Duke’s Grandson, Pilgrim in Spirit

John Wayne’s grandson Matthew Munoz returned to the chapel of his youth Sunday as a newly ordained Roman Catholic priest, sharing the story of his own spiritual struggle that began with boyhood misadventures on Balboa Island.

“Me and my brothers raised hell here,” Munoz joked as he opened 10 a.m. Mass at St. John Vianney Chapel on the island, drawing bursts of laughter. “And now we’re going to try to bring a little heaven back.”

Munoz, 37, is the eldest of five children born to Melinda and Gregory Munoz. His mother is a daughter of John Wayne and his first wife, Josephine. His dad, now remarried, is a judge in Santa Ana. His parents, grandmother and other relatives filled the front pews for the hourlong service.

“It’s the most wonderful thing that ever happened,” said Josephine Wayne, who traveled from Los Angeles for the occasion. “It’s a great gift from God.”

With wavy dark hair and a goatee, Munoz cuts a cleaner image than during his soul-searching years. Even he pokes fun of the way he used to look, when he considered himself a hermit and let his hair and beard grow past his waist.

He began his sermon with candid confessions about some of the mischief he and his siblings got into during their summer romps in Balboa, the family’s seaside escape from their home in Tustin.

The Munoz boys used to have a contest, he recalled, in which they threw cats as far as they could into the ocean to see if they could swim back.

“This Mass would be offered in reparation of the terrible things we did here as kids,” Munoz said, offering his apologies to any cat owners who may have been affected by his actions.

Munoz also acknowledged the struggle of his own spiritual journey. He spent the early 1990s in seminary, but left in 1993, unsure whether he wanted to devote his life to God or get married and start a family. He spent the next seven years teaching high school and working with the poor in Mexico before resuming his studies, on the counsel of Msgr. Lawrence Baird, pastor at St. John Vianney. He will be assigned to St. Edward’s Catholic Church in Dana Point.

Munoz told parishioners that he felt like St. Peter, because he “was always missing the point.” He cautioned them not to miss the deeper meaning of life, nor forget that Jesus “is in our midst ... in good times and bad.”

At a reception afterward, many of Munoz’s friends and relatives expressed surprise that he became a priest--the family’s first. “It’s a very unusual road to choose,” his mother, Melinda, said. “But everyone’s very proud of him.”

As for what John Wayne might have thought, Munoz said his grandfather learned about the possibility years ago when his mother told the movie star about the teenager’s interest.

“‘Melinda,’ he said in that great voice of his,” Munoz said, “‘after all, he’s almost a man. Let him do what he’s got to do.’”