrimage experience. California, home to more than<a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/cacatholic.org/about__;!!GfxeEQ!Tg-H3pu6jYGoHos8kiYWC_jYv3mgaQENrE-15s2Tnq48XOJR0yp9X_FNtBgfFu-duml-hOFuVNVJHVMQjJA%24"> 11 million Catholics</a>, has a pilgrimage route that follows in the footsteps of St. Junípero Serra and his confrères. </p>
<h3>5 Reasons to Hit the Trail</h3>
<p>After making a pilgrimage on the CMT, here are my top five reasons, in no particular order, why one should consider deepening their faith on the <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=22722__;!!GfxeEQ!Tg-H3pu6jYGoHos8kiYWC_jYv3mgaQENrE-15s2Tnq48XOJR0yp9X_FNtBgfFu-duml-hOFuVNVJ0NFYs5U%24">California Missions Trail</a>:</p>
<p><b>1. The Land</b></p>
<p>One experiences the Pacific Ocean and Coastal Range for much of the walk. One travels through the traditional lands of the Acjachemem, Chalon, Chumash, Coast Miwok, Esselen, Kumeyaay, Maidu, Miwok, Mutsun, Ohlone (Costanoan), Patwin, Quechnajuichom, Rumsen, Salinan, Southern Pomo, Suisunes, Tataviem, Tongva, Wappo, Wintu and Yokuts.</p>
<p>Today cities with Spanish names dot the trail, like San Diego, Los Angeles, San Jose and San Francisco.</p>
<p>Author Richard Rodriguez wrote in a 1987 <i>Los Angeles Times</i> article about the missions’ impact: “To live here [California] is to submit to the names, to the ruins of a Spanish adventure, to live among Spanish.” </p>
<p><b>2. Meet Great People</b></p>
<p>There is a group devoted to helping pilgrims, the<a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/missionwalk.org/__;!!GfxeEQ!Tg-H3pu6jYGoHos8kiYWC_jYv3mgaQENrE-15s2Tnq48XOJR0yp9X_FNtBgfFu-duml-hOFuVNVJ1Q1pmoc%24"> California Mission Walkers</a>. Their hospitality is second to none. Many assist pilgrims along the way by opening their homes and providing meals, showers, warm beds and great conversation.</p>
<p>Other notable groups that organize walks along the CMT are<a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.caminoserra.com/__;!!GfxeEQ!Tg-H3pu6jYGoHos8kiYWC_jYv3mgaQENrE-15s2Tnq48XOJR0yp9X_FNtBgfFu-duml-hOFuVNVJTPflLCE%24"> Camino Serra</a>,<a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.stserrapilgrimage.org/__;!!GfxeEQ!Tg-H3pu6jYGoHos8kiYWC_jYv3mgaQENrE-15s2Tnq48XOJR0yp9X_FNtBgfFu-duml-hOFuVNVJf06bRNc%24"> Saint Junipero Serra Walking Pilgrimage</a>,<a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.caminodesonoma.com/__;!!GfxeEQ!Tg-H3pu6jYGoHos8kiYWC_jYv3mgaQENrE-15s2Tnq48XOJR0yp9X_FNtBgfFu-duml-hOFuVNVJ5wBD43A%24"> Camino de Sonoma</a> and<a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.caminoca.us/__;!!GfxeEQ!Tg-H3pu6jYGoHos8kiYWC_jYv3mgaQENrE-15s2Tnq48XOJR0yp9X_FNtBgfFu-duml-hOFuVNVJtU_r9Ks%24"> the California Camino</a>.</p>
<p><b>3. Pray at the Grave of the Apostle of California</b></p>
<p>St. Junípero Serra founded Mission San Carlos Borroméo in Monterey, the second of the 21 California missions, on June 3, 1770. It was moved to its current location in Carmel on Aug. 1, 1771. While in Carmel, pilgrims from all over the world visit the grave of the saint Pope Francis called the “Evangelizer of the West.”</p>
<p><b>4. Visit Vibrant Catholic Communities</b></p>
<p>The faith is alive and well at 18 of the missions.</p>
<p>The Shrine of Saint Junípero Serra at Carmel Mission Basilica is visited by people from all over the world.</p>
<p>Mission San Buenaventura, the ninth and final mission founded by Serra, was elevated to a minor basilica by Pope Francis on June 9, 2020.</p>
<p>Though not a parish, a priest from the local Catholic parish, Our Lady of Solitude, celebrates Mass at Mission Nuestra Señora de la Soledad once a month. Mission La Purísima Concepción (at Lompoc) and Mission San Francisco Solano (at Sonoma) are state parks.</p>
<p>Mission San Antonio de Padua, a small and active parish, is arguably the most authentic of the 21 missions. Visiting it is like stepping back to the times of the friars.</p>
<p><b>5. When in California, Do As the Californians Do</b></p>
<p>The California Missions Trail skirts Disneyland, a fun respite from the urban sprawl. Sonoma Valley and Napa Valley offer some of the finest wines in the world (if you enjoy a glass or two, remember where the first grapes in California came from, the Spanish padres). Spots in the Beach Boys song “Surfin’ USA” are along the trail too — San Onofre, La Jolla, Ventura and Santa Cruz.</p>
<p>St. Junípero Serra, Apostle of California, and Pablo Tac, holy California mission Indian, seminarian and scholar, pray for us! <i>¡Siempre adelante y nunca para atrás! </i>(Always forward, never backward!)</p>
<p><i>Christian Clifford writes about the history of the Catholic Church in Spanish and Mexican California. His latest book, </i>Pilgrimage: In Search of the REAL California Missions<i> — the story of his 800-mile walk along the California Missions Trail — received a Catholic Media Association Book Award. He can be reached at</i><a href="https://missions1769.com/"><i> Missions1769.com</i></a><i>.</i></p>
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<br /><a href="https://www.ncregister.com/blog/clifford-five-reasons-california-missions-trail">Source link </a></p>
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5 Reasons to Make a Pilgrimage on the California Missions Trail| National Catholic Register
