The Deacon's Bench
A California state senator is proposing to place a statue of pioneering astronaut Sally Ride in the U.S. Capitol’s Statuary Hall, which would make Ride the first woman to represent California and the first known gay person to be included in the collection.
The statue, if approved and commissioned, would replace a likeness of Father Junipero Serra, the 18th century Franciscan monk who founded nine Catholic missions in California. Pope Francis announced last month he plans to canonize Serra, an announcement that has stirred controversy among those who say Serra’s conversion campaign harshly affected the state’s Indian population.
Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) described Ride as a “California native, American hero and stratospheric trailblazer who devoted her life to pushing the limits of space and inspiring young girls to succeed in math and science careers.”
“She is the embodiment of the American dream whose accomplishments and life work will encourage future generations to reach for the stars and celebrate diversity and inclusivity,” Lara said in a statement.
Tam O’Shaughnessy, Ride’s partner, said in an interview that the astronaut served as a role model to a number of underrepresented groups: women in science fields, as well as the LGBT community.
“What has been missing in many programs around the country is diverse role models in science and engineering,” said O’Shaughnessy, who runs Sally Ride Science, a company dedicated to getting more female and minority students interested in science and math.
“Having Sally’s image turned into a statue in our nation’s Capitol — that’s an important message. It has a chance to be an inspiration to young people the world over,” she said.
Fr. Serra’s statue has been in the U.S. Capitol’s National Statuary Hall Collection since 1931. His statue cradles a church in his left arm and holds a cross aloft in his outstretched right arm. The website of the Architect of the Capitol, which maintains the statue, describes Fr. Serra as “one of the most important Spanish missionaries in the New World.”
“California today is what he started it out to be. Things have progressed a lot in 200 years, but he set the foundation,” Msgr. [Francis J. Weber, historian] said.
However, Sen. Ricardo Lara has proposed that Father Serra’s statue be replaced with a statue of astronaut Sally Ride, the first U.S. woman in space.
Lara characterized the priest as “a controversial figure.” He said his effort to replace the statue with Sally Ride’s is about “recognizing the invaluable contributions of an accomplished Californian and American pioneer,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
Msgr. Weber, however, rejected many of the claims against Serra. “You see all of these accusations against Serra, but not one of them can be validated by a responsible historian.”
The missionary, despite a painful cancerous growth in his leg, walked most of the way to Mexico City to secure a bill of rights for the native community.
“It was very painful. But that never slowed him down,” Msgr. Weber said, adding that the priest worked to separate the missionary and the military aspects of Spanish colonialism.
St. John Paul II, during his 1987 visit to the U.S., praised Father Serra as the native peoples’ “defender and champion” whose actions had as their aim the “spiritual and physical well-being” of Native Americans.
Photo via Wikipedia by Abraham Sobkowski
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In