San Juan Bautista
– The faithful and those who are simply proud of Mission City’s
history will come together Sunday for the Mission San Juan
Bautista’s Fiesta Day, an annual celebration of the city’s patron
saint.
San Juan Bautista – The faithful and those who are simply proud of Mission City’s history will come together Sunday for the Mission San Juan Bautista’s Fiesta Day, an annual celebration of the city’s patron saint.
The fiesta is held to honor St. John the Baptist’s feast day, which San Juan residents have recognized in one form or another since the founding of the mission more than two centuries ago.
“We’ve found posters from this celebration dating back hundreds of years,” said Lupe Candelaria, Office Manager for the Mission San Juan. “We really want to keep this tradition alive and strong.”
It was coincidence that resulted in the mission being named for John the Baptist, according to Candelaria.
“When they wanted to dedicate the mission they looked in the calendar, and the ceremony happened to fall on St. John’s feast day, and that’s how the mission and the town San Juan Bautista got its name,” she said. “So we celebrate every year on the Sunday closest to the 24th of June.”
In the Biblical tradition, John the Baptist is a cousin of Jesus. He heralded the coming of Christ and spent years in the desert wearing camel skins, eating locusts and honey, and preaching a message of repentance to the people of Jerusalem. It was John who baptized Jesus in the river Jordan and was later beheaded at the behest of a jealous woman.
“He was one of the lead guys, if you like,” Candelaria said. “He was a very powerful and important person.”
In addition to serving as San Juan Bautista’s patron saint, John the Baptist is also the saint of converts, monastic life, adults and children suffering from epilepsy, tailors, hailstorms and motorways, as well as numerous cities and nations throughout the world.
According to Barbara Franco, the mission’s event coordinator, the fiesta reached a pinnacle of popularity in the 1930s, and featured a rodeo and one of the biggest parades in the state of California at the time.
“People would come from all over for our fiesta,” she said. “They were making barbecue for over 10,000 people.”
The event today is a little smaller in scale, but Candelaria estimates that more than a thousand people attend at least a portion of the fiesta every year.
The fiesta will begin at 11am with a new tradition – the mission priest will lead participants, many in traditional Spanish costume, on a procession through downtown San Juan, complete with music and a display of the mission’s official banner, during which the father will bless the city of San Juan.
“I think that’s really neat,” Franco said. “It’s very special because the mission is really at the center of San Juan.”
A special mass will be at noon, after which the fiesta will begin in earnest. A barbecue dinner will be available for purchase, as will games, live entertainment from local musicians and a raffle with a top prize of $1,000.
“It’s just something fun for the entire community, whether you’re a part of the church or not,” Candelaria said. “Because we’re proud of San Juan and proud of our traditions.”
The fiesta will continue until 5pm in the evening. For more information call the mission office at 623-2127.
Danielle Smith covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected].
