Pretty freeway underpass!
The Mission is on the right while the chapel is on the left. The Mission was originally intended as a hospital to nurse the sick Native Americans, the ones subjugated by the Spaniards...
As we walked in, we passed by two volunteer workers. One was a younger lady (but she looked and dressed like she was sixty) and an older lady. They were engrossed in their own fascinating conversation and did not even look up to acknowledge or greet us. Turns out there was no separate tour or fee to view the Mission because the facility was so small. In fact, this museum and gift shop is housed in the original mission building.
Lots of religious artifacts and depictions of San Rafael the Arcangel (the mission's namesake).
This was the gift shop portion...
It was painfully comical to hear the elderly lady dominate her conversation with her co-worker. She was talking about bullshit like how she never goes to dentist (maybe that's why her teefs were messed up?), and how she doesn't like going to doctors because she didn't like to be touched and blah blah blah. I had to bite my lip to stop myself from laughing when the older woman began to warble some song while her hapless companion listened with the rapt attention of a comatose slug. OMFG, where's a gong when you need one?
Yeah, I know I think mean things. I was annoyed with these women and their lack of making visitors feel welcome but I didn't make a big deal out of it. We were outta there in less than ten minutes and we'd never see them again. Below are photos of the chapel.
While we were in the chapel, we could hear the woman's quavery voice echoing in the distance.
She was still singing when we left! If ear bleach existed, I would have needed some of that shit!
On our way out of the chapel I saw this statue, Our Lady of Lavang, which was a gift to the church from the Vietnamese community. Outside the church, their marquee indicated that masses were held not only in English but Spanish and Vietnamese. Lavang is a city in Vietnam where a vision of the Virgin Mary appeared in 1789.
(info below from wikipedia's entry on Our Lady of LaVang):
"The tradition of Our Lady of La Vang dates back to the time when Catholics were executed in Vietnam. Many people sought refuge in the rain forest of La Vang, and many became very ill. They were praying when a lady appeared, wearing the traditional Vietnamese áo dài dress and holding a child in her arms, with two angels beside her. The people present interpreted the vision as the Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus Christ. They said that Our Lady comforted them and told them to boil leaves from the trees for medicine to cure the ill."
As with every mission in California, there was a statue of Fr. Junipero Serra.
Now it was time to head back on the Richmond Bridge...
Time for some ice scream!
No comments:
Post a Comment