The statue of Junipero Serra along I-280 was removed by Caltrans two months ago, and nobody really noticed. Now its removal is suddenly a big controversy, with SF Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone calling it anti-Catholic persecution.
Back during SF’s post-George Floyd statue tear-down spree of 2020, activists ripped down a statue of 18th century Franciscan missionary Junipero Serra. It was not replaced, as Father Junipero Serra’s legacy of late-1700s of cruelty toward Indigenous peoples in establishing California’s missions was forcing many cities to rethink whether they wanted those statues of him or monuments to him that were dotted across the state.
There had also long been a 26-foot-tall statue of Junipero Serra above I-280 near Hillsborough, designed by artist Louis DuBois in 1975. Caltrans apparently removed that statue in August of this year, and pretty much no one noticed. But in the last 24 hours, KRON4 reports there has been a fresh firestorm of controversy over the statue’s removal, even attracting attention from the bottom-feeders of the international press who are always looking to complain about the San Francisco Bay Area.
And a critical driver of this fresh controversy has been the homophobic, COVID-spreading San Francisco Diocese Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone. This is not a surprise, after Cordileone held a kooky exorcism at the Junipero Serra statue site in SF after that statue was torn down five years ago.
“I learned about the removal of the St Junipero Serra statue after it happened,” Cordileone said a statement to KRON4. “No one fought for St Junipero Serra because apparently, officials from Caltrans and the Transportation Art Program didn’t consult with anyone who would give them an opinion that differed from their own. Would we expect this treatment if it happened to be associated with another religious organization? I think not.”
Though the Chronicle reports that Caltrans says they did contact Cordileone “personally” before making the move. The Chron adds that Caltrans "also notified St Catherine of Siena Parish in Burlingame, the California Missions Foundation, the San Mateo County Arts Commission, local elected officials, the San Mateo County Historical Society and the artist’s family."
“Claims that our agency failed to inform these parties are inaccurate,” Caltrans spokesperson Jeneane Crawford told the Chronicle.
It’s true that Caltrans is being a little vague about their reasoning for the statue’s removal, simply saying that it did not meet the agency’s “current Transportation Art Program requirements.” But the likelier explanation here, which Caltrans acknowledges, was that the statue kept getting vandalized.
And they probably just said to heck with the continuing maintenance and effort that this particular statue required.
Image: Joe L via Yelp
