San Fernando Visit : Beauty of Mission Helped Lure Pope

The restoration of the San Fernando Mission and its popularity with visitors were two strong factors leading to the scheduling of a visit by Pope John Paul II during his tour of California next month, church officials said Thursday.

The Pope will become the first pontiff to visit a mission in California when he appears at the mission Sept. 16, said Father Joseph Battaglia, director of communications for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

The occasion will also mark the first West Coast meeting of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, Battaglia said. About 300 bishops from all over the country are scheduled to meet privately with the Pope after a church service at the mission, he said.

Msgr. Francis J. Weber, the director of the mission, said in a press conference that the Pope had selected the San Fernando site because “it is the best of all the missions. It is the most beautifully restored.”

A Mission Preservation Committee has been overseeing the refurbishing of elaborate displays of Indian artwork at the mission. Much of the artwork was covered up by reconstruction after the 1971 earthquake, said Weber, who is official archivist of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

The mission was named in honor of the sainted 13th-Century King of Spain, Ferdinand III, and was built in 1797.

Weber speculated that the mission was chosen because it is the only one within Los Angeles city limits, and because of its popularity. He said the mission attracts 35,000 visitors a year.

“I think the Pope wants to see what a nice place California is, and he will experience that in San Fernando,” Weber said.

On Sept. 17, the Pope is also scheduled to visit Carmel Mission Basilica in Carmel, and Mission Dolores Basilica in San Francisco. “But he’s visiting the best mission first,” Weber said.

The Pope will conduct a prayer service with the bishops at San Fernando Mission at 9 a.m. on Sept. 16, Battaglia said. “There will be music, singing and prayer.”

The Pope will then lead the bishops into the Queen of Angels seminary, Battaglia said. Details of the meeting were being kept private, and Battaglia said no news media or spectators will be allowed in the meeting.

A private lunch at the mission with the Pope and the bishops will follow the meeting.

Weber said he did not foresee any closure of the mission for security arrangements before the Pope’s visit. “I expect the only day we’ll be closed is the day the Pope is here,” he said.