I don’t walk into places thinking “What can I pick up psychically?” However, my psychic senses are turned on 24/7 so I am always open to impressions. And often, they catch me off guard, such as what happened a few days ago.
We were visiting the Mission San Juan Capistrano, on a self-guided tour (not the audio one). We walked into a room in one of the buildings and a very strong feeling of terror, confusion, and oppression washed over me. It was the very same feeling I picked up when standing near a chair at the Salem Witch House in Salem, Massachusetts.
I write about this in Angels and Engineers.
The feeling was particularly strong in the area of the chair. I got the sense the priest sat in that chair but perhaps the victims sat there, bewildered and terrified.
We continued on the tour and I wondered at the engineering marvel the Mission is. When we got outside near the industrial area, close to the furnaces, the feeling washed over me again. I told my husband, “This was a place of terror. I’m going to research it but there’s more going on here than we’re being told.”
Further along we were near the music room. Standing near an area that used to be a warehouse, I felt sadness and oppression. I said, “This was not a happy place to live.”
When we got near a stone church that collapsed during an earthquake, I found something disturbing, if not telling; the cemetery. There is a Celtic Cross that was put there as a monument to the Natives who were buried there. This monument was placed in the early 20th century. What was disturbing was that some 2000 Native Americans are buried in this small cemetery in unmarked graves with only a monument erected over a hundred years after the fact as any indication they are there. To me this is disrespectful. Where are their names? These are the souls who built the Mission, who lived there, and the only indication they existed outside a historical acknowledgment that they did, is a Celtic Cross monument?
When I walked into what remains of the collapsed church a feeling of total peace came over me. Some 40 Natives died when the roof and domes collapsed on them during an earthquake that hit while mass was being said. It doesn’t mention whether or not the priest saying the mass survived. Those souls are at peace – the ones who died.
As we were driving I did some initial research. I looked up the Mission and referenced it against Witch Trials but nothing outside of Salem, Mass came up. I then looked up information on Father Serra, the man who founded the Mission. Things began to make a bit more sense.
From Spain, the man had basically imprisoned the Natives. Once he converted them, he forbade them from seeing any family or friends who had not likewise been converted to Catholicism, for fear of a “relapse.” A relapse? Like not being a Catholic was a disease?
There was disease though. The Europeans brought many diseases with them and when the Natives were exposed, they often died.
While I was at the museum, I read a note about a Native who watched over the vineyards. Apparently, in addition to keeping the birds away, it was his job to make sure no one stole any grapes. That was telling. If you have to fear the theft of food from your workers, chances are you aren’t treating them very well. If they are well fed and treated with respect, they have no need to steal food. This Native had to sit in a tower all day and play a flute, scare away the birds, and prevent people from getting away with taking grapes. I suspect he saw people steal small bunches but did nothing. I imagine he was a man of compassion even if he wasn’t allowed to come down from his perch. It gets pretty hot in the Southern California sun.
I read that Father Serra considered Natives to be children. That was disturbing because it shows the lack of respect for human life. It shows a superiority complex on the part of this man. I read that he would not allow Natives to leave the Mission. He basically had slave labor.
Although I could understand why I felt the oppression and confusion, I didn’t find anything that could explain the knowledge I had about Witch Trials. The energy I felt was identical to that of the Salem Witch House. Still, doing research on a phone is not as easy as a laptop so I knew I would have to wait before finding my answer. But find it I would. I have learned to trust my abilities.
This morning I did a search on Father Serra and the Spanish Inquisition and hit pay dirt. I found a press release describing an exhibit opening in California this August. I found my answer in one of the paragraphs:
Serra in Mexico
As was typical for a Franciscan of his day, Serra traveled the Mallorcan countryside on foot, preaching the gospel. Then, in 1749, he and several Franciscan colleagues made the decision to go to Mexico as missionaries. He arrived in the capital of Mexico on Jan. 1, 1750. Then for eight years he worked in the Sierra Gorda region of Mexico, overseeing five pre-existing missions and supervising the building of permanent mission structures (designated a world heritage site by UNESCO in 2003). The exhibition will include Serra correspondence from this period as well as documents showing his work as a field agent in Mexico for the Spanish Inquisition, investigating individuals accused of witchcraft.
There is no doubt in my mind that Father Serra used the same tactics used to terrify people during the inquisition on Natives at the Mission San Juan Capistrano.
The full press release can be found here.
I saw that Father Serra was beatified. Apparently, he is on the path to sainthood. I wonder if others who participated in the Spanish Inquisition and/or the Witch Trials have been made saints.
I’ve heard it said that history is told by the winners. Thankfully, it’s documented by others, so the truth eventually sees the light of day. I know the truth is felt…
