Archbishop of San Francisco performs exorcism to 'cleanse protest site of evil' where a statue of a saint had been toppled on Columbus Day
The archbishop of San Francisco performed a short exorcism ceremony Saturday outside a Catholic church where protesters had earlier toppled a statue of Father Junipero Serra, saying the ceremony was intended to drive out evil and defend the image of Serra.
Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone performed the ritual before some 150 supporters before holding a special Mass inside St. Raphael Catholic Church and an expected march to a Planned Parenthood clinic, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Serra was an 18th-century Spanish missionary priest and the father of the California mission system.
San Francisco's Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone conducts an exorcism on Saturday outside of Saint Raphael Catholic Church in San Rafael, California
The exorcism took place on the spot where a statue of St. Junipero Serra was toppled during a protest earlier in the week
Standing on a crowded sidewalk along Fifth Avenue, and occasionally drowned out by traffic noise, Cordileone explained during the ceremony the intention was to drive out evil and defend the image of Serra, whose statue was toppled
The Franciscan priest has long been praised by the church for bringing Roman Catholicism to what is now the western United States, but critics highlight a darker side to his legacy.
In converting Native Americans to Catholicism, critics say he forced them to abandon their culture or face brutal punishment.
Depictions of Serra have been protested and vandalized over the years, and Pope Francis´ decision in 2015 to elevate him to sainthood reopened old wounds.
More recently, protests focusing on the rights and historical struggle of Black and Indigenous people led activists to topple statues of Serra in San Francisco, Sacramento and Los Angeles.
San Francisco's Archbishop Salvatore Joseph Cordileone conducts an exorcism outside of Church of Saint Raphael in San on the spot where a statue of St. Junipero Serra was toppled during a protest October 12.
The 20-minute ceremony, led by Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, featured a lot of prayers — most of them in Latin — and some holy water sprinkled on the bushes
Cordileone then sprinkled holy water on the former home of the Serra statue, the bushes that surrounded it and the crowd that was observing
San Rafael police say they arrested five people on vandalism charges for knocking over the statue on Monday, leaving just the feet attached to the base. The statue is being repaired and will be returned.
Despite characterizations in popular culture, the newspaper reports that exorcism is more commonly a solemn ceremony to evict the devil or evil spirits from an area or person.
Cordileone said prayers in Latin, remarking that 'the experts in the field tell me that Latin tends to be more effective against the devil because he doesn´t like the language of the church.'
San Rafael is north of San Francisco, in the county of Marin.
Serra, a Spanish missionary priest who was proclaimed a saint in 2015, is considered the father of the California mission system, which has been criticized for destroying the cultures of native tribes
The vandalism took place on Columbus Day, which several cities now call Indigenous Peoples’ Day in recognition of the country’s first residents
According to the San Rafael Police Department, five people were arrested for vandalism for knocking over the statue, leaving just the missionary’s feet attached to the concrete base
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October 18, 2020
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