THE 
 
 Holy Man of Santa Clara 
 
 OR 
 
 Life, Virtues, and Miracles 
 
 OF 
 
 FR. MAGIN CATALA, O. F. M. 
 
 BY 
 
 FR. ZEPHYRIN ENGELHARDT, O. F. M. 
 
 Author of 
 "The Franciscans in California," 
 
 "The Franciscans in Arizona," 
 "The Missions and Missionaries." 
 
 "It was not what we read of the 
 saints that made them saints; it was 
 what we do not read of them 
 that enabled them to be what we 
 wonder at while we read." (Fr. F. W. 
 Faber, "Growth in Holiness," p. 303.) 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. 
 
 THE JAMES H. BARRY COMPANY 
 
 1 9O9 

 
 Nihtl 
 
 FR. THEOPHILUS RICHARDT, O. F. M., 
 
 Sacr. Theol. Lector 
 
 Censor deputalus 
 
 Nthtl 
 
 FR. CONRADINUS WALLBRAUN, O. F. M., 
 
 Sacr. Theol. Lector 
 
 Censor deputatus 
 
 Imprimi JJrrmttlilijr 
 
 FR. CYPRIANUS BANSCHEID, O. F. M., 
 
 Minister Provincialis 
 
 imprimatur 
 
 J( PATRITIUS GULIELMUS RIORDAN, 
 
 Archiepiscopus Sancti Francisci, Cal. 
 
 Die 28 Junii, 1909 
 
 Copyright, 1909, 
 
 By 
 ZEPHYRIN ENGELHARDT.
 
 To 
 
 Aretttz, 
 
 Commissary Provincial 
 
 of the 
 Franciscans on the Pacific Coast
 
 PREFACE 
 
 It is with much diffidence that the author 
 offers this little volume to the reading public. 
 There is vastly more in the life of a saint than 
 appears on the surface. In order that it re- 
 ceive just treatment it should be written by a 
 saint. Gladly would the author have left the 
 task to a worthier pen, but obedience decreed 
 otherwise. He, therefore, decided to take 
 purely historical ground, and herewith pre- 
 sents the facts obtained through long and criti- 
 cal research. He believes that this course will 
 after all best serve the cause of Fr. Magin 
 Catala. May the holy servant of God forgive 
 what was written amiss. 
 
 In compliance with the Decree of Pope Ur- 
 ban VIII. , the author hereby declares that he 
 claims only human belief for the miracles, rev- 
 elations, graces, and other incidents attributed 
 to Fr. Magin Catala; that the terms holy, 
 saintly, and similar expressions, as applied to 
 the servant of God, are employed in a wider 
 sense, and not in the sense bestowed upon the 
 servants of God already canonized by the Holy 
 Roman Church ; that he professes himself an 
 obedient son of the same Holy Roman Church ; 
 and that he reverently submits to her decision 
 whatever he has written in this book. 
 
 THE AUTHOR.
 
 PART I. 
 LIFE.
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 California. Discovery of Gold. The Missions and 
 Missionaries. Fr. Magin Catala's Birth, Baptism, 
 Parents. Enters the Franciscan Order. 
 
 EVER since the discovery of gold in Northern 
 California, men of almost every nation 
 under the sun flocked to the Pacific Coast. Some 
 braved the hardships of the deserts and the 
 cruelties of the savages by making their way 
 through the country afoot, on horseback, or in 
 wagons of every description ; others took passage 
 on the Atlantic Coast to cross the continent at the 
 Isthmus of Panama, or sailed around Cape Horn 
 to reach the Golden Gate. All came animated 
 with the one desire of improving their temporal 
 fortunes. The country was new to them and to 
 the world at large, yet it was not a new country. 
 Others had preceded the fortune-hunters. It 
 had been discovered three hundred years before 
 the little town at the entrance of the famous bay 
 changed its Spanish name Yerba Buena to that 
 of the glorious Saint of Assisi. Carmelite friars, 
 accompanying Sebastian Vizcaino, had celebrated 
 the Holy Sacrifice on the shores of Monterey 
 Bay in December, 1602. Eighty years before the 
 region of the Sacramento began to surrender its 
 metallic treasures, Franciscan friars, vowed to 
 poverty and to contempt for that same metal, 
 had commenced Christianizing the degraded na-
 
 12 
 
 tives of the coast and were developing a system 
 of civilization which has since forced the admira- 
 tion of the shrewdest statesmen as well as the ap- 
 probation of the most sentimental humanitarians, 
 and has afforded an inexhaustible theme for the 
 bard as well as the traveler. 
 
 The period of eighty years immediately pre- 
 ceding the arrival of the gold-diggers marks the 
 golden age of the California natives. During 
 this time, through the combined efforts of the 
 voluntarily poor Catholic friars and the naturally 
 poor Indians, twenty-one missionary establish- 
 ments arose and dotted the coast region from San 
 Diego to Sonoma. One hundred and forty-six 
 Franciscan priests, without any worldly compen- 
 sation whatsoever, there devoted themselves to 
 the arduous task of raising the savages to the 
 plane of Christian manhood and womanhood. 
 Nearly one-half of this faithful band of apostolic 
 laborers fell at their post among their dusky 
 wards as victims of Catholic zeal for the salva- 
 tion of immortal souls. 
 
 Among those that volunteered for this life of 
 hardship and self-denial in the missions of Cali- 
 fornia Fr. Magin Catala stands conspicuous for 
 zeal, sanctity, and an uncommonly long term of 
 missionary activity in one place. This servant of 
 God was born on the 29th or the 30th of Janu- 
 ary, 1761, at Montblanch, in the province of 
 Catalonia and the archdiocese of Tarragona,
 
 FACHADA OF THE CHURCH AT MONTBLANCH.
 
 13 
 
 Spain. His parents, Matias Catala, a notary, and 
 Francisca Catala y Guasch, were exemplary 
 Christians. An uncle was a secular priest and 
 beneficiary of the church at Montblanch. In 
 baptism, which was administered on Saturday, 
 January 31st, by the Rev. Jose Montanez y 
 Murtra, parish priest of St. Mary Major at 
 Montblanch, the child received the names Ma- 
 gin,* Jose, Matias. The sponsors were Raimundo 
 and Josef a Catala. On August 7th, 1767, when 
 little more than six years of age, Magin received 
 the Sacrament of Confirmation in the same par- 
 ish church at the hands of the Most Rev. Juan 
 Lario Lanzis, Archbishop of Tarragona. This is 
 all we know of Fr. Magin's childhood. 
 
 Matias and Francisca Catala must have trained 
 their child in the path of virtue ; for, at the early 
 age of sixteen years, Magin sought refuge from 
 the allurements of the world in the Order of 
 Friars Minor by taking the habit of St. Francis 
 at the monastery of Barcelona on April 4th, 1777. 
 One year later he pronounced the vows of obedi- 
 ence, chastity, and poverty, without taking an- 
 other name on that occasion as is customary in 
 Spanish countries. When he had finished the 
 usual classical and higher studies, the young 
 cleric was elevated to the priesthood, probably 
 in the year 1785. Neither the date nor the year 
 
 * Vide Appendix A.
 
 14 
 
 could be ascertained from the archives of the 
 Spanish monastery, owing to the fact that the re- 
 ligious houses in Spain have at different times 
 been subjected to the rapacity of unscrupulous 
 politicians, who under one pretext or another 
 despoiled the convents of their archives and 
 libraries as well as of everything else that ap- 
 peared valuable.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Dearth of Missionaries. Fr. Magin Goes to America. 
 Vandalism of the Liberal Politicians. Chap- 
 lain on the Nootka Ship. Arrives at Monterey. 
 Reaches Santa Clara. 
 
 AT the period when Fr. Magin became priest 
 there was much need of apostolic laborers 
 in the missions of the Friars Minor in America. 
 After the unjust and cruel expulsion of the Jesuits 
 from the Spanish dominions, the government had 
 directed the Franciscans to take charge of the de- 
 serted establishments. Though already employed 
 to the limit of their numbers among the Indians 
 of New Mexico, Florida, Texas, and many parts 
 of Mexico, they accepted the trust with all its 
 hardships, and sent their religious into Lower 
 California, Sinaloa, Sonora, and Arizona. Later 
 the missions of Upper California were founded. 
 This increased the sore need of more missionaries. 
 Frequent appeals were sent to the friars in Spain 
 to come to the assistance of their brethren in 
 America, and there were always found those that 
 expressed willingness to sacrifice their beloved 
 solitude for the privilege of toiling in the vine- 
 yard of the Lord. Life in the Indian missions at 
 its best was wearisome and full of trials. Gen- 
 erally it taxed virtue as well as mind and body, 
 and martyrdom could be expected even in Cali- 
 fornia. Nevertheless a great many religious vol-
 
 16 
 
 unteered. From among these the most suitable 
 and most solidly virtuous were selected to join 
 their brethren in the Western Hemisphere ; for, 
 while no one, as St. Francis himself had com- 
 manded, could be sent out who in the opinion of 
 the superiors seemed unsuitable, no one was to 
 be refused permission whose piety and fitness ap- 
 peared evident. 
 
 Among the friars whom zeal for immortal souls 
 prompted to apply for the American missions in 
 1786 were Fathers Jose de la Cruz Espi and 
 Magin Catala, the latter but recently ordained. 
 After receiving the blessing of the Fr. Guardian 
 and the embrace of their brethren, both sailed 
 from Cadiz in October, 1786. As soon as they 
 reached the City of Mexico, probably at the close 
 of the year, they were incorporated into the mis- 
 sionary college or Franciscan seminary of San 
 Fernando, which institution trained and sup- 
 plied the apostolic men that spent their lives in 
 the midst of the California natives. Whilst Fr. 
 Jose Espi was at once sent as chaplain with a 
 ship in the Pacific ocean, Fr. Magin Catala, it 
 seems, was employed in the seminary or in 
 preaching missions to the Mexicans. At all 
 events, we read nothing about him until six years 
 later, and the reason is the same that prevents us 
 from obtaining particulars regarding the early 
 youth of the servant of God. As in Portugal, 
 Spain, Italy and France, so also in Mexico the
 
 17 
 
 monasteries and convents, raised and furnished 
 through the abstemiousness of their inmates, at 
 different periods were looted or confiscated by 
 the respective anti-Christian governments that 
 succeeded one another. Some officials, not satis- 
 fied with plundering the homes of peace, prayer, 
 and charity, wantonly destroyed what they could 
 not utilize. Thus in 1864 the rabid Juarez faction 
 made bonfires of the archives of the famous San 
 Fernando College, so that there are no records 
 left to enlighten us with regard to the life of Fr. 
 Magin in Mexico. 
 
 Fortunately the Archives of Santa Barbara, 
 California, contain a letter addressed by Fr. Fran- 
 cisco Pangua, the guardian of San Fernando Col- 
 lege, to Fr. Fermin Francisco de Lasuen, the su- 
 perior of the California missions, which gives 
 some information about Fr. Magin's coming to 
 the Pacific Coast. It seems that the servant of 
 God urged his superiors to permit him to labor 
 for the conversion of the savages, that his peti- 
 tion was at last granted, and that the Fr. Guard- 
 ian only waited for an opportunity to transfer 
 the zealous volunteer to California. The oppor- 
 tunity arrived in 1793. 
 
 At this period Spanish vessels plied between 
 Mexico and the great Northwest Coast as far as 
 Nootka Sound on the western shore of what is 
 now Vancouver Island, in forty-nine and one-half 
 degrees north. This bay had been discovered in
 
 18 
 
 the forepart of August, 1774, by Captain Juan 
 Perez, who had sailed from Monterey on June 
 llth, accompanied by the Franciscans Fr. Juan 
 Crespi and Fr. Tomas de la Pefia. Spain, there- 
 fore, claimed the territory by right of discovery, 
 and Spanish ships frequently visited Nootka 
 Sound until the king abandoned the region in 
 1794. The Spanish government generally in- 
 sisted that chaplains should accompany the sailors 
 on these voyages. Religious Orders were un- 
 willing to furnish priests for such expeditions, 
 because this kind of employment was foreign to 
 their objects and hazardous for the spiritual well- 
 being of the individual religious. When secular 
 priests, however, could not be secured, the gov- 
 ernment called upon some religious community 
 which then found it advisable to yield. Such a 
 demand brought Fr. Magin to the Pacific Coast. 
 In his communication Fr. Guardian Francisco 
 Pangua under date of November 21st, 1792, 
 notified Fr. Lasuen that two religious would 
 soon set out for California, Fr. Jose de la 
 Cruz Espi, a native of Valencia, who in years 
 past had acted as chaplain on an expedition to 
 Nootka, and Fr. Magin Catala. The Fr. Guard- 
 ian made the additional remark that both were 
 good and peaceful laborers. The two Fathers, 
 it seems, arrived at Monterey in July, 1793. 
 While Fr. Espi was at once assigned to Mission 
 San Antonio, Fr. Magin, after an understanding
 
 19 
 
 with the Fr. Presidente and in compliance with 
 the directions of the Fr. Guardian, accompanied 
 the crew of the frig-ate Aranzazu to Nootka 
 Sound. The vessel was in charge of Cap- 
 tain Juan Kendrick. Of the movements of the 
 vessel we could discover nothing until June 
 the following year. On the fifteenth of that 
 month, 1794, Don Ramon A. Saavedra wrote 
 from Nootka to Governor Jose Joaquin Arril- 
 laga of California, that "the Rev. Fr. Magin 
 Catala, who accompanies the frigate Aranzazu 
 as chaplain, has orders to remain at one of the 
 missions of California. Your Honor will there- 
 fore please take the necessary steps that the 
 crew of that vessel be not without spiritual care 
 and that, with the consent of the Fr. 
 Presidente, one of the missionaries who are re- 
 tiring to the motherhouse be appointed, or that 
 Fr. Catala himself be bound to continue the voy- 
 age as chaplain." 
 
 When on July 2d, 1794, trie Aranzazu reached 
 Monterey, Fr. Magin declined to act as chaplain 
 any longer, inasmuch as he had been destined for 
 the missions among the Indians. It appears that 
 the governor requested him to make another voy- 
 age to Nootka. In reply the servant of God on 
 July 12th, 1794, addressed the following letter to 
 Arrillaga : 
 
 "Dear Governor : In response to what you say 
 in your letter of yesterday, I must inform you
 
 20 
 
 that to my deep regret I am not able to comply 
 with your request asking me to continue as chap- 
 lain of the frigate Aranzazii on her voyage to 
 Nootka, as the captain of that ship desires ; for, 
 apart from the hardships of the voyages to that 
 port where I spent thirteen months in the midst 
 of no small difficulties, I have in the present cir- 
 cumstances the weighty reason that I must con- 
 sider myself one of the missionaries of this New 
 California, for which task I have been designated. 
 In virtue of this appointment I can in no manner 
 dispose of my person without previous orders 
 from the Fr. Presidente of these missions, whose 
 subject I am. 
 
 "Notwithstanding all I have said just now, I 
 am desirous, as far as I am concerned, of con- 
 tributing to the relief of the necessity which Your 
 Honor has explained to me. I have wished to 
 show how much I am interested in the welfare 
 of souls. When I therefore learned that the Rev. 
 Fr. Presidente agreed to comply with the order 
 of Don Ramon Saavedra, commander of the es- 
 tablishment at Nootka, to the extent that the Rev. 
 Chaplain of the frigate Concepcion should go on 
 board the Aranzazu, and that his place should be 
 filled by one of the missionaries about to retire to 
 Mexico, I have taken it upon myself to urge the 
 Rev. Fr. Bartholome Gili (who had expressed his 
 willingness to me of complying with the orders of 
 Saavedra), to gladly exercise the duties of chap-
 
 21 
 
 lain on the frigate Concepcion, although he has 
 been informed that he would have, to make the 
 voyage as far as Acapulco, and from there back 
 to San Bias. I send Your Honor this informa- 
 tion to the end that, if it pleases you, you might 
 communicate it to the commander of the Aran- 
 zazu, and advise me of your good pleasure." 
 
 The difficulty was amicably settled in accord- 
 ance with Fr. Magin's proposition. The Rev. 
 Jose Gomez, a secular priest, who had come up 
 from Mexico as chaplain in the Concepcion, 
 took the place of the servant of God in the Aran- 
 zazu, which was to return to Nootka, and Fr. 
 Bartholome Gili, one of the Fathers retiring to 
 Mexico, on account of ill-health, filled Rev. Jose 
 Gomez's place on the Concepcion when she sailed 
 for Mexico. 
 
 Whether Fr. Magin at once traveled to Santa 
 Clara from Monterey by land or took ship for 
 San Francisco and thence made his way to his 
 destination, is not clear. Certain it is that, as the 
 mission records show, he baptized a child at Mis- 
 sion Dolores, San Francisco, on August 25th, and 
 that he officiated there at burials on August 20th 
 and 30th, 1794. His name appears for the first 
 time in the baptismal record of Santa Clara on 
 Monday, September 1st, 1794, when he baptized 
 a boy infant who holds number 2510 in the regis- 
 ter. That many had been received into the
 
 22 
 
 Church of God there since January 12th, 1777, 
 when Fr. Junipero Serra founded the mission. 
 
 From that day on Fr. Magin labored zealously 
 and without interruption at Santa Clara for 
 thirty-six years. Nor did he leave the boundaries 
 of the mission except a few times in the first years 
 of his ministry. He was present at the founding 
 of Mission San Juan Bautista on June 24th, 
 1797, and on that occasion Fr. Lasuen took him 
 along to San Carlos. This was the only time, as 
 far as the records show, that he ever saw the 
 headquarters of the California missions after his 
 arrival at Santa Clara. Though the lands of 
 Mission San Jose adjoined those of his own mis- 
 sion, Fr. Magin seems to have made but five 
 visits there, and then only for the purpose of as- 
 sisting the Fathers in administering baptism to 
 the multitude of converts that applied for admis- 
 sion. After 1798 until his death, a period of 
 thirty-two years, the holy man, as far as we 
 know, never went beyond the limits of Mission 
 Santa Clara, save for the purpose of winning 
 converts among the pagans as far as the San 
 Joaquin River.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 State of the Mission. Fr. Magin's Love of His 
 Rules. His Mortification. His Illness. Asks 
 to be Retired. His Zeal. Local Difficulties. 
 Dullness of the Indians. Statistics. 
 
 WHEN Fr. Magin arrived at Santa Clara he 
 was made assistant to Fr. Francisco Mi- 
 guel Sanchez, along with Fr. Manuel Fernandez, 
 and from August, 1796, with Fr. Jose Viader, 
 until Fr. Sanchez departed for San Gabriel in 
 October, 1797. Thereafter his only companion 
 for thirty-three years was Fr. Viader. The In- 
 dian population of the mission in 1794 consisted 
 of fourteen hundred souls. The livestock num- 
 bered 4200 head of cattle, 1000 sheep, 628 horses, 
 and sixteen mules. The harvest during that year 
 amounted to 3300 bushels of wheat, 1100 bushels 
 of corn, 95 bushels of beans, 26 bushels of len- 
 tils, etc. Twenty-four cattle were slaughtered 
 every Saturday to furnish meat for the members 
 of the Indian community. The converts and 
 catechumens were employed in the fields, among 
 the livestock, and at various kinds of mechanical 
 labor. There were rooms in one part of the mis- 
 sion buildings for spinning wool, for weaving 
 cloth, making clothes, shoes, candles and soap. 
 In other parts carpenters, blacksmiths, saddlers, 
 tanners, etc., plied their trade. Thus, for in- 
 stance, in 1792 as many as 2000 hides were
 
 24 
 
 tanned. Almost everything used or consumed by 
 the Indians and Fathers was produced or manu- 
 factured by the natives under the supervision of 
 the missionaries. 
 
 Though the constant solicitude for the spiritual 
 and temporal welfare of the Indians, learning the 
 language, preaching, instructing, administering 
 the sacraments, visiting the sick, searching for 
 converts in the mountains and plains, and bearing 
 patiently with the dullness and rudeness of his 
 wards, taken altogether required a spirit of self- 
 sacrifice, Fr. Magin continued to observe the 
 Rules of his Order and of his missionary college 
 in every particular. To the prescribed fasts and 
 abstinences and other penitential practices he 
 added other austerities and long hours of prayer 
 and contemplation. Very soon he contracted 
 chronic inflammatory rheumatism, which afflicted 
 him throughout his missionary life. At times his 
 maladies hampered his work to such an extent 
 that he felt in duty bound to ask to be retired 
 as one unfit for the arduous task. Under the 
 rules issued by the Spanish kings, a religious that 
 volunteered for the Indian missions had to serve 
 laudably at least ten years, or until he was dis- 
 abled, before he could retire with the permission 
 of the superior and the consent of the governor. 
 The time of service was computed from the day 
 of incorporation into the missionary college. Fr. 
 Magin, having served more than ten years in
 
 25 
 
 America, though only six years in California, in 
 1800 applied for a permit on the ground of con- 
 tinuous ill-health. Fr. Lasuen, the Presidente or 
 superior, granted the request. Whether his 
 health somewhat improved, or whether some other 
 potent consideration moved him to postpone his 
 departure, we do not know ; at all events he did 
 not avail himself of the license to retire. Four 
 years later, having completed the ten years' ser- 
 vice in California, and being withal more broken 
 in health than ever, he again asked permission 
 to leave for the mother college in Mexico. Fr. 
 Estevan Tapis, the superior of the missions, re- 
 luctantly granted the request ; but once more the 
 zealous man allowed himself to be persuaded, and 
 then resolved, come what might, to sacrifice him- 
 self for the good of his dusky wards, and to con- 
 tinue suffering for them, if perchance he should 
 not be able to do more. 
 
 Thus it was that Fr. Magin limped along for 
 twenty-six years more, bereft of all comforts or 
 conveniences. In addition he mortified his poor, 
 ailing body by various means which only a most 
 penitential spirit could suggest. From a letter 
 of his companion, Fr. Jose Viader, dated April 
 6th, 1812, and addressed to Fr. Presidente Tapis, 
 we learn that another malady afflicted Fr. Magin. 
 "I am well," he writes, "but Fr. Magin is troubled 
 with catarrh, though it is nothing alarming, 
 thanks be to God. He is in bed He is
 
 26 
 
 infirm and disabled." Though his afflictions in- 
 creased with the years, the venerable Father 
 would insist on preaching to the people and visit- 
 ing the sick. During the last four years of his 
 life he found it impossible to administer baptism 
 or attend funerals, as he could not stand on his 
 feet. Hence it is that no baptisms were entered in 
 the records by him after October 27th, 1827. Fr. 
 Viader had managed the temporal affairs for 
 many years, though not without consulting his 
 senior companion, as he states in a letter to the 
 governor ; after October, 1827, he alone had also 
 to administer the sacraments. Though Fr. Magin 
 could neither walk nor stand in the last two years 
 of his life, he would instruct the Indians and 
 preach to the people in general. For this pur- 
 pose he would sit before the Communion railing 
 in the sanctuary, and from there address the 
 faithful in his usual forcible and fervent manner. 
 He appeared so weak at times that the audience 
 would shed tears of sympathy for their pastor. 
 More frequently, however, they were moved to 
 tears by his vivid descriptions of the truths of 
 religion. 
 
 The flock of Fathers Magin and Viader con- 
 sisted of the Santa Clara Mission Indians and of 
 the settlers of San Jose, three miles distant. 
 After 1804 the town of San Jose had a chapel of 
 its own. On Sundays and holydays of obliga- 
 tion one of the two Fathers had therefore to cele-
 
 27 
 
 brate holy Mass among the settlers. However, 
 the main work of the missionaries lay among the 
 natives. The management of the California In- 
 dians was fraught with peculiar difficulties, as we 
 can see from a report which Fathers Catala and 
 Viader drew up in reply to a number of ques- 
 tions forwarded by the viceroy in 1814. The 
 Fathers explained that three Indian languages 
 were spoken at Mission Santa Clara ; two of 
 these were similar to each other, but the third 
 was altogether different from the other two. 
 There was no inclination on the part of the 
 natives to learn reading or writing, wherefore 
 both arts were taught to those only that showed 
 any desire and capacity for them. The virtues 
 especially noticeable among the Indians were love 
 for their relatives, submissiveness, and modesty 
 in dress among the women. Their vices, on the 
 other hand, were lying, stealing, gambling, dan- 
 cing, immoralities, and infant murder or race- 
 suicide. Superstitions also prevailed, inasmuch 
 as offerings were made to demons and sorcerers 
 were consulted. 
 
 The existence of vices and superstitions among 
 the neophytes must have been a source of much 
 grief especially to good Fr. Magin. Hence we 
 need not wonder to find him so insistent on teach- 
 ing the truths of religion to the carnal, ignorant, 
 and stolid natives. He also insisted that all re- 
 ceive the Sacraments at least during Easter time ;
 
 28 
 
 yet with all his fatherly solicitude, and despite 
 the simplicity and clearness of his instructions, 
 not even he could overcome the dullness of the 
 poor Indians with regard to some mysteries of 
 faith, as for instance the Blessed Sacrament. 
 Comparatively few grasped the significance of 
 this center of Catholic worship. For this reason 
 all missionaries spoke of the California Indians 
 in terms of pity, calling them Los Pobres, or Los 
 Miserables. Nevertheless, Fr. Magin seemed to 
 take special delight in sitting among a number 
 of these poor natives and explaining the several 
 points of faith, the keeping of the Commandments 
 of God and the Church, what reward was in store 
 for the good and what punishment awaited the 
 wicked. 
 
 According to the records of the mission, during 
 the thirty-six years of Fr. Magin's administra- 
 tion five thousand persons were baptized, of whom 
 comparatively few were white people. For in- 
 stance, of the 1628 persons baptized at Santa 
 Clara from 1777 to 1803, only sixty-one are 
 classed as Spaniards. For the same period of 
 thirty-six years the records show 1905 marriages 
 and 5200 burials. Outside the Indian commu- 
 nity settled around the mission of Santa Clara 
 there were ten Indian rancherias which lay scat- 
 tered over the valley.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Fr. Magin's Inner Life. Shadows of Mission De- 
 struction. The Mexican Government Demands 
 Oath of Allegiance. Fr. Magin's Reply. His 
 Last Years. His Precious Death. Grief of the 
 People. Burial. Fr. Jose Viader's Entry In 
 the Records of Santa Clara. 
 
 FROM the records and reports still extant we 
 can glean very little or nothing concerning 
 Fr. Magin's private or inner life. This portion 
 of our narrative will, however, be treated on the 
 testimony of eye-witnesses in Part II. The serv- 
 ant of God wrote no letters. He devoted himself 
 solely to instructing the Indians and to watch- 
 ing over their moral conduct. Fr. Jose Viader 
 attended to all temporal affairs, and wrote all 
 official reports and communications. Fr. Magin 
 would merely countersign the papers after ascer- 
 taining their contents. There are a great many 
 letters in the Archives of the Archbishop of San 
 Francisco, in the Archives of Mission Santa 
 Barbara, and some in the Archives of the City of 
 San Jose written by Fr. Magin's companion, but 
 not one from the hand of Fr. Catala. Nor does 
 Fr. Viader say anything about his venerable 
 friend, save that he occasionally remarks that 
 Fr. Magin is ill or sends regards. Not till he had 
 the sad duty of entering the death of the servant 
 of God in the burial record, did Fr. Jose Viader
 
 30 
 
 express himself regarding the virtues of his 
 brother in religion. Even then, as we shall see 
 presently, he said very little ; yet no one could 
 have drawn a clearer picture of Fr. Mag'm than 
 his associate in the same house and work for 
 nearly a generation. 
 
 Fr. Magin was spared the pain of having to 
 witness the ultimate ruin of the mission, which 
 was brought about by the confiscation of the Cali- 
 fornia missionary establishments through the so- 
 called Act of Secularization of 1834; but the 
 shadows of that most unfortunate event had been 
 gathering about the unhappy neophytes ever since 
 the arrival in 1826 of the first Mexican governor, 
 Jose M. Echeandia. From his first appearance 
 in Lower California this official showed himself 
 an enemy to the religious as missionaries and 
 managers of mission temporalities. He was the 
 chief cause of the insubordination of the Indians 
 and of the disregard displayed by the colonists 
 and the soldiers towards the friars in charge of 
 the missions. 
 
 On October 4th, 1824, the new government of 
 Mexico adopted the so-called Acta Constitutiva y 
 Constitucion Federal, and decreed that all male 
 inhabitants should swear allegiance to Mexico 
 and to this Constitucion Federal. The mission- 
 aries were at liberty to act as they thought proper. 
 Being Spaniards, most of the Fathers declared 
 that they judged it wrong to take the required
 
 31 
 
 oath until the king of Spain should acknowledge 
 the sovereignty of Mexico. The two Fathers 
 Catala and Viader held this opinion. When, 
 therefore, Governor Echeandia in June, 1826, 
 published the edict in California, and Com- 
 mandante Ignacio Martinez of the San Francisco 
 Presidio, to whose military jurisdiction Santa 
 Clara belonged, demanded that each missionary 
 should swear allegiance to the Constitution 
 framed in Mexico, Fr. Magin on July 6th replied 
 as follows : "To your communication of the 28th 
 of last month, in which General Jose Maria 
 Echeandia demands in writing my formal decision 
 concerning the oath to observe the Acta Consti- 
 tutiva y Constitucion Federal of the United 
 Mexican States, I reply that I cannot, and con- 
 sequently will not, take said oath. In the thirty- 
 three years which I have passed in this mission 
 I have never meddled with politics, and if now 
 they want to distrust me, who burdened with the 
 age of sixty-six years and infirmities hopes or 
 believes to be near his end, I swear to observe 
 fidelity and obedience to the government and 
 appointed authorities. God keep Your Honor 
 many years, which Your Honor's very true chap- 
 lain wishes you. Fr. Magin Catala." 
 
 Thereupon the good Father and his worthy 
 companion were allowed to continue eschewing 
 politics and to attend to their missionary duties 
 as of yore. It was the first and last time that the
 
 32 
 
 servant of God came into conflict with the gov- 
 ernment. 
 
 The last two years of his life were a period of 
 intense sufferings to Fr. Magin. As early as 
 February, 1830, he was thought to be in a dying 
 condition, for Fr. Vincente de Sarria from Sole- 
 dad reported to the governor that the senior mis- 
 sionary of Santa Clara was about to receive or 
 had received Extreme Unction. The holy man 
 rallied, however, and lingered on, preaching every 
 Sunday and holyday and giving the usual in- 
 structions until within a day of his death, nine 
 months later. He could not celebrate holy Mass, 
 but frequently received holy Communion with 
 the greatest fervor. Finally on Monday, No- 
 vember 22nd, 1830, at daybreak, the servant of 
 God quietly passed to his eternal reward in the 
 presence of Fr. Jose Viader and two men who 
 at his request had watched with him through the 
 night. 
 
 When the tolling of the bells announced the 
 death of Fr. Magin, immense crowds of people 
 hastened to the mission from every quarter in 
 order to venerate the body of the holy missionary. 
 Every one wept as at the death of a father or 
 a mother. The remains were placed in an ordi- 
 nary coffin made of redwood, borne to the church 
 amid the sobs of the inconsolable multitude, and 
 placed on a bier in front of the sanctuary. In- 
 side and outside the building surging crowds of
 
 33 
 
 Indians and Spaniards wept and lamented. Noth- 
 ing could be heard above the expressions of grief 
 but the exclamation, "The saint has left us." The 
 most vehement sorrow prevailed among the neo- 
 phytes of the mission to whom the deceased had 
 been a father, nurse, protector, teacher, and pro- 
 vider in every need. 
 
 On the following morning, November 23d, a 
 Requiem High Mass was to be offered up for 
 the soul of the holy man, though every one felt 
 that the soul of Fr. Magin had not gone to pur- 
 gatory at all, but that it was then enjoying heav- 
 enly bliss. Fr. Narciso Duran of Mission San 
 Jose, it appears, was to be the celebrant of the 
 Requiem Mass ; but there was no Requiem High 
 Mass. Whether or not Fr. Duran had been mis- 
 informed, or whatever the reason was, when he 
 arrived at Santa Clara he had broken the fast, 
 so that he could not celebrate. The usual funeral 
 ceremonies were performed, however, and then 
 Fr. Duran preached the sermon for his departed 
 friend. He could scarcely overcome his emotion, 
 and the tears streamed unchecked down his 
 cheeks. When he could make himself understood 
 above the sobs of the grief-stricken people, Fr. 
 Duran told his hearers to remember the teach- 
 ings, counsels, and the good example which they 
 had received from the holy priest, and to carry 
 out what they had learned from Fr. Magin so
 
 34 
 
 that they might deserve to share his company 
 among the blessed in heaven. 
 
 Preparations were then made to inter the re- 
 mains of the dead missionary in the grave opened 
 for them just outside the railing on the Gospel 
 side of the church. The crush of the people, 
 however, was frightful. The Indians loudly pro- 
 tested against the burial of their Father. Every- 
 body rushed to the bier to obtain some relic or 
 memento. With knives and scissors the throng 
 went to work cutting pieces from the habit until 
 the body was almost nude. Nor could the two 
 Fathers prevent the pious vandalism. Another 
 habit was procured, but after awhile nothing was 
 left but shreds. Not content with this, one man 
 took from the hands of the dead priest the cru- 
 cifix which during life Fr. Magin had generally 
 worn on his breast. Others appropriated the san- 
 dals. Soldier guards were called into the 
 church, and Fr. Viader begged the people to 
 allow the burial to proceed. He promised that 
 every one should receive some token of the holy 
 man. The coffin was then closed and lowered 
 into the tomb prepared for it. 
 
 The entry of Fr. Magin Catala's burial in the 
 Santa Clara records reads as follows : "On the 
 22d of November, 1830, at seven in the morning, 
 my companion, the Rev. Magin Catala, preacher 
 apostolic of the College of San Fernando, Mex- 
 ico, returned his soul to the Creator. He was a
 
 35 
 
 missionary of this mission from July, 1794, until 
 the present time without any interruption, that 
 is to say, for thirty-six years, and, excepting the 
 first two years, during the thirty-four years 
 always in my company. He received the holy 
 Sacraments in due time; he made his confession 
 and received Communion frequently during his 
 long and painful sickness. His whole life was 
 exemplary, industrious, and edifying, and much 
 more so his death. On the 23d of said month and 
 year the burial took place in the presence of the 
 Rev. Fr. Ex-Presidente, Fr. Narciso Duran, who 
 delivered the funeral sermon, but could not cele- 
 brate Mass, because by accident he had broken 
 the fast. The concourse of the people since his 
 death was great, and the lamentation until after 
 the interment was general. The entire population 
 of the mission and of the town of San Jose showed 
 plainly how much they loved and venerated him. 
 On said day, in fine, in the presence of all, he 
 was interred by me in the tomb which had been 
 prepared very near the presbytery, or the first 
 step, on the Gospel side. He was sixty-nine years 
 of age, and a native of Montblanch, Catalonia. 
 May he rest in peace. Amen. In testimony 
 whereof I sign my name, Fr. Jose Viader."
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Fr. Magin's Fame for Sanctity. Practices of the 
 People. Fr. Magin's Relics. Opinion of His 
 Superiors, Fathers Lasuen, Sarria, and Payeras. 
 Fr. Jose Viader's Respect. 
 
 THE universal sorrow of the people, the cry 
 of all "The saint has left us," their confi- 
 dence in his supernatural powers and in his guid- 
 ance while alive, demonstrate what was the opin- 
 ion of the multitude concerning the virtues of 
 Fr. Magin Catala. Indians and whites alike, 
 without a dissenting voice, regarded him as a 
 saint long before he passed out of the world. 
 
 For many years after the death of the servant 
 of God, even in distant localities, such as San 
 Juan Bautista and Santa Cruz, the people would 
 ask the priests to celebrate holy Mass in honor 
 of the soul of Fr. Magin, "a la alma del Padre 
 Santo," as they expressed it ; but never for the 
 soul of the holy man. Such is the testimony of 
 the Very Rev. Joachim Adam, Vicar-general of 
 Los Angeles, who for years was stationed at 
 Santa Cruz, and of the late Bishop Francis Mora 
 of Los Angeles, who in the early days had charge 
 of San Juan Bautista. Over-zealous people 
 would frequently go so far as to place burning 
 candles on the grave of Fr. Magin to show their 
 love for the dead priest. This was not tolerated 
 by the respective pastor, because it violated the
 
 37 
 
 Decree of Pope Urban VIII., which forbids pay- 
 ing such extraordinary respect as is accorded 
 only to those whom Mother Church declared 
 worthy of such exterior marks of veneration. 
 "We all invoke the soul of Fr. Magin in every 
 necessity, and we are always relieved," the people 
 would say in reply for an explanation of their de- 
 votion to the holy missionary. Things he did and 
 his virtues were topics of conversation in every 
 household. "We look upon him as upon a saint," 
 they answered when they were warned not to 
 anticipate the action of Mother Church. "If any 
 one has any trouble whatsoever," another would 
 say, "at once there comes to our mind 'Jesus, 
 Mary, and the soul of Fr. Magin assist me.' " 
 
 Anything that had been used by the servant of 
 God was confidently applied in sickness, par- 
 ticularly in desperate cases of childbirth, and 
 always with good results. Generally the people 
 would, at the same time, make a promise to re- 
 cite the Rosary, offer a candle, receive the Sacra- 
 ments, or go on foot to the mission, etc. This 
 devotion to the memory of the holy man was by no 
 means confined to the Indians. It appeared most 
 pronounced among the Spaniards and the better 
 class of Californians all over Central California. 
 To this day, after nearly a century, they speak of 
 him as El Santo or El Prof eta. The people were 
 formerly so sensitive with regard to the servant 
 of God that, as one expressed himself, "It was
 
 38 
 
 enough to make the blood rise in a Californian, if 
 any one said aught, even in jest," against Fr. 
 Magin." 
 
 Long before the people became aware of the 
 extraordinary virtues of Fr. Magin, his own 
 superiors had recognized his worth. As early 
 as October 15th, 1799, Fr. Fermin Francisco de 
 Lasuen, the superior of the missions, in a letter 
 to Governor Borica spoke of the missionary of 
 Santa Clara as "Bendito Padre Magin," "Blessed 
 or saintly Fr. Magin." Fr. Vincente de Sarria, 
 comisario prefecto of the California friars, on 
 November 5th, 1817, when reporting the charac- 
 teristics of all the missionaries to the College 
 of San Fernando, Mexico, writes of Fr. Magin 
 as follows : "His prudent conduct together with 
 a tender and religious zeal, which seems to con- 
 stitute his character, gain for him the merit of a 
 commendable and evangelical missionary in his 
 ministry, which, besides his populous mission, 
 comprises also the spiritual charge of the town of 
 San Jose, one league distant from the mission. I 
 do not doubt that this good Father could fill 
 other charges and offices of some similarity to the 
 one he occupies, if the present state of his health 
 did not embarrass him, which very much prevents 
 him from undertaking journeys." 
 
 Fr. Mariano Payeras, who succeeded Fr. Sar- 
 ria in the office of comisario prefecto, reporting on 
 December 31st, 1820, says, "Fr. Magin Catala is
 
 39 
 
 the senior missionary of Santa Clara. He is fifty- 
 nine years of age . . . His merit is great ; bin 
 services merit recommendation for the offices ol 
 the Order, but he already feels very mucb the 
 weight of his years. The rheumatism torments 
 him, and he is almost incapacitated for travel on 
 horseback." 
 
 Fr. Jose Viader might have told us most about 
 Fr. Magin's virtues and general holiness of life : 
 but either his lips were sealed by a command of 
 his late brother in religion, or he regarded what 
 he knew too sacred to be divulged. As we have 
 seen, Fr. Viader, in entering the burial into the 
 records, merely remarks that Fr. Magin's "whole 
 life was exemplary, industrious, and edifying, and 
 much more so his death." In a letter to the gov- 
 ernor, dated May llth, 1816, Fr. Viader shows 
 his esteem in these words : "If my companion 
 has not signed my last report, it is certain that 
 he saw it and approved it ; for in mission matters 
 nothing is done which is not according to his 
 pleasure and approbation, as is proper, inasmuch 
 as he is older, experienced, and more worthy."
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Opening of Fr. Magin's Tomb. Identification. 
 Archbishop Alemany Interested. Petition of the 
 Jesuit Fathers. Decision of the Archbishop's 
 Council. Notary and Vice-Postulator Appointed. 
 Archbishop Alemany the Moving Spirit. 
 
 ON Monday of Holy Week, April 2cl, 1860, 
 thirty years after the holy man had passed 
 to his eternal reward, the tomb was opened in or- 
 der to receive the body of the Rev. Peter De-Vos, 
 S. J., who had died on Palm Sunday. A great 
 multitude of people flocked to the church in the 
 hope of obtaining some relic of Fr. Magin Catala. 
 Among the many survivors, who had known the 
 servant of God personally, was Juan Crisostomo 
 Galindo, for several years majordomo of Mission 
 Santa Clara and an intimate friend of the late 
 missionary. When the coffin had been raised and 
 opened, Indians and Spaniards, and especially 
 Juan Galindo, identified the body as that of the 
 servant of God, Fr. Magin, though only the skele- 
 ton and the Franciscan habit remained. Back of 
 the skull and around the chin lay bunches of gray 
 hair. The jaws still held their set of fine, white 
 teeth which the youthful John Alon?o Forbes, 
 now Justice of the Peace at Jolon, undertook to 
 touch with his fingers. His grandfather Juan 
 Galindo, however, appeared so scandalized at 
 this bit of irreverence for the remains of the
 
 41 
 
 priestly friend, whom he had regarded as a saint, 
 that the boy hastily withdrew. The coffin lid 
 showed breaks through which some of the earth 
 had entered. Judging from the size of the skele- 
 ton, Fr. Magin must have measured about five 
 feet eight inches in height. 
 
 A Latin record of the proceedings was drawn 
 up and later on report was made to the Arch- 
 bishop of San Francisco as follows : 
 
 "Most Rev. Joseph Sadoc Alemany, O. P., 
 
 "Archbishop of San Francisco, California. 
 
 "Most Rev. Father in Christ : I, the under- 
 signed, having celebrated the Holy Sacrifice and 
 fervently prayed to God, at Your request and for 
 the greater honor and glory of God and the Im- 
 maculate Virgin Mary, bear witness to the follow- 
 ing facts, to wit: 
 
 "1. That the body of the Rev. Father Magin 
 Catala, of the Order of St. Francis, rests in the 
 parish church at Santa Clara, in the State of 
 California, near the Communion railing, but out- 
 side the sanctuary, on the Gospel side. The 
 grave was opened A. D. 1860, in order to place 
 the body of Father Peter De-Vos, S. J., who had 
 died on Palm Sunday, April 1, 1860, in the same 
 tomb. The coffin, which contained the remains 
 of Fr. Magin, had suffered somewhat owing to 
 the length of time and the dampness. The body 
 was seen and recognized by many Indians, Mexi-
 
 42 
 
 cans, Spaniards, and others who had known the 
 Father. 
 
 "2. There was nothing left save the bones, 
 shreds of his garments, a little hair about the 
 jaws, and some of the ground that had fallen 
 through the cracks into the coffin. I have seen 
 all this with my own eyes. Thereupon, towards 
 evening (April 2, 1860) the remains were again 
 placed into the same tomb. Upon this same cof- 
 fin the other containing the body of Father Peter 
 De-Vos, S. J., was placed. 
 
 "3. Father Aloysius Bosco, then Assistant 
 Pastor, was present during the whole time that all 
 this took place, in order that no doubt might 
 arise as to the identity of the body of said Fr. 
 Magin. 
 
 "Your most humble Servant in Christ, 
 "FRANCIS IGNATIUS PRELATO, S. J. 
 
 "August 12th, 1884, The Feast of St. Clare. 
 "St. Ignatius College, S. J., in the City of San 
 
 Francisco, California." 
 
 Devotion to the servant of God continued 
 among the Spaniards, Indians, and Mexicans, and 
 so many wonderful things were said to have oc- 
 curred through his intercession that the Jesuit 
 Fathers, to whom the Very Rev. Jose Gonzalez 
 Rubio, O. F. M., administrator of the diocese, 
 had given charge of Santa Clara in 1851, com- 
 municated their observations to Archbishop Ale-
 
 43 
 
 many early in 1882. From letters preserved in 
 the archives of the archdiocese we learn that His 
 Grace on July 26th and August 4th, 1882, made 
 inquiries at Santa Clara with regard to the for- 
 malities that must be observed in the process of 
 beatification. In obedience to the Archbishop's 
 request Fr. Dominic Joseph Lentz, O. P., of Be- 
 nicia, on September 12th and October 7th, 1882, 
 reported on the Cultus Prohibitus. Early in Oc- 
 tober of the same year His Grace went a step 
 further, and asked the Rev. Doroteo Ambris of 
 Mission San Antonio to write a Life of Fr. Ma- 
 gin Catala. Father Ambris replied on October 
 15th that he did not consider himself equal to 
 the task and therefore begged to be excused. 
 From a letter of Fr. Jose Maria Romo, O. F. M., 
 Guardian of the Franciscan monastery at Santa 
 Barbara, dated October 21st, 1882, it Is evident 
 that Archbishop Alemany was calling for infor- 
 mation as far down as Santa Barbara with regard 
 to the rumors of sanctity circulating about Fr. 
 Magin. 
 
 When the Jesuit Fathers of Santa Clara dis- 
 covered that the Archbishop of San Francisco 
 looked with favor upon the matter, they took a 
 decided step and in a joint letter petitioned His 
 Grace to institute the canonical investigation. 
 The document written in Latin reads as follows : 
 "Most Rev. and Most Illustrious Lord: 
 
 "Among the saintly apostolic men, who first
 
 44 
 
 brought the light of the Gospel to the inhabitants 
 of these regions of California Fr. Magin Catala, 
 a member of the Order of the Friars Minor of St. 
 Francis, was renowned. For thirty-six years in 
 succession, from 1794 to 1830, he stood at the 
 head of this Mission of Santa Clara, and he was 
 known far and wide on account of his labors for 
 the glory of God and the salvation of souls and 
 because of his virtues. Inasmuch as more than 
 fifty years have already passed by since his blessed 
 death, it is to be feared that the memory of his 
 virtues and labors may be lost and his fame de- 
 cline, unless everything relating to the servant 
 of God be at once diligently collected from those 
 that still survive and may remember them, and 
 ordered to be preserved in writing. 
 
 If God be pleased to glorify him on earth also, 
 the necessary proofs to justify instituting the 
 process are not wanting. Hence the undersigned 
 Father John Pinasco of the Society of Jesus, Rec- 
 tor of the parish of Santa Clara, and his Assist- 
 ants, Father Aloysius Masnato and Joseph Bixio, 
 likewise of the Society of Jesus, hereby humbly 
 petition Your Grace that, if You should judge 
 it conducive to increase the glory of God, Your 
 Grace in Your wisdom would deign to decree 
 that information concerning the virtues and repu- 
 tation for sanctity, which the said servant of 
 God enjoyed, be canonically collected. 
 
 "Meanwhile, wishing Your Grace everything
 
 45 
 
 good from their whole heart, they humbly ask 
 Your blessing. 
 
 "Your Grace's Servants in Christ, 
 
 "JOHN PINASCO, S. J. 
 "ALOYSIUS MASNATO, S. J. 
 "JOSEPH BIXIO, S. J. 
 "Santa Clara, November 20th, 1882. 
 "To the Most Illustrious and Most Reverend 
 Father in the Lord, Joseph Sadoc Alemany, 
 O. P., Archbishop of San Francisco." 
 
 The Archbishop brought the petition to the at- 
 tention of his Council with the result set forth in 
 the following document: 
 
 "The Ecclesiastical Council of His Grace the 
 Most Rev. J. S. Alemany, D. D., Archbishop of 
 San Francisco, having laid before it a petition 
 forwarded by the Rev. Rector and Assistant Rec- 
 tors of the Mission of Santa Clara, California, re- 
 questing that steps be taken to determine the 
 truth of the popular belief and tradition regard- 
 ing the reputed pre-eminent sanctity of the Rev- 
 erend Padre Magin Catala, who departed this 
 life at the mission of Santa Clara in the year of 
 Our Lord 1830, the members of said Council are 
 unanimously of the opinion, from the statements 
 set forth in the document referred to, that ample 
 evidence exists to warrant the Most Rev. Arch- 
 bishop to permit an investigation into the life and 
 virtues of the Rev. Missionary with the view of
 
 46 
 
 taking the necessary measures for having his 
 name ultimately placed on the Catalogue of the 
 Saints, in case the inquiry should result in estab- 
 lishing his pre-eminent holiness of life. St. 
 Mary's Cathedral, San Francisco, Nov. 24th, 
 1882. W. Gleeson, Secretary." 
 
 The Archbishop acceded to the wishes of the 
 Fathers of Santa Clara and of his Council. On 
 December 5th, 1882, with the consent of the 
 Jesuit Superiors, he appointed the Rev. Benedict 
 Picardo, S. J., Notary of the Process to be in- 
 stituted. The Rev. Father took oath on the same 
 day before the Archbishop in the presence of the 
 witnesses, the Rev. George Montgomery and the 
 Rev. Joseph Bixio, S. J. Father Picardo took 
 great pains to find trustworthy persons who had 
 known Fr. Magin, and others who might tell the 
 facts as learned from eye-witnesses. He 
 traveled all over the country from San Rafael to 
 Mission San Antonio, took the depositions on the 
 spot in the presence of priests or other creditable 
 persons, and succeeded in discovering a large 
 number of surviving men and women, who had 
 been more or less acquainted with the servant of 
 God. These witnesses and others were called to 
 Santa Clara, where the sessions began about the 
 middle of August, 1884, as we know from a let- 
 ter which the Archbishop on August llth wrote 
 to Rev. Joseph Bixio, S. J., who had been ap- 
 pointed Vice-Postulator in the case. "The main
 
 47 
 
 thing now is to organize," His Grace says, "and 
 to secure the testimony of the old witnesses. . . . 
 I will take along with me plenty of suitable paper, 
 Spanish wax, seals, a tin box and key in which to 
 lock the work when adjourning, as prescribed. 
 . . . I have made all necessary appointments, 
 and will notify the officers again. Please tell 
 Father Congiato that, probably, I may be with 
 him Saturday evening or Sunday morning so as 
 to confer with him." 
 
 All this shows that Archbishop Alemany was 
 deeply interested. In truth, he was the moving 
 spirit in the whole proceeding. It was he that 
 wrote to different localities in Spain for informa- 
 tion about the antecedents and early youth of Fr. 
 Magin Catala. He also, though in vain, applied 
 for particulars concerning the holy man's sojourn 
 in Mexico, and saw to it that every formality pre- 
 scribed by Rome was carried out. More than 
 that, Archbishop Alemany himself approached 
 various pious and wealthy persons in order to 
 procure means wherewith to meet the expenses 
 which must have been heavy.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Members of the Ecclesiastical Court. The 
 Witnesses. Demand for Corroborative Evidence. 
 A Life of Fr. Magin. Removal of Fr. Magin's 
 Remains. The New Process de Non-Cultu. The 
 Proceedings. Ridiculous Non-Catholic Notions 
 About the Canonization of Saints. 
 
 THE Court which finally convened at Santa 
 Clara to take the evidence was constituted 
 as follows : Judge, the Most Rev. J. S. Alemany, 
 O. P., Archbishop of San Francisco; Vice- 
 Postulator or Defender of the Cause, the Rev. 
 Joseph Bixio, S. J. ; Notary, who had to take 
 down the testimony literally, the Rev. Benedict 
 Picardo, S. J. ; Promoter Fiscalis, popularly 
 known as "Devil's Advocate," the Rev. Aloysius 
 Masnato, S. J. ; Notarius in Actuarium Deputatus, 
 whose duty it was to compare the copy of the 
 amanuenses with the original of the Notary, the 
 Rev. Vincent Vinyes, O. P. After the testimony 
 had been taken the manuscript of the Notary was 
 parceled out to three scribes or amanuenses, who 
 had to make a copy for the Sacred Congregation 
 of Rites at Rome. The three copyists in this 
 case were the Reverends Lorenzo Serda, of Oak- 
 land, Cal., Emanuel Estragues, and Andres 
 Garriga. The last named at present is Rector of 
 the parish at San Luis Obispo. The copyists 
 were sworn to secrecy until the promulgation of 
 the acts.
 
 49 
 
 Sixty-two witnesses were called and examined 
 under oath. Of this number, twelve laymen and 
 twenty-four women were eye-witnesses to the 
 facts which they related. Six Jesuits, two secular 
 priests, one Franciscan, eight laymen, and nine 
 women had their knowledge from near relatives 
 or other trustworthy persons who had been eye- 
 witnesses. The main object of the investigation 
 was to obtain proof that the servant of God had 
 practiced the theological, cardinal and other vir- 
 tues in an heroic degree. The alleged miracles 
 merely served as incentives to the process. The 
 result was taken to Rome apparently by Arch- 
 bishop Alemany himself and there ordered 
 printed. 
 
 The Archbishop, soon after the close of the 
 canonical process in behalf of Fr. Magin, resigned 
 and went to Rome. From there he informed his 
 successor, Most Rev. Patrick William Riordan, 
 D. D., that the Sacred Congregation had exam- 
 ined the Acts of the Court, found the evidence to 
 be good, but desired corroborative testimony. 
 The Very Rev. John Prendergast, Vicar-General, 
 was thereupon directed to act as Judge during 
 the subsequent investigation. The Court held 
 one session at Santa Clara, but as nothing could 
 be done until new evidence had been procured, 
 the Rev. Benedict Picardo, S. J., of San Jose, 
 was directed to present trustworthy witnesses, 
 and to report whenever he was ready. No re-
 
 50 
 
 port was ever made and no other session of the 
 Court took place. 
 
 In 1890, the Postulator-General at Rome took 
 steps to further the cause of Fr. Magin. 
 Through the Very Rev. Anselmus Mueller, O. 
 F. M., Defmitor-General, now Rector of St. 
 Francis' College, Quincy, Ills., he urged the late 
 Fr. Clementine Deymann, O. F. M., of Watson- 
 ville, Cal., to publish a life of the servant of God. 
 In the absence of all historical material, this was 
 an exceedingly difficult task. Fortunately, the 
 Rev. Andrew Garriga, one of the three amanu- 
 enses of the proceedings in 1884, had collected 
 most of the testimony given by the witnesses with 
 a view to perpetuate the memory of the holy 
 man of Santa Clara. He readily turned the 
 manuscript over to Fr. Clementine, who re- 
 arranged and rewrote the story. For some rea- 
 son or the other it was never published, and so 
 the cause of good Fr. Magin was again left in 
 abeyance. 
 
 In 1904, the writer published a lengthy sketch 
 of Fr. Magin's life, which was based chiefly 
 upon the notes of Rev. Andrew Garriga. It ran 
 through six numbers of the now extinct "Do- 
 minicana," a monthly magazine edited by the 
 Dominican Fathers of San Francisco. It was the 
 first time that the holy man's life came to the 
 notice of the general public. 
 
 Interest was revived in 1907, when the Jesuit
 
 SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF 
 PADRE MAGIN CATALA,O.F.M. 
 
 BORN AT MONTBLANC. 
 
 CATALOS1A. SPAIN, A. D. 1761. 
 
 BECAME A FRANCISCAN 
 
 AT BARCELONA. A. D, 1777, 
 
 ARRIVED AT SANTA CLARA. JULY A. D. 1734 
 
 HERE HE TOILED. PRAYED.SUFFERED 
 
 FOR 36 YEARS. 
 
 DIED IN THE ODOR OF SANCTITY. 
 
 NOV. 22 A. D. 1830. 
 
 BELOVED OF COD AND MEN, WHOSE MEMORY 
 - 
 
 IS fN BENEDICTION 
 
 tCCUSlASTICUS. 45 t
 
 51 
 
 Fathers of Santa Clara resolved to transfer the 
 remains of Fr. Magin from the unmarked grave 
 to the foot of the Altar of the Crucifix, where he 
 had passed so many hours in contemplation and 
 prayer for his people. On digging for the body 
 of the former .missionary, it was found that the 
 old coffin had entirely decayed. Only a few 
 bones, some hair, and pieces of habit were left. 
 The pieces of habit were best preserved. The 
 fabric was a coarse woolen cloth and of dis- 
 tinctly brown color. The Fathers and Brothers 
 reverently, though privately, gathered the relics 
 and placed them in a tin box. The lid, which 
 bore a suitable inscription, was fastened down 
 hermetically and then lowered into the tomb on 
 the Gospel side of the little altar. Over the whole 
 was placed a magnificent marble slab with gold 
 lettering, which recites the various dates in the 
 life of the servant of God. At the head of the 
 slab are the Franciscan coat-of-arms, and at the 
 foot are the words from Ecclesiasticus xlv, 1 : 
 "His memory is in benediction." 
 
 In 1908, at the request of the new Postulator- 
 General, Very Rev. Fr. Francisco Maria Paolini, 
 O. F. M., the Sacred Congregation of Rites, after 
 examining the testimony obtained in the former 
 process, decided to advance the cause of Fr. 
 Magin by ordering the process de non Cultu. 
 This was merely to prove that no public cult had 
 been accorded the servant of God contrary to the
 
 52 
 
 Decree of Pope Urban VIII. A sealed list of 
 questions to that effect was sent to the Arch- 
 bishop of San Francisco, and by him turned 
 over to the Promotor Fiscalis. The Sacred 
 Congregation of Rites also directed His Grace, 
 Most Rev. Patrick William Riordan, D. D., to 
 issue a decree calling for the writings of Fr. 
 Magin Catala. This decree was issued on No- 
 vember 6th, 1908, and read from the pulpit of 
 every parish church in the Archdiocese. 
 
 With the consent of the Commissary Provin- 
 cial, Very Rev. Theodore Arentz, O. F. M., the 
 Postulator-General, on September 19th, 1908, ap- 
 pointed the writer Vice-Postulator in the case. 
 This made it incumbent upon him to procure the 
 witnesses and to press the case before the 
 Ecclesiastical Court to be organized by His Grace, 
 the Archbishop of San Francisco. The members 
 of the Court established by the Archbishop on 
 November 6th, 1908, were: Very Rev. Richard 
 A. Gleeson, S. J., President of Santa Clara Col- 
 lege, Judge ; Rev. Reginald Newell, O. P., Prior 
 of the Dominican Monastery, San Francisco, 
 Promotor Fidei; Rev. Engelbert Gey, O. F. M., 
 Guardian of the Franciscan Monastery, Fruit- 
 vale, Cal., Notary; Rev. Maximilian Neumann, 
 O. F. M., Definitor and Guardian of the Fran- 
 ciscan Monastery, San Francisco, Reviewing 
 Notary; Rev. Bonaventure Oblasser, O. F. M., 
 Cursor or Messenger ; Rev. William J. McMillan,
 
 S3 
 
 S. J., and Rev. William Lonergan, S. J., scribes 
 or copyists. All the members of the Court had 
 to take oath and were pledged to secrecy until 
 the promulgation of the Process, which took 
 place at the review of the case in the latter part 
 of February, 1909. 
 
 The sessions began at Santa Clara on Wed- 
 nesday morning, November 18th. Eight well- 
 informed witnesses testified under oath. The 
 last testimony was received at the last secret ses- 
 sion on Wednesday, January 27th, 1909. The 
 last open session was held Saturday, February 
 20th, under the presidency of His Grace, the 
 Archbishop himself. The documents were sealed 
 and a messenger chosen in the person of the 
 writer, whose business it was to take the papers, 
 together with the few writings of Fr. Magin, to 
 Rome. The cause of Fr. Magin Catala now 
 rests with the Sacred Congregation of Rites. If 
 everything is found to have been transacted in 
 keeping with the numerous formalities pre- 
 scribed, and if, after a rigid examination, it is 
 shown beyond a doubt that the servant of God 
 has indeed practiced the theological, cardinal, and 
 other virtues in an heroic degree, then the Holy 
 Father, the Pope, may confer upon Fr. Magin 
 Catala the title of "Venerable," which, however, 
 entitles to no such veneration as is accorded the 
 Blessed or Saints. When, after that, two first- 
 class miracles have been proved to have occurred
 
 54 
 
 through his intercession, then Fr. Magin may re- 
 ceive beatification, which permits public cult to 
 a limited degree, but is still far from canonization. 
 We have somewhat minutely stated all that has 
 transpired in the case of Fr. Magin, in order that 
 those interested may understand that the "making 
 of a Saint" is not such a simple and superficial 
 matter as is generally supposed. Ordinary Cath- 
 olics not infrequently lack knowledge and appre- 
 ciation of the scrupulous care employed at Rome 
 before as much as the title "Venerable" is con- 
 ceded to a servant of God. As to non-Catholics, 
 the dense ignorance and the flippant tone that 
 prevail even among reputable historians and 
 writers, when they touch this subject, are remark- 
 able. One instance will suffice for illustration. 
 Cabeza de Vaca and his few companions, 
 whilst held prisoners by the Texas Indians from 
 about 1529 to 1536, performed some remarkable 
 cures which at least procured better treatment 
 for themselves. "Our method," he writes, "was 
 to 'bless the sick, breathing upon them, and to 
 recite a Pater-Noster and an Ave-Maria, praying 
 with all earnestness to God, Our Savior, that He 
 would give health and influence to make us some 
 good return. In His clemency He willed that all 
 those for whom we supplicated should tell the 
 others that they were sound and in good health, 
 directly after we had made the sign of the 
 Blessed Cross over them." In connection with
 
 55 
 
 this incident, the apparently honest historian, 
 Woodbury Lowery, on page 194 of "The Spanish 
 Settlements in the United States, 1513-1561," 
 New York, 1901, sees proper to remark: "Per- 
 haps when the storm of controversy aroused by 
 this first of miracles performed upon our soil 
 shall have been quite forgotten, another saint 
 shall be added to the Calendar worthy to become 
 the patron of the present State of Texas."
 
 PART II. 
 VIRTUES.
 
 "By their fruits you shall know them." 
 
 (Matt, vii, 20.) 
 
 WE have now to consider the virtues that 
 adorned the servant of God. Mother 
 Church, as we have seen, authorized an investi- 
 gation as soon as her attention was called to the 
 prodigies said to have been wrought by Fr. 
 Magin Catala, and to the remarkable devotion for 
 him which continued for more than half a cen- 
 tury after his death. The object was to ascer- 
 tain whether the wonderful man had practiced all 
 the Christian virtues in an heroic degree, so that 
 he could be set up as an example worthy of imita- 
 tion. The Catholic Church, it must be remem- 
 bered, has standards of sanctity quite different 
 from those of the world. Unless it is proved be- 
 yond a doubt that the candidate for the honors 
 of the altar excelled in the exercise of the theo- 
 logical, cardinal, and other virtues, alleged 
 miracles have no weight in her eyes. Miracles, 
 indeed, are not necessary to determine the holi- 
 ness of a person. 
 
 Whether or not an individual possessed the 
 virtues mentioned in an heroic degree must be 
 inferred from his words and acts. These are the 
 fruits of his interior, and "by their fruits you 
 shall know them," Christ, Our Lord, Himself has 
 given us to understand. Now "whosoever," says 
 Cardinal Aguirre, as quoted by Fr. Palou, in the
 
 60 
 
 Life of Fr. Junipero Serra, "is found always and 
 with all the energy of his mind to have observed 
 not only the Commandments, but also the Evan- 
 gelical Counsels, to the last moment of his life, 
 and never to have swerved from that difficult and 
 narrow path by word, deed, or omission, and that, 
 too, according to the general opinion of men who 
 admire such perfection of life in mortal man, he 
 indeed with probability is believed to have been 
 endowed with the infused virtues in an heroic de- 
 gree, and also with the acquired virtues in the 
 same degree." 
 
 Pope Benedict XIV * describes the signs of 
 heroic virtue in these words : "In order that a 
 virtue be heroic it must effect that he who pos- 
 sesses it works with ease, with promptitude, and 
 with cheerfulness beyond the ordinary from a 
 supernatural motive, with self-denial, and with 
 subjection of his affections." 
 
 The virtues, which must be found in a true 
 saint and which he must have practiced in so 
 eminent a manner and degree, if he is to be ad- 
 mitted to the calendar of the Church, now follow 
 in their regular order. Let us hope that Mother 
 Church will find that Fr. Magin Catala has 
 proved himself a hero in every one of them. 
 
 * De Serv. Dei Beatif., cap. xxii, lib. 3.
 
 THEOLOGICAL VIRTUES. 
 
 FAITH. 
 
 "Without faith it is impossible to please God." 
 
 (Hebr. xi, 6.) 
 
 UT^AITH," according to St. Paul, "is the 
 r substance of things hoped for, the con- 
 viction of things that appear not." l "Substance 
 he calls it," says St. Bernardine of Siena, 2 "be- 
 cause like a foundation it sustains the whole spir- 
 itual edifice." Hence faith is the most necessary 
 of all virtues ; but there are degrees in faith. 
 St. Bonaventure 3 distinguishes three degrees. 
 The first is attained by the generality of Chris- 
 tians, who, without higher science and holiness, 
 accept the teachings of the Church as the word 
 of God. In the second degree the soul, with the 
 aid of the supernatural gift of understanding, 
 penetrates more or less what she accepts as true. 
 To a soul that has reached the third and highest 
 degree, faith communicates such a firm convic- 
 tion and such a clear view of the things which 
 she believes that she appears to see them with her 
 eyes. This last degree of faith Fr. Magin doubt- 
 less attained, as the narrative will demonstrate. 
 
 1 Hebr. xi, 1. 
 
 2 Sermo 2 de Dom. Quinq. 
 
 3 De Gradibus Virtutum.
 
 62 
 
 St. Antonine, O. P., Bishop of Florence, 4 
 enumerating the signs from which the depth of a 
 person's faith may be judged, says, "One's faith 
 may be proved to be great, if, in the first place, he 
 has an exalted idea of God." Fr. Magin's view 
 of the Divine Majesty must have been of the 
 highest order, inasmuch as he sacrificed every- 
 thing that the world and human affections cherish 
 for his Creator and Savior. For his God he 
 abandoned parents, relatives, worldly comforts 
 and prospects, mother country, and the beloved 
 solitude of his monastery, in order to bring the 
 knowledge of God to the rude, dull, and unappre- 
 ciative Indians of California. For God's sake, 
 he went to the mountains and deserts in search 
 of heathen natives, in order to gather them be- 
 neath the Cross of Santa Clara, all the while tor- 
 mented with disease and other sufferings which 
 would have disheartened a soul imbued with less 
 fervent faith. Only the deep conviction that 
 God was supereminently worthy of all these sac- 
 rifices, and many more, could have induced the 
 zealous missionary to persevere at his post to the 
 end of his life, not only bearing his afflictions with 
 cheerful resignation, but adding to them by means, 
 of self-inflicted tortures which cause even un- 
 worldly hearts to shudder. 
 
 4 Sum. part 4, tit. 8, cap. 3, sec. 7, as quoted by 
 Fr. Palou in "Vida," 315.
 
 63 
 
 Eager to communicate the faith that makes 
 happy, and in obedience to the missionary regu- 
 lations observed at all the California missions, Fr. 
 Magin would daily give two instructions to the 
 converts, alternately in Spanish and Indian. 
 The children were taught apart from their elders 
 later in the day. The holy pastor insisted that 
 all should learn the Christian doctrine well, and 
 for that reason he would not weary of the end- 
 less repetitions demanded by the dullness of the 
 natives. On Sundays and holy days, and there 
 were many more of the latter than now, there 
 would be the sermon during holy Mass in Span- 
 ish for both the colonists and Indians, and in the 
 afternoon another for the Indians in their own 
 language. During Advent and Lent there 
 would be additional instructions in keeping with 
 those seasons. In Lent Fr. Catala would dwell 
 especially on Passion of Our Lord, the Sorrows 
 of Mary, how to make the Way of the Cross, 
 which on Fridays would be held on the famous 
 Alameda half-way to San Jose, how to make a 
 good confession and how to receive holy Com- 
 munion worthily ; for he took care that every one 
 complied with the Easter duty. During the month 
 of May, and on the feasts of the Blessed Virgin, 
 he would explain and urge the recital of the 
 Rosary, which, with the Litany of Our Lady, was 
 said in common by the Indians every day. 
 
 A great longing possessed the servant of God
 
 64 
 
 to have all men share in the happiness of the 
 Christian faith. For that purpose "he would ex- 
 pose his life to danger," Nazario Galindo testi- 
 fied, "by walking in search of Indians. I have 
 seen him go with my father as far as the San 
 Joaquin River, about one hundred miles, in order 
 to attract the pagans to the mission so that he 
 might teach them the truths of religion." 
 People insisted that some of his journeys could 
 not have been accomplished without a miracle in 
 view of the sufferings which they entailed on ac- 
 count of the wretched state of his health. His 
 desire for the conversion of the Gentiles became 
 so intense that there were those who claimed that 
 the holy missionary had gone into the mountains 
 to instruct and baptize some poor savages unable 
 to reach the mission, though Fr. Magin at the 
 time had not left Santa Clara at all ; in other 
 words, that he had been in two places at the 
 same time. 
 
 After the converts had been instructed and 
 baptized, Fr. Magin saw to it that they regulated 
 their lives according to Christian morals and dis- 
 cipline. He insisted that they should render 
 themselves worthy of the blessings which faith 
 bestowed. This was no easy matter. The neo- 
 phytes were required to put restraint upon their 
 passions, and to become industrious in order to 
 earn a living in a decent manner. This was un- 
 known to them in paganism. In truth, the male
 
 65 
 
 Indians regarded labor with contempt, and any 
 kind of restraint as incompatible with their no- 
 tions of liberty. Christian faith, however, taught 
 that subjection of the animal instincts resulted in 
 liberty of the mind, and therefore demanded that 
 the applicant for admission into the Christian 
 community should change his pagan habits. Not 
 a few of the neophytes, like the Jews of old, tired 
 of the new life and longed for their former un- 
 bridled customs. Like a good shepherd the ser- 
 vant of God would follow them when they ran 
 away, in order to induce them to return. Gen- 
 erally he would succeed, but sometimes to his in- 
 tense grief he would fail. As a rule, the converts 
 remained faithful. 
 
 The fruit of his apostolic labors may be seen in 
 the mission records still preserved at the Jesuit 
 College of Santa Clara. From September 1st, 
 1794, for instance, to October 27th, 1827, after 
 which date his crippled condition made it impos- 
 sible for him to officiate, Fr. Magin alone bap- 
 tized three thousand and sixty-seven persons. 
 Few of these were white. Of this number fif- 
 teen hundred and fifty-three were over nine years 
 of age, consequently Indian converts ; the rest 
 were mostly the children of neophytes. 
 
 From the exalted view which Fr. Magin held 
 about God Almighty resulted his contempt for 
 everything worldly that he might enjoy the com- 
 pany of God. With St. Paul he could truly say,
 
 66 
 
 "I count all things (earthly) as dung that I may 
 gain Christ." 5 This, according to St. Antonine, 
 is the second sign of superior faith. It will stand 
 out clearly when we speak of the vow of poverty 
 which the holy missionary observed to perfection. 
 
 The third mark of heroic faith St. Antonine 
 finds in a person who trusts in God notwithstand- 
 ing all adversities. That Fr. Magin's faith pos- 
 sessed this quality will become evident as we de- 
 scribe his fortitude. 
 
 Lastly a person manifests faith in an eminent 
 degree when he does not cease performing good 
 works. To grow weary in doing good and in 
 continuing faithful to one's duties is one of the 
 severe temptations of spiritual life. St. Paul, 
 having learnt its danger from experience, warns 
 the faithful to be on their guard and "not to fail 
 in doing good ; for in due time we shall reap not 
 failing." 6 Doubtless Fr. Magin encountered the 
 same temptation, and with him the trial must 
 have been far more keen, because of his almost 
 lifelong battle with disease. He lived by faith, 
 however, and his faith was of the superior order 
 which remains unshaken, though "prophecies 
 shall be made void, or tongues shall cease, or 
 knowledge shall be destroyed." 7 
 
 5 Philip, iii, 8. 
 
 6 Gal. vi, 9; II Thess. iii, 13. 
 
 7 I Cor. xiii, 8.
 
 67 
 
 In his last years the servant of God could but 
 painfully limp along with the help of an attend- 
 ant. Nevertheless he insisted on visiting the sick 
 in order to administer the Sacraments, to give 
 consolation, or to provide the necessaries of life. 
 He might indeed have sent his companion, who 
 would gladly have relieved the infirm missionary ; 
 but Fr. Magin had not the heart to load additional 
 burdens upon his assistant as long as there was 
 any possibility of performing the work himself. 
 
 When, in the latter part of his life, the holy 
 man could no more ascend the pulpit, nor even 
 stand at the communion railing to instruct or 
 preach, he would not dispense himself and let the 
 people go without hearing something of God and 
 divine truths. Seated in a chair at the railing he 
 would preach with his usual fervor as though 
 nothing ailed him. "It happened," Josefa Flores 
 testified at the examination in 1884, "that weak- 
 ness overcame him and he fainted in his chair. 
 People would then weep for fear of losing their 
 pastor." 
 
 The holy man's style was very effective, says a 
 witness. It moved the hearts of sinners to re- 
 pentance and inspired fear of God. His voice 
 was sonorous, and he spoke with all the conviction 
 and fearlessness of an apostle. J. A. Forbes, a 
 Scotch convert, who held the office of British 
 Consul on the Pacific Coast, and who later acted 
 as secretary and as teacher for Fr. Viader, de-
 
 clared that Fr. Magin spoke like a man inspired. 
 "It was my great privilege," he related, "to know 
 as zealous a man as St. John Chrysostom, and I 
 think fully as effective as a preacher. I refer to 
 Fr. Magin Catala." 
 
 A great many witnesses, including Mr. Forbes, 
 according to his son, Alonzo Forbes, and his 
 daughter, Mrs. Clara Sunol, now of East Oak- 
 land, related that on certain occasions, notably 
 on Good Friday and in Lent or in Advent, the 
 servant of God would take a small wooden box 
 to the pulpit, or later on place it upon the small 
 table at the railing where he preached. After a 
 little while he would open the lid and startle the 
 people by taking from the box a human skull. 
 He would place the hideous thing upon the lid, 
 and then addressing it, he would call upon its 
 owner to give an account of the life she had led 
 and spent in sin. Intensely agitated himself, the 
 preacher, in glowing language, would turn to the 
 skull and exclaim : "Where are now thine eyes, O 
 skull? those eyes with which thou didst strive to 
 entrap thy dupes into thy snares ? Where are the 
 ear-rings that dangled from thine ears? Where 
 are those voluptuous lips and the vile tongue with 
 which thou didst slander thy neighbor, and with 
 which thou didst give expression to frivolous and 
 immodest language to the scandal of all ? Where 
 are now those painted cheeks with which thou 
 wouldst deceive and beguile? Where are now
 
 69 
 
 those naked arms with their jeweled bracelets? 
 Where is that hair that flowed loosely over thy 
 naked shoulders, or was nicely bound up and on 
 which thou didst waste precious time, and with 
 which thou wert trying to capture immortal souls 
 to lead them to perdition ? Where are now those 
 costly dresses that covered thy vain person, and 
 by means of which thou woulclst make a showy 
 appearance among thy kind? All has vanished 
 like the smoke in the air ! O vanity of vanities ! 
 They caused thy damnation ! Thy soul is in 
 hell !" 
 
 On such occasions, said Bernarda Valencia with 
 others, the people were awfully terrified and wept 
 abundant tears. "Many women," Mr. Forbes 
 tells us, "would be so affected by the eloquence 
 of the priest that they actually fell into spasms, 
 fainted, or would cry aloud for pardon." Some 
 claim that Fr. Magin would add the remark that 
 the person, of whom the skull had been a part, 
 was indeed in hell ; that he knew it ; and that they 
 knew her ; but that he would not in pity for them 
 reveal the name. The holy man's words also 
 made an extraordinary impression whenever he 
 spoke on the last things of man, death, judgment, 
 hell, and paradise. His sermons as a rule had a 
 powerful effect, because everybody knew that the 
 preacher was not declaiming, but thoroughly felt 
 what he announced inasmuch as all were aware of 
 his most penitential life.
 
 70 
 
 In preaching, the holy missionary was espe- 
 cially severe against gambling, immodest dancing, 
 and extravagance in dress. Among the colonists 
 of those days these vices caused no less distress 
 and sin than now. "To this day," Mrs. Sufiol, 
 grand-daughter of Juan Crisostomo, who acted as 
 Fr. Magin's mayordomo, related to the writer, 
 "even now I feel the fright, the horror, aroused in 
 us girls at what Fr. Magin preached on extrava- 
 gance in dress, as told us by my grandfather. In 
 consequence, neither my sister nor I would ever 
 wear any jewelry." 
 
 Sometimes, notably in Lent, when speaking on 
 the Passion of Our Lord, Fr. Magin would seize 
 the crucifix, which he always wore on his breast, 
 and would hold such tender dialogue with his 
 Crucified Love that the audience were moved to 
 tears of repentance. 
 
 The holy missionary would not only instruct 
 his people in the faith and the duties which it 
 imposes, but he also warned them against the 
 dangers that would beset their faith. Whether 
 he read the signs of the times, or whether Al- 
 mighty God allowed him to see far ahead into the 
 future, it is impossible to determine ; but in his 
 anxiety for the preservation of the faith which 
 he cherished, Fr. Magin warned Indians and 
 colonists to love their religion and to instil it 
 into the hearts of their children. "Other re- 
 ligions," said he, "will appear which are not of
 
 71 
 
 God. They will erect houses of false worship 
 and will teach different doctrines which you have 
 not heard from me. Many of you will grow cold 
 in the faith, and will give up practising your re- 
 ligion." Nearly all those that bore witness at the 
 official examination gave testimony to this 
 prophecy, or whatever it may be called. His 
 announcement, at all events, demonstrated how 
 deep was his own conviction and how solicitous 
 he was to have the "faith more precious than 
 gold" 8 preserved in his people and their descend- 
 ants because eternal salvation depended upon it. 
 
 The result of this incessant care that his people 
 should know God and their religious duties thor- 
 oughly was observed many years after the holy 
 man's death. Rev. Benedict Picardo, S. J., who 
 for thirty years labored in California as mission- 
 ary and who at the time was assistant priest at 
 Santa Clara Mission, testified: "I have always 
 found the faith most firmly established in all, and 
 never was it shaken by adversities, error, or here- 
 sies ; never have I heard that an Indian or a Cali- 
 fornian (Mexican) renounced it; and, though 
 very many fell into vices and scandals, they never 
 denied their faith, and at least in peril of death 
 they always asked for the aids of religion." 
 
 Juan Crisostomo Galindo, Fr. Magin's steward, 
 general helper and close imitator, though he could 
 
 8 I Pet. i, 7.
 
 72 
 
 neither read nor write, had an extraordinary 
 memory. He could recite all the prayers and 
 hymns which the servant of God used, and could 
 moreover quote long passages from the sermons. 
 Much that we know of the holy missionary of 
 Santa Clara comes through this faithful disciple. 
 "On every occasion," his granddaughter told the 
 writer, "my grandfather would exhort us to ad- 
 here to our faith, and to pray for a strong faith, 
 for so Fr. Magin had taught the people. It is 
 therefore so strong in me that it could not be de- 
 stroyed. I feel it in me strong, now. Every 
 night till twelve I am on my knees saying the 
 prayers and the rosary which my grandfather 
 taught us children as coming from the holy man 
 of Santa Clara. I therefore loved Fr. Magin, 
 though I did not know him and have never seen 
 him." 
 
 Pope Benedict XIV mentions a few other 
 marks of a superior faith, which we shall touch 
 but briefly. The first is the external profession 
 of what one believes interiorly. Inasmuch as 
 every act of virtue, according to St. Thomas 9 is 
 in a manner a solemn avowal of one's faith, the 
 whole life of Fr. Magin was one uninterrupted 
 exercise of intense faith, because it was an un- 
 broken chain of most fervent acts of virtue. 
 
 Secondly, the learned Pope says, the faith of a 
 
 92. 2dae, q. 124, art. 5.
 
 73 
 
 person may be inferred from the exactitude with 
 which he observes the Commandments of God 
 and the Church. Not only would the servant of 
 God, Fr. Magin, keep the Commandments and 
 Precepts faithfully, but he zealously urged all 
 under his care to do likewise. He would, if 
 necessary, correct and chastise the wilfully de- 
 linquent; but in order to do so justly he would 
 allow no one to remain ignorant of his obligations 
 towards God, the Church, the neighbors, and him- 
 self. No one ever accused the holy man of not 
 observing what he demanded of others. 
 
 A most conclusive sign of divine faith Pope 
 Benedict mentions in the third place. It is close 
 union with God in prayer. All the witnesses bear 
 testimony to the holy missionary's love of prayer. 
 Wherever he went he appeared to be lost in de- 
 votion, his lips would be seen to move, and he 
 was heard uttering devout aspirations. Prayer 
 was one of his common subjects of instruction. 
 While journeying alone, or in company with 
 others, he would be conversing with God. He 
 would also urge his attendants to join him in 
 reciting the rosary while wandering along the 
 road in search of converts or when visiting the 
 sick. The rosary hanging at his side was not a 
 mere ornament. He recited it frequently. When 
 he had died some one took it away and prized it 
 as a most precious relic. In the course of time 
 it was lost ; only the little cross attached to the
 
 74 
 
 rosary was recovered and is preserved at the Col- 
 lege of Santa Clara. 
 
 Finally, St. Thomas of Aquino points to the 
 working of miracles as an evidence of true and 
 heroic faith. Though it is not necessary by any 
 means that the candidate for the honors of the 
 altar should have worked miracles while alive, 
 Fr. Magin in this respect is not found wanting, 
 as will become evident when we treat the subject 
 in its proper place. From what has been related 
 it is clear that the faith of Fr. Magin Catala was 
 like that of Moses who "looked unto the reward," 
 "for he endured as seeing Him that is in- 
 visible." 10 
 
 10 Hebr. xi, 26, 27.
 
 HOPE. 
 
 "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope -with- 
 out wavering, for he is faithful 
 who hath promised." 
 
 (Hebr. x, 23.) 
 
 According to St. Bernard, x "in as far as 
 one believes in so far does he hope." 
 Hence, we may infer the degree of Fr. Magin's 
 hope from the quality of his faith ; for hope pro- 
 ceeds from faith like the rays from the sun. 
 This noble virtue, the first-born child of faith, 
 by means of which, relying upon the goodness 
 and promises of God, we expect to obtain life 
 everlasting, is implanted in baptism. It grows 
 with the years in proportion as faith increases. 
 It raises the heart of the earthly pilgrim heaven- 
 ward to Him who "continueth faithful," and who 
 "cannot deny Himself." 2 In this virtue lies the 
 motive power which carries the soul towards its 
 supernatural destiny, and the strength which over- 
 comes all difficulties of mortal life. Hope, ac- 
 cording to St. Bonaventure, -is the strong column 
 which is placed upon the solid pedestal faith, and 
 thus upholds the entire spiritual superstructure. 
 It was this hope of a better life to come which 
 
 1 Dom. in Pass. 
 211 Tim. ii, 13.
 
 76 
 
 prompted young Catala to abandon the vanities 
 of the world at the early age of sixteen in order 
 to consecrate himself to the service of God who 
 rewards superabundantly. As further proof of 
 the hope which animated him, it is enough to 
 point to his conduct throughout the years of his 
 bodily infirmities. His physical ailments were 
 coeval with his ministry in California. They 
 would have disheartened any ordinary man and 
 would have caused him to leave his post in des- 
 pair of doing any good. Fr. Magin could well 
 apply to his own condition the words of St. Au- 
 gustine, "Justly to me hope is strong in that 
 Thou wilt cure my languors through Him who 
 sitteth at Thy Right and appeals to Thee for us ; 
 otherwise I should despair. Many also and great 
 are my languors, but more powerful is Thy 
 medicine." 3 
 
 This absolute confidence in God, coupled with 
 good faith, at length, produced in the heart of 
 Fr. Magin an intense longing to possess his be- 
 loved Savior in heaven. It was akin to that of 
 St. Paul, who wished to be dissolved in order to 
 be with Christ. 4 An incident, for which Jose 
 Antonio Alviso vouches, will illustrate this. One 
 day during Holy Week the servant of God knelt 
 at his customary place before the great Crucifix 
 
 3 Confes. lib. x, cap. 43, torn. i. 
 
 4 Philip i, 23.
 
 77 
 
 in the church of Santa Clara. Besides Alviso, 
 several other persons were present performing 
 their private devotions. Suddenly Fr. Magin 
 was heard to sigh aloud in Spanish, "When, O my 
 God, shall I see Thy glory? How much longer 
 shall my banishment last in this valley of tears ?" 5 
 Awe-stricken, Alviso heard the answer coming 
 from the cross, "Soon thou shalt see God in 
 glory." 6 "Jose A. Alviso," my informant Alonzo 
 Forbes, now Justice of the Peace at Jolon, Cali- 
 fornia, affirms, "was a man of unimpeachable 
 veracity. His integrity was never questioned. 
 He possessed more than average intelligence, and 
 was the head of a large family." 
 
 When we reflect, as St. Bonaventure teaches, 7 
 that acts of virtue are so many acts of hope, we 
 can readily understand that Fr. Magin's life must 
 have been a continuous exercise of this most noble 
 virtue. Nothing, say the Auditors in the Proc- 
 ess of Canonization of St. Francis Xavier, de- 
 monstrates more effectively the hope of any one 
 than the exercise of good works and of virtuous 
 acts. Pope Benedict, 8 adding his confirmation to 
 this declaration of the Auditors, remarks that "all 
 
 5 "Hasta cuando, Dios mio, vere tu gloria? Que 
 tanto mas durara mi destierro en este valle de 
 lagrimas?" 
 
 6 "Pronto veras a Dios en la gloria." 
 73 Sent. dist. 26, q. 4. 
 
 8 Lib. iii de Canon. SS. cap. 23, sec. 2, num. 16.
 
 78 
 
 good works argue hope, and all good, excellent, 
 and sublime works demonstrate excellent, sublime, 
 and heroic hope." Fr. Magin's life was a long 
 chain of good works performed under peculiarly 
 distressing circumstances, through which only 
 heroic virtue could have sustained him. Never- 
 theless, as one who knew him well testified, our 
 servant of God was never seen discouraged. In 
 all untoward occurrences and conditions he 
 would put his trust in God, and in his sermons he 
 frequently exhorted his hearers to trust in God, 
 no matter what happened.
 
 CHARITY. 
 
 "The charity of God is poured out into our 
 hearts." (Rom. v, 5.) 
 
 1. LOVE OF GOD. 
 
 N the opinion of St. Gregory, l the degree of 
 one's faith and hope is also the degree of 
 one's love of God. As both faith and hope of 
 Fr. Magin appear to have been heroic, his charity 
 could not have been less. "Charity the Great 
 Apostle 2 rightly calls the bond of perfection," St. 
 Gregory writes, 3 "because the other virtues in- 
 deed generate perfection, but charity links them 
 together in such a manner that they can not be 
 separated from the mind of the lover. "Charity," 
 St. Proclus, patriarch of Constantinople, exclaims, 
 "is the climax of our holy religion." 4 "Now re- 
 main faith, hope, and charity, these three, but the 
 greatest of these is charity," St. Paul declares. 5 
 
 The marks by means of which the heroism of 
 this queen of virtues may be recognized are 
 enumerated by Pope Benedict XIV. 6 The first 
 is zeal for the Divine Worship to the end that 
 
 1 Horn. 22 in Ezech. 
 
 2 Colos. iii, 14. 
 
 3 Regist. lib. 4, ind. 13, cap. 95. 
 
 4 Quoted by Palou. 
 
 5 I Cor. xiii, 13. 
 
 6 Can. Sanct., de not. et sig., lib. 3, sec. 3, cap. 3.
 
 80 
 
 God may be loved and glorified by all. This 
 implies, first of all, a tender affection for the 
 house of God, or the place of Divine Worship. 
 Christ, our Lord, Himself manifested this 
 quality of true love of God in a striking man- 
 ner. Not only did He observe the ceremonies 
 prescribed by the Law of Moses in every par- 
 ticular, but we know Him to have twice shown 
 Himself highly indignant to the extent of em- 
 ploying physical force, when He noticed that the 
 mere vestibule of the temple of God was put to 
 other than religious uses, "and He suffered not 
 that any man should carry a vessel through the 
 temple." 7 
 
 A similar reverence for the house of God 
 controlled Fr. Magin. Usually all the work 
 about the mission churches and the dwellings of 
 the Fathers was performed by male Indians. 
 They also would serve at the altar and sing in the 
 choir. For both these services the servant of 
 God instructed and drilled the youths himself. 
 However, for washing the linen used at the altar 
 Fr. Magin engaged an intelligent Spanish lady, 
 the mother of his friend Juan Crisostomo, in 
 order that everything about the sanctuary might 
 appear worthy of the Sacramental God, ever 
 present in the Tabernacle. Another practise ob- 
 served at Santa Clara gives evidence of Fr. 
 
 7 Mark xi, 16.
 
 81 
 
 Magin's deep reverence for the sacred place. The 
 male Indians, especially during their festivities, 
 and the pagans generally, would wear feathers, 
 ribbons, and other gaudy decorations on their 
 heads. Whenever they arrived at the church 
 these Indians had to remove all their ornaments, 
 for the holy man would not permit them to en- 
 ter the sacred edifice save absolutely bareheaded. 
 The Indian women and girls, on the other hand, 
 wore a shawl over their heads, whilst Span- 
 ish ladies invariably covered themselves with a 
 mantilla or black veil. Every one that entered 
 the church would dip the fingers in the holy 
 water vase and in Spanish say reverently, "Holy 
 water, blessed by God, cleanse my body and 
 save my soul." Then making the sign of the 
 Cross the worshiper would say, "By the sign 
 of the holy Cross deliver us, O Lord, our God, 
 from our enemies." It is not probable that this 
 practise originated with Fr. Magin, but he evi- 
 dently fostered it among the neophytes and oth- 
 ers, since it was general at his time. 
 
 From T omasa Hernandez, the daughter of a 
 soldier, and from Felix Buelna, who served Fr. 
 Magin at the altar, we have the information that 
 the servant of God would celebrate the holy 
 Sacrifice of Mass slowly and with extraordinary 
 devotion. Felix asserts that Fr. Magin on such 
 occasions seemed to be in ecstasy. It is unfortu- 
 nate that the examiners failed to question the
 
 82 
 
 many eye-witnesses about the holy missionary's 
 observance of the rubrics, ceremonies, his manner 
 of administering the Sacraments, his conduct 
 while performing other religious and ecclesias- 
 tical functions, and many other little things. Save 
 the accidental remarks of Buelna and Tomasa 
 Hernandez, which do not even appear in the 
 official record, though they were corroborated 
 much later by the grand-daughter of Juan Cri- 
 sostomo Galindo, no information on those points 
 has come down to us. Yet the holiness or world- 
 liness of a person is probably nowhere more 
 quickly detected than in the reverence or irrever- 
 ence displayed while performing the slightest re- 
 ligious or ecclesiastical function. This evidence 
 is far clearer than the working of miracles. A 
 Judas could work miracles, and evil spirits may 
 effect prodigies, but nowhere as in the sacred 
 ceremonies does a person show that he is filled 
 with awe for the Divine Majesty for whose sake 
 the smallest rubrics are prescribed. By way of 
 illustration two instances from the lives of saints 
 will suffice. St. Teresa was in the habit of say- 
 ing that she should have her head cut off rather 
 than omit the reverent inclination of the head 
 at the Gloria Patri. St. Francis of Assisi directs 
 his sons to pick up and to put in a decent place 
 scraps of paper which happened to contain the 
 Name of Jesus or other sacred words. Rever- 
 ence is, indeed, written all over the lives of the
 
 83 
 
 true servants of God. It is a distinctive mark 
 of deep faith and genuine love of God. Hence 
 we must conclude from the whole character of 
 the man that Fr. Magin excelled in exactitude 
 and reverence with regard to everything that 
 pertained to the worship of God. 
 
 From what has been said it is evident that the 
 holy man must have been filled with a tender 
 devotion for Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, since 
 he was so particular to impress the Indians as 
 well as the colonists with a sense of the sanctity 
 of the very building under the roof of which 
 Christ dwells hidden beneath the Sacred Species. 
 Fr. Magin also celebrated Holy Thursday, and 
 above all Corpus Christi Day, with all the splen- 
 dor possible in order to make his dull Indians 
 grasp the w r onderful truth that here is truly "the 
 tabernacle of God with men," 8 and that there is 
 "no other nation so great that hath gods so nigh, 
 as our God is present to all our petitions." 9 At 
 Santa Clara Fr. Magin, on Corpus Christi Day, 
 had three altars erected outside the church at some 
 distances apart. The procession would pass out 
 through the front door, make a stop at every one 
 of the three altars, and then return through the 
 puerta de costado, or side door, which was with- 
 in a few feet of Fr. Magin's room. The Indians 
 
 8 Apoc. xxi, 3. 
 
 9 Deuter. iv, 7.
 
 84 
 
 would sing the hymns in Latin as prescribed. 
 Juan Crisostomo would swing the censer. 
 
 Like St. Paul, who exclaimed, "I judge myself 
 to know nothing among you, but Jesus Christ 
 and Him Crucified," 10 and like his holy Father 
 St. Francis, Fr. Magin appears to have centered 
 all his affections in Christ Crucified. At the 
 foot of the great Crucifix, which still looks down 
 upon the devout visitor, the zealous missionary 
 sought inspiration as to what he should preach, 
 guidance out of his difficulties, consolation for 
 the waywardness of his flock, strength to perse- 
 vere, and even rest for the body. Instead of 
 retiring to his cell, he frequently would pass 
 the night before his Lord on the Cross, lost in 
 meditation, or sighing for deliverance with St. 
 Paul, until nature demanded recognition and he 
 fell asleep where he knelt. Often the faithful 
 Juan Crisostomo would thus find his pastor on 
 opening the doors in the morning. It was com- 
 mon talk among the Indians and colonists that 
 these nightly vigils at the foot of the Cross were 
 not without wonderful occurrences. 
 
 Naturally, the Sufferings of the Savior very 
 often furnished the subject for the holy man's 
 sermons and instructions, since his mind and 
 heart were so absorbed by his Crucified Love 
 that he seemed to feel at home nowhere save at 
 
 10 I Cor. ii, 2.
 
 THE FAMOUS CRUCIFIX IN THE CHURCH OF SANTA CLAR 
 
 *

 
 85 
 
 the feet of the Crucified. He sought by every 
 means to excite a similar devotion for the Pas- 
 sion of our Redeemer in the hearts of all, and 
 therefore, besides preaching on the subject, he 
 had the Stations of the Cross erected along the 
 Alameda halfway to San Jose. Every Friday 
 Fr. Magin with the Indians would begin the 
 Way of the Cross before the altar in church at 
 three o'clock in the afternoon, and then visit 
 every station in turn. The great Crucifix, at his 
 time, was borne in this procession by Ignacio 
 Alviso. He was supported by an attendant on 
 either side, and they doubtless relieved him by 
 turns, as the image is very heavy. In Holy Week 
 the servant of God discarded his sandals and 
 walked the whole distance barefooted. 
 
 He moreover taught the people to foster a 
 tender devotion for the Most Precious Blood of 
 Jesus, and for this purpose instructed them to 
 recite a little prayer to the Precious Blood in 
 connection with their night prayers. Similarly 
 the zealous pastor tried to implant into the 
 hearts of the children a deep hatred for sin 
 which caused the shedding of our Lord's Blood. 
 To that end he taught them a little verse expres- 
 sive of horror for having offended Jesus. 
 
 In this connection a custom which obtained 
 at Santa Clara may find place here. Whether 
 it originated with the holy man it is impossible 
 to determine, but he certainly encouraged it.
 
 86 
 
 After the Consecration in holy Mass, everyone in 
 the congregation would extend the arms in the 
 form of a cross, after the manner in vogue 
 among the Franciscans, and in this position they 
 united their devotion with the priest at the altar 
 until about the end of the Pater Noster. Better 
 than words this beautiful and expressive cere- 
 mony just at that period must have impressed 
 the slow comprehension of the Indians with the 
 Real Presence of the Savior upon the altar. 
 
 A man so full of love and sympathy for 
 Christ Jesus could not help being devoted to 
 the Blessed Mother of Jesus. Every morning 
 the whole Indian population would assemble for 
 their morning prayers in the enclosure before 
 the church. There the holy man, first of all, 
 would intone and sing with his neophytes a 
 sweet little hymn to the Mother of God. 11 At 
 night the Indians similarly in common, the 
 colonists in their family circle, recited the Ros- 
 ary and Litany of the Blessed Virgin and sang 
 appropriate hymns to Mary Immaculate. The 
 month of Mary and the feasts of the Blessed 
 Virgin were celebrated with particular splendor 
 just as now and for centuries past. It was all 
 very childlike, very tender, but it forcibly aroused 
 the natives as well as others to a realization of 
 the beauty of purity and sinlessness. Withal, 
 
 11 See Appendix B.
 
 s 
 
 w 
 
 u 
 u 
 
 , 
 
 ;- <o c S 
 
 " 3 CS D OJ W 
 
 55 o 0,-s 
 
 u 
 
 C co co 
 
 o 8= S 82 
 
 *> 2 <u 2 
 'o, 
 
 08 
 
 CO 
 
 2 
 c 6 
 
 . U OT 
 
 > 'G 'o Ji c o 
 
 ea 03 pj^^ o 
 
 ~ c\ ro -* o CD 
 
 c -S 2 <u _ 
 
 t- 
 
 >!! 
 
 o o._ o 
 
 *-T3 C O. 
 
 ea <u <u _, a) <u
 
 no others love the Savior so ardently, and no 
 others try so hard not to offend Him, as do 
 those that are filled with affection for His 
 Mother. Fr. Magin himself, as Juan Crisos- 
 tomo relates, would not take a drink of water 
 without saying three times "Ave Maria." Juan 
 Crisostomo, who in everything endeavored to 
 imitate Fr. Magin, followed the same custom, 
 whence it is that his grand-daughter learned 
 such practises and repeated them to the writer. 
 Other friends of God were likewise objects 
 of similar devotion on the part of Fr. Magin. 
 The intense love with which the saints on earth 
 and the saints in heaven regard their God seems 
 only to increase devotion among themselves. 
 Hence it is that objection to the veneration of the 
 saints in heaven comes only from those that 
 are abjectly ignorant on the subject, or from 
 those that possess nothing in common with the 
 saints. All the real friends of God in the past 
 cultivated a great devotion for the glorified 
 heroes of God in heaven, since they well knew 
 the value of their intercession. They would 
 occasionly take a lively interest in spreading 
 devotion to their patron or favorite saints, as we 
 see from the lives of St. Alphonsus and St. 
 John Capistrano. The latter exerted himself 
 to the utmost to have Bernardine of Siena can- 
 onized. The witnesses and examiners at the 
 former investigation overlooked this feature in
 
 89- 
 
 Fr. Magin's life, but, thanks to the extraordinary 
 memory of Juan Crisostomo Galindo, we have 
 prayers in honor of several saints which the ser- 
 vant of God taught his people to use. One little 
 devotion is directed to God in honor of St. Emig- 
 dio for the purpose of having earthquakes averted 
 through that saint's intercession. A long prayer 
 is in honor of the saint of the respective day. 
 Another devotional exercise consists of the well- 
 know "Responses" to St. Anthony of Padua. 
 
 A devotion very dear to every Catholic is 
 the tender affection for one's own Guardian 
 Angel. The servant of God, accordingly, urged 
 his Indians and the colonists never to forget 
 the good, watchful spirit ever at their side, and 
 daily to recite a prayer to this faithful celestial 
 friend. 
 
 Nor were the dead forgotten. We have 
 few particulars, owing to the oversight of the 
 examiners, but from the fact that the descend- 
 ants of those that heard and saw the servant of 
 God preserved an ardent affection for the Poor 
 Souls in Purgatory, made Novenas in their be- 
 half, and had holy Masses celebrated for them, 
 we can gather that Fr. Magin himself must have 
 taught and practised as much. At any rate, he 
 had the bell of Santa Clara toll for the dead 
 every evening at eight o'clock. This was the 
 sign for Indians and colonists to withdraw to 
 their homes, say the prayers for the dead, and
 
 90 
 
 perform their night devotions, which usually con- 
 sisted of the Rosary and Litany with a number 
 of other prayers and some hymns. 12 
 
 Another sign of true love of God is the fond- 
 ness manifested for hearing or reading about 
 God and divine truths. We have already seen 
 that Fr. Magin never tired of speaking about 
 the Creator and Savior of mankind, and that 
 his instructions embraced all the truths of the 
 Catholic Catechism. In this respect he was a 
 true apostle, as Fr. Vincente de Sarria and Fr. 
 Mariano Payeras, Franciscan commissaries of 
 California, reported to the higher superiors in 
 Mexico. It is superfluous to dwell upon this fur- 
 ther. "He that is of God, heareth the words 
 of God," 1S is a mark of affection for God which 
 Christ Himself indicated. 
 
 There are other characteristics that distinguish 
 the true lover of God, which may as well be 
 omitted here, inasmuch as they are included in 
 what has already been said or may be related 
 further on. We shall dwell upon but two more. 
 They are indicative of every true saint, and 
 they are pointed out by Christ Himself. "Greater 
 love than this no man hath that a man lay down 
 his life for his friends." 14 Fr. Magin, not merely 
 by one, albeit most painful, act gave his life for 
 
 12 See Appendix C. 
 
 13 John viii, 47. 
 
 14 John xv, 13.
 
 C 
 < 
 
 s 
 
 w 
 
 J 
 
 C/D 
 
 oo 
 
 ( 
 
 - ^c > 
 
 Bias 
 
 C 
 
 w o 
 
 ! O CO C 
 
 ;oo 
 
 J2 <U <U 
 73 2 > > 
 
 "TJ 
 
 ca <s 
 
 'C 
 
 C3... 
 
 ^J.J 
 
 c ' 
 
 ea 
 
 ^^ <L> <L> 
 iT 
 
 I o c c 
 
 C/3 CO 
 
 O O 
 
 1 c c 
 _ c oj <a 
 
 UJUC/5C/3
 
 92 
 
 his God, but like Christ he sacrificed all the days 
 of his monastic and missionary existence through 
 a chain of most distressing circumstances and 
 difficulties. For thirty-four years, that is to 
 say, almost immediately after entering upon his 
 missionary career in California, the servant of 
 God suffered the tortures of most excruciating 
 infirmities, working all the while with restless 
 zeal for rude Indians and unappreciative colon- 
 ists. At the same time he would observe the 
 Rules of his Order and the Constitution of his 
 College faithfully. Then, still thirsting for suf- 
 ferings, he invented other means of mortifica- 
 tion and self-denial in order to imitate his Love 
 and in a manner to compensate Christ for the 
 sufferings undergone in behalf of mankind. 
 
 Love of prayer, and especially contemplative 
 prayer, is one of the surest signs of a heroic 
 love of God. In this particular Fr. Magin ex- 
 celled, as we have already had occasion to learn. 
 The very children were aware of this trait, and 
 held him in awe as one who communed^ with 
 Almighty God. They would peep through the 
 keyhole or the cracks in the front door of the 
 church, in order to watch the holy man at prayer 
 before the altar of the great Crucifix. Some- 
 times they heard him speak aloud to the Cruci- 
 fied. Awe-struck the little Indian boys and 
 girls would whisper while going away, "The 
 Father is talking to God !"
 
 93 
 
 A man so much given to commune with his 
 Savior would naturally endeavor to excite his 
 people to cherish a similar love for prayer, inas- 
 much as it makes the friends of God fancy them- 
 selves in heaven, so that it requires a strong ef- 
 fort on their part to disengage themselves from 
 its raptures. It makes them seem to anticipate 
 their occupation in heaven, as St. Francis of 
 Assist, one of the greatest contemplatives, in- 
 sinuates in these words : "When we pray, we 
 speak to God, and God speaks to us. We then 
 already lead the life of the angels in heaven, for 
 then at least we are in the society of angels." 
 
 "On one occasion," says an eye-witness, "when 
 it had grown very late and Fr. Magin was still 
 before the Crucifix in church, as was his custom, 
 Fr. Jose Viader, the assistant, went to him and 
 very gently said, "Father, it is enough now ; it is 
 already very late." The servant of God allowed 
 himself to be led away, but reluctantly as we 
 may well believe, from his beloved conversation 
 with his Lord. An attendant asserted that Fr. 
 Magin never went to bed ; but that he would re- 
 main on his knees praying until sleep over- 
 powered him, and he fell asleep just where he 
 was, in the church or in his cell. In fact, when 
 he was wanted and could be found nowhere, 
 he would certainly be in church at his chosen 
 place. What has been related will suffice to de- 
 monstrate that Fr. Magin was possessed of an all-
 
 94 
 
 absorbing love for God. We now turn to his 
 love for fellowmen. 
 
 2. LOVE OF NEIGHBOR. 
 
 "My little children, let us not love in zuord, nor 
 in tongue, but in deed and in truth." 
 
 (I John Hi, 18.) 
 
 The servant of God opened his heart in ex- 
 traordinary love not only towards his Creator 
 and Savior, but, obeying Christ's command, he 
 in a similar manner embraced all fellow men. 
 If other evidence were wanting, his apostolic 
 labors would demonstrate the high order of his 
 charity. Much of what has been said under the 
 head of Faith applies here. What the several 
 witnesses repeated under oath concerning Fr. 
 Magin's effusive affection for the living images 
 of God, which made him toil and suffer as he 
 did for the very savages, not after the manner 
 of calculating philanthropists, but because in 
 every human being he recognized the picture of 
 the Creator, sets the virtue of Christian charity 
 as practised by the holy missionary in the clear- 
 est light. He would hasten to alleviate the bod- 
 ily as well as spiritual necessities of every one. 
 He would make his way painfully to the hovels 
 of the pagans, send or carry eatables and clo- 
 thing, and by his persuasive, gentle manner pre- 
 vail upon them to avail themselves of the means 
 of salvation under the shadow of the mission
 
 95 
 
 cross. If they refused, he would yet bear with 
 their ignorance and rudeness, and endeavor by 
 every means possible to gain at least the little 
 ones. If the elders submitted, he would treat 
 them still more tenderly, and lead them to Santa 
 Clara rejoicing that he had won over so many 
 sheep for his Divine Master. 
 
 As his charity perceived the damage wrought 
 by sin in the souls of his wards, it also impelled 
 the solicitous pastor to advise and urge his flock, 
 in season and out of season, to adopt Christian 
 habits, to detest vice and disorder, to practise 
 virtue, to avoid the occasions of sin, and to fre- 
 quent the Sacraments, in order to obtain the 
 strength necessary to cope with temptations. 
 According to Spanish laws and the happy sys- 
 tem in vogue in the missions of the Pacific Coast, 
 the missionary towards his converted Indians 
 stood in the capacity of father to his children. 
 He had to feed, clothe and teach them ; he had 
 also to shield and correct them. Fr. Magin 
 treated all very kindly as all the reports show ; 
 but he could be severe when occasions called for 
 it, though that occurred very rarely. Before 
 the Ecclesiastical Court in 1884, Nazario Ga- 
 lindo, then seventy-four years of age, related 
 this incident: "Once he ordered that I should 
 be whipped. The discipline had knots in it. I 
 said to him, 'Father, this hurts awfully.' 'Of 
 course it does,' he replied ; 'but the pains of hell
 
 96 
 
 hurt still more.' ' : Nevertheless, all loved and 
 revered Fr. Magin. 
 
 The children engaged Fr. Magin's particular 
 attention. He took great pains to have them 
 well instructed. For them he had only kind 
 words, and the little things of which children 
 are fond, and with which their hearts are so 
 easily won, were at hand as rewards for learn- 
 ing some little lesson, or as presents. Clothing, 
 trinkets, such as could be obtained in the coun- 
 try far away from civilization, eatables, fruits in 
 particular, and above all the pleasant manner 
 with which Fr. Magin bestowed them, soon re- 
 moved the timidity which boys and girls may 
 have felt towards the priest of whom all spoke 
 with reverence as a saint and prophet. It is to 
 be regretted that the witnesses, in their eager- 
 ness to relate marvelous things about the servant 
 of God, overlooked the necessity of reporting 
 more minutely every-day occurrences concern- 
 ing the holy man of Santa Clara. We should be 
 able to draw more lessons from them than from 
 many miracles. It is certain, however, that Fr. 
 Magin, who endeavored to imitate his Divine 
 Master closely, sought to win old and young, 
 especially the children, inasmuch as Christ Him- 
 self extends to them a special invitation, and 
 threatens with dire consequences those that 
 scandalize the little ones. From Juan Crisos- 
 tomo we have it that Fr. Magin arranged re-
 
 97 
 
 ligious plays for the Christmas season in order 
 to imprint the lessons of Christ's childhood upon 
 his Indians, who were only overgrown children 
 as far as intellect was concerned. Those par- 
 ticipating were Indians, of whom some would 
 act as shepherds, others as kings, servants, etc. 
 In this he showed that he was not only a true 
 son of the Saint of Assisi, but also an intelligent 
 missionary, who knew how to adapt himself to 
 the comprehension and habits of his converts. 
 
 Like his Divine Master, Fr. Magin was filled 
 with sympathy for the poor. The poorest of 
 them all, though placed in charge of consider- 
 able wealth, he regarded everything about the 
 mission as the property of the neophytes. The 
 wealth, though it consisted only of the land, its 
 products, and livestock, had accumulated under 
 the unselfish management of the missionaries ; yet 
 the servant of God looked upon himself as the 
 mere steward of the Indians. As they were in- 
 capable of maintaining or disposing of the prop- 
 erty in a manner beneficial to themselves, the 
 missionary acted as father and guardian in their 
 name without temporal benefit to himself. In 
 this capacity Fr. Magin cared for all, and as- 
 sisted the needy and unfortunate wherever pos- 
 sible. He would dismiss no one without bestow- 
 ing something, no matter whence the applicant 
 came. He would distribute whatever the store- 
 rooms contained, grain, beans, peas, lentils,
 
 98 
 
 seeds, meat, clothing, and medicine. If white 
 people applied, they were expected to pay for 
 what they wanted, since the property belonged 
 to the neophytes ; but if the person was poor 
 and needy, Fr. Magin regarded the applicant as 
 one privileged of the Lord, and then gave what- 
 ever was needed. In times of scarcity he saw to 
 it that the produce was divided according to 
 actual need. Once a thrifty Spaniard came to 
 purchase a quantity of provisions. He desired 
 to procure a good supply and had the money 
 ready to pay for it; but as the harvest had not 
 been abundant, the servant of God said to his 
 customer, "Do not buy too much at once ; there 
 are many others who are in need; for the pres- 
 ent this is sufficient for your family." 
 
 A neat little story was told by Aventino Guz- 
 man, who claimed to have heard it from his 
 father as a notorious fact. One other witness 
 corroborated the statement. Just as Fr. Magin 
 was about to celebrate holy Mass and stood at 
 the altar, he suddenly called an attendant and 
 directed him to tell the two men who were steal- 
 ing flour from the store-room to come to holy 
 Mass, lest they committed two sins at one and 
 the same time. It seems to have been a Sunday. 
 The two culprits, all besprinkled with flour, really 
 appeared in the church. The stifled amusement 
 of the worshipers may be imagined. After the 
 holy Sacrifice the holy man mildly reproved the
 
 99 
 
 guilty pair by saying in his soft, gentle tone, 
 which showed that he felt hurt, "Why did you 
 want to steal, when you know that nothing that 
 you need will be denied to you?" When Aven- 
 tino was asked by the Promoter how Fr. Magin 
 could have known about the stealing, he replied 
 in amazement, "How he knew? He was a holy 
 man! He had the spirit of prophecy!" 
 
 On another occasion a Spanish woman came 
 to purchase some goods. She had two or three 
 dollars. When upon inquiry the Father learned 
 that she was the mother of a number of chil- 
 dren, he gave her double the amount she wanted 
 at half the usual price. Instances of this kind, 
 coupled with his uniform mildness, made the 
 poor look with unbounded confidence to the man 
 of God. Besides assisting them, he always dis- 
 missed the needy with some words of consola- 
 tion and advice. 
 
 Another incident of Fr. Magin's thoughtful 
 charity regards the people of the Pueblo of San 
 Jose. Before they had a chapel of their own, 
 which was not begun until 1803, the inhabitants 
 had to attend holy Mass at Santa Clara. The 
 distance was a league. In summer time the heat 
 was intense, and the dust most disagreeable. 
 The women and children suffered not a little in 
 their endeavor to comply with their religious 
 duties. The servant of God noticed the hard- 
 ship. In order to make it less difficult to reach
 
 100 
 
 the mission on Sundays and holydays, he had 
 the Indians turn out and plant poplar trees on 
 both sides of the road. As these trees grew up 
 their branches covered the roadway, and thus 
 furnished shade to the people going and coming. 
 For many years the roadway was famed far and 
 wide as the Alameda of Santa Clara. Soon 
 after Fr. Magin's death less devout settlers be- 
 gan to cut down the trees for firewood. 
 
 The sick and dying received the most devoted 
 attention from the holy man. Nor did it make 
 any difference whether the sufferer was a Chris- 
 tian or pagan. He would endeavor to win the 
 latter by means of presents in the form of cloth, 
 provisions, or trinkets, but most of all by his 
 gentleness. The killing of infants was not un- 
 common among the savages. The mothers did 
 not want to be burdened with the little ones, lest 
 they prevent the parents from indulging them- 
 selves as was their wont. Fr. Magin strove to 
 impress upon the women that such conduct to- 
 wards their offspring was most wicked and most 
 detrimental to their race. To remove any ex- 
 cuse, he would see that nothing was lacking in 
 the way of food, clothing, or alleviation. For 
 that purpose he would visit such people as often 
 as he deemed it conducive to their spiritual or 
 temporal welfare. When he had discovered that 
 want existed, he would often send provisions 
 secretly.
 
 101 
 
 The solicitous pastor would above all see that 
 the sick received the consolations of their re- 
 ligion. Nor could ill-health prevent him from 
 attending to this duty. Though he would insist 
 that he be notified of any case of serious sick- 
 ness, it was the general belief that he was super- 
 naturally advised of the spiritual necessity of any 
 in his flock, and then he would go even though 
 he was unable to walk alone. Sometimes he 
 would suddenly call an Indian, direct him to fill 
 a sack with food, and to leave it at a certain 
 house. Then he would call Juan Crisostomo, 
 inform him that some one was sick, and ask him 
 to fetch the holy oils, ritual, surplice, and stole. 
 Placing one hand on Crisostomo, he would 
 slowly and with much pain limp along, until he 
 had reached the sick-bed. No matter what the 
 distance was, he never used a conveyance, but 
 always went afoot. At such times, Crisostomo 
 related, frequent stops had to be made, and Fr. 
 Magin would beg his faithful friend to join him 
 in praying for sufficient strength, though with- 
 out complaining about the hardship. 
 
 At Santa Clara, as in all the California mis- 
 sions, the girls from about the age of eleven or 
 twelve, and the single women without a home, 
 lived apart from the Indian village in a house 
 erected for them. The Franciscan Fathers had 
 introduced this arrangement immediately on 
 founding their missions, as it was necessary to
 
 102 
 
 preserve the young women from insult and se- 
 duction. The girls remained at this home until 
 they married, when with their husbands they 
 would form part of the Indian village commu- 
 nity. An aged and trusted Indian official gen- 
 erally took care that they were not molested 
 from without. Within, the wife of the corporal 
 of the guard or some trusted Indian woman re- 
 mained with the girls during the night ; for they 
 were not permitted to pass the night outside 
 their quarters. In the daytime they were at 
 liberty, when not occupied, to visit their parents 
 in the adjoining village. The inmates lived 
 pretty much after the same manner that is ob- 
 served in our asylums or academies. They 
 passed the time in taking part in the instructions, 
 in learning housekeeping, spinning, weaving, 
 and other domestic work suitable to their sex, so 
 as to fit them for the married state to which all 
 Indian girls aspired most fervently. Scarcely 
 any of them desired to remain single. As to the 
 holy state of virginity, Indian females of those 
 times had no conception of its beauty or lofti- 
 ness. Hence the system established by the mis- 
 sionaries, owing to the carnal nature of the 
 natives, and the brutishness of white adven- 
 turers, was so necessary that a defense, despite 
 the attacks leveled against it at the period of 
 mission confiscation and destruction, is quite 
 superfluous. The inmates were doubtless the
 
 103 
 
 most happy, as they were the most innocent part 
 of the mission population. The missionary had 
 to provide for this portion of his large family, 
 just as he was required to do for the village 
 people. Fr. Magin, leaving the temporal affairs 
 to Fr. Jose Viader, devoted himself to the spir- 
 itual well-being and general deportment of these 
 girls. Many of the women who lived as faith- 
 ful wives long after the death of the servant of 
 God, and who distinguished themselves for their 
 piety and good sense, would with pride relate 
 that they had been members of the "monjerio" 
 or nunnery, as the people were accustomed to 
 designate the home of the girls. The girls were 
 called "monjas," nuns, though of course they 
 were not nuns, and did not even dress alike. 
 From this it is clear that Fr. Magin's charity 
 had abundant opportunity of asserting itself, 
 and, as the narrative shows, the holy man exer- 
 cised this virtue in an heroic degree. 
 
 The very brutes and insects experienced the 
 thoughtful kindness of the holy man. Follow- 
 ing the example of the Seraphic Father St. Fran- 
 cis, Fr. Magin insisted that even irrational crea- 
 tures should be treated with consideration. One 
 instance may suffice. While conversing with a 
 person one day an ugly insect appeared on the 
 knee of the servant of God. The gentleman 
 hastily attempted to brush it away, but the good 
 rather said, "Let it alone ; God made it."
 
 THE CARDINAL VIRTUES. 
 
 "Temperance, and prudence, and justice, and 
 fortitude, which are such things as men have 
 notJung more profitable in life." 
 
 (Wisdom viii, 7.) 
 
 Next to the three theological virtues the four 
 cardinal virtues are most necessary for the 
 spiritual progress of man, and particularly in- 
 dispensable for every one that aspires to a high 
 degree of perfection. 
 
 1. PRUDENCE. 
 
 The foremost of the cardinal virtues is pru- 
 dence, which moderates the others, and without 
 which nothing can be properly and judiciously 
 done that would seem to deserve praise or re- 
 ward. Prudence according to the Angelic Doc- 
 tor * is an infused virtue by the aid of which 
 man disposes and regulates means and actions 
 so as to attain his last destiny, that is to say, 
 everlasting happiness for the honor and glory of 
 God. St. Anthony, the Father of the monks in 
 the desert, in conference with his brethren, after 
 hearing their opinion as to which virtue was the 
 most necessary, declared that prudence was the 
 most needful, because it teaches how to choose 
 the means between the extremes, which latter 
 
 1 Prima Secundae, quaest. 65, art. 2.
 
 105 
 
 are nearly always faulty. Prudence may also be 
 likened to salt which seasons the food and makes 
 it palatable. 
 
 In how far the holy missionary of Santa Clara 
 excelled in the practise of this virtue must be 
 inferred from his words and deeds. He certainly 
 evinced marked prudence, having in mind man's 
 last destiny, when at the early age of sixteen 
 years he despised the vanities of the world to 
 embrace the evangelical counsels in a religious 
 Order for the purpose of securing eternal hap- 
 piness. He furthermore acted wisely when he 
 determined to follow his Divine Master's ex- 
 ample by devoting himself to the work of saving 
 immortal souls in regions where there was 
 dearth of apostolic men, and when he volun- 
 teered for the missions among the savages of 
 America, where he labored zealously until Al- 
 mighty God called him to his reward. 
 
 The assiduous exercise of prayer, the con- 
 stant contemplation of heavenly truths, despite 
 the manifold distracting occupations of an In- 
 dian missionary, which as it appears never di- 
 verted Fr. Magin's mind from the grand fact 
 that God is ever present, is another convincing 
 sign of a most prudent soul ; for prayer is the 
 best means to obtain life everlasting. 
 
 All the acts and words of Fr. Magin, as far 
 as could be ascertained, bespeak the man using 
 the right means to avoid jeopardizing his eter-
 
 106 
 
 nal destiny or the everlasting welfare of those 
 entrusted to him. He exercised such care and 
 paternal solicitude in counseling, exhorting, 
 warning, and teaching his flock that all im- 
 plicitly put their trust in his guidance. He was 
 a most prudent and kindly moderator of peni- 
 tents. He would listen with patience and dis- 
 miss them fortified by his wise counsel. All 
 witnesses affirm that the holy man received every 
 one affectionately, sympathized with the af- 
 flicted, and gave them the salutary advice that 
 helped them to continue true to their God despite 
 adversities or allurements. Fr. Magin was very 
 particular to admonish the heads of families to 
 warn their children and to set them a good ex- 
 ample. The result of his wise supervision was 
 that his penitents were said to have been dis- 
 tinguished for their fervor, piety, and love for 
 Jesus Christ Crucified. 
 
 As a lover of peace, the servant of God did 
 everything to preserve harmony among his 
 people and with the government officials ; but 
 this does not mean that he permitted injustice 
 against the rights of his wards for the sake of 
 peace. When the colonists of San Jose en- 
 croached upon the property of the mission, which 
 belonged to the Indians, Fr. Magin firmly op- 
 posed the assumption of the white settlers. On 
 the other hand, he would waive his own personal 
 rights, and accept insults from government offi-
 
 107 
 
 cers, immoral white men or obstreperous natives, 
 for the sake of peace. When discord arose be- 
 tween husbands and wives, he exhorted them to 
 come to terms, remembering that their duties to- 
 wards each other lasted while they lived, and 
 that they should bear the cross which Almighty 
 God had laid upon their shoulders, inasmuch as 
 they could not escape it by throwing it down ; 
 that God, who wanted all to bear up under some 
 kind of affliction for their own benefit, knew just 
 which kind of cross fitted each one best. 
 
 It is an historical fact, and the witnesses at 
 the canonical examination under oath so stated, 
 that there never was any friction between Fr. 
 Magin and his companion, Fr. Jose Viader, 
 during the whole thirty-four years that they lived 
 together. There are a great many letters extant 
 which were written by Fr. Viader. He always 
 speaks with respect of his senior companion. 
 In one communication to the governor Fr. Via- 
 der expressly declares that he did nothing which 
 did not have the approval of the infirm Fr. Ma- 
 gin. This was saying a great deal, because the 
 whole temporal management of the populous 
 mission rested upon the shoulders of Fr. Via- 
 der. It was he that drew up the official reports 
 and attended to all correspondence. The former 
 were merely countersigned by Fr. Magin, but 
 otherwise the servant of God wrote neither let- 
 ters nor anything else. This is the reason why
 
 we are compelled to rely for judgment of the 
 holy man's inner life upon his words and deeds 
 as far as they came under the notice of the 
 people. The two missionaries of Santa Clara, 
 as one witness expressed it before the Ecclesias- 
 tical Court, appeared to be like two persons in 
 one. So well did they agree. This shows that 
 Fr. Jose Viader himself must have been a faith- 
 ful religious and conscientious missionary. 
 
 Though from predilection less occupied with 
 temporal things than his fellow missionary, Fr. 
 Magin was never idle. The spiritual affairs of 
 the mission claimed much time, and the rest 
 he passed in prayer and contemplation. He 
 took care that every one was employed, and 
 he watched that no disorders occurred. Of 
 course, there had to be diversions for the In- 
 dians. They constituted a part of the attractions 
 for the natives, who were childishly fond of 
 every kind of amusement. Substitutes had to be 
 provided for the unseemly diversions in vogue 
 among the savages, or the neophytes would run 
 away. The arrangement and supervision of this 
 phase of the mission system, the servant of God 
 left to the judgment of Fr. Viader. His own 
 contemplative spirit could scarcely wrest itself 
 from the lofty subjects which fascinated his soul. 
 It was well, therefore, that his energetic com- 
 panion took charge in so far as was necessary to 
 prevent dangerous or improper amusements.
 
 n 
 
 3 <% 
 
 3 O 
 
 5T ^ 
 
 2 
 O > 
 
 2 ^ 
 " > 
 > 
 
 .
 
 109 
 
 Fr. Magin showed his prudence in many other 
 ways, but especially with regard to females. 
 With Job he could truly say, "I made a cov- 
 enant with my eyes, that I would not so much 
 as think upon a virgin." 2 The holy man's cus- 
 tom was not to gaze at the face of any one. As 
 to women it was his inflexible rule. Nor would 
 he permit women to see his own countenance 
 when they approached him on some business or 
 the other. He would draw the hood far over 
 his brow so that his face could not be seen. In- 
 stead of feeling offended on that account, this 
 habit of Fr. Magin seemed to have removed 
 some of the timidity of the women ; for, as one 
 naively expressed herself, neither could he recog- 
 nize them ! At any rate, all approached him with 
 confidence when there was serious business to 
 be transacted, and departed with more courage 
 because of the sound advice which he had given. 
 One woman testified that though she had known 
 the servant of God many years, she never had 
 the opportunity of seeing his face during ordi- 
 nary conversation. 
 
 2. JUSTICE. 
 
 Of the second cardinal virtue, justice, St. An- 
 selm 1 says, "Justice is the liberty of the soul 
 which accords to each one his proper dignity, 
 
 2 Job xxxi, 1. 
 
 1 Lib. Cur Deus Homo.
 
 110 
 
 reverence to the superior, harmony towards 
 equals, instruction to the inferior, obedience to 
 God, sanctification to one's self, and unstinted 
 liberality to the needy." 
 
 As far as could be ascertained, Fr. Magin 
 showed due respect even to the haughty govern- 
 ment officials. There is not the least complaint 
 to the contrary on record. His own superiors 
 entertained a high opinion of him, and barring 
 his corporal infirmities, judged him worthy of 
 any position in the Order. 
 
 We have already adverted to the fraternal re- 
 gard with which Fr. Viader and Fr. Magin 
 treated each other; further remarks on the sub- 
 ject may therefore be omitted. 
 
 Although a man of few words, Fr. Magin 
 was affable and treated every one with paternal 
 solicitude. As we have already seen, he in- 
 structed his neophytes and the colonists well ; 
 warned them against the snares of the evil spirit, 
 against dangers to their faith from heretics and 
 unbelievers in the future, and by word and ex- 
 ample directed them on the road to heaven. If 
 any of them missed his eternal destiny, surely it 
 could not be attributed to the zealous pastor. 
 His sense of what is just would not permit him 
 to let any one remain in ignorance of his religious 
 duties ; nor would he allow any one to despise 
 the Law of God or the Church. Lest some one 
 find an excuse in the conduct of the pastor, Fr.
 
 Ill 
 
 Magin took the lead in the strict observance of 
 everything that was prescribed. 
 
 Though his numerous afflictions and his po- 
 sition as Indian missionary might have dis- 
 pensed him from many minor rules and regu- 
 lations of the Order or College, the servant of 
 God continued to observe the Franciscan Rule 
 in the strict manner customary at the mission- 
 ary College of San Fernando. No wonder the 
 blessing of St. Francis attended his zealous 
 efforts, and the superiors thought of elevating 
 him to higher offices. Only his infirmities, 
 which precluded traveling from one mission to 
 another every year for the canonical visitations, 
 prevented the execution of the plan. 
 
 Lastly, it is characteristic of Christian justice 
 to be generous and compassionate towards the 
 poor and afflicted. There is no question that Fr. 
 Magin was loved and revered by Indians and 
 colonists for this very generosity towards those 
 in distress. The whole mission might have been 
 called a great charitable institution of which the 
 holy man was the dispenser or almoner. As we 
 have already dwelt at some length upon his 
 charity, we shall pass on to the next virtue. 
 
 3. FORTITUDE. 
 
 While speaking of the virtue of fortitude St. 
 Ambrose, quoted by St. Bonaventure, l says that 
 
 iSee Palou, "Vida," pp. 304-307.
 
 112 
 
 "he is strong who consoles himself when he is 
 suffering any pain." Great and almost contin- 
 uous were the sufferings which Fr. Magin had 
 to bear on account of the malignant and chronic 
 rheumatism which began to attack him almost 
 as soon as he took charge of Mission Santa 
 Clara. His last three years may indeed be called 
 a slow martyrdom. He never complained. In 
 1799 and again in 1804 the sufferer explained 
 his condition to the Fr. Presidente, and asked 
 for permission to retire to his monastery in 
 Mexico, seeing that his illness seemed to render 
 him useless for mission work. He received the 
 required permit, but finally decided to stay at his 
 post until Almighty God should manifest His 
 will by removing him through death or other- 
 wise, content to suffer for his Indians in case he 
 could not be active in their behalf. The holy 
 man, however, was exceedingly active in spite 
 of his physical disabilities, and that makes his 
 fortitude appear the more heroic. 
 
 In the second place, St. Ambrose teaches that 
 "that virtue is indeed justly called fortitude by 
 means of which one overcomes himself and 
 checks his angry passions." Fr. Magin was so 
 absolutely master of himself that nothing seemed 
 to ruffle him, save when God was insulted and 
 His Commandments or the Precepts of God's 
 Church despised. Accustomed to recognize the 
 will of God in every occurrence, the holy man
 
 113 
 
 found it quite in keeping with his condition of 
 creature and child of God to make the acts of 
 resignation so indicative of conformity with the 
 Divine Will which should be the characteristic of 
 every Christian. It may be truthfully said that 
 Fr. Magin's life was one long, beautiful act of 
 resignation to the sweet Divine Will whose very 
 chastisements are evidences of love. 
 
 Though the servant of God was never known 
 to have manifested any sign of anger in matters 
 that affected his own person, he could express 
 himself quite forcibly and fearlessly when the 
 occasion called for plain language. Thus when 
 in 1826 Governor Echeandia, the first Mexican 
 ruler of California, demanded that the mission- 
 aries should swear allegiance to the government 
 of Mexico and the Mexican Constitution as 
 framed by the politicians who then controlled 
 that country, Fr. Magin with most of the 
 Fathers refused until the King of Spain should 
 recognize the independence of Mexico. They 
 claimed prior allegiance to the mother country, 
 and therefore thought that the new oath was 
 incompatible with their sense of loyalty to the 
 king. Though none of them took much interest 
 in the temporal affairs of the republic, rather 
 ignored them in order to advance the spiritual 
 and temporal welfare of their Indians, all the 
 missionaries offered to swear to obey the author- 
 ities that existed. This was in compliance with
 
 114 
 
 the teaching of St. Paul, who would have all 
 Christians render obedience even to wicked 
 rulers, inasmuch as "there is no power except 
 from God." 2 Fr. Magin's reply was to the 
 point as follows : "I cannot and consequently 
 will not take said oath. During the thirty-three 
 years since I have been in this mission I have 
 never meddled with political matters ; and if now 
 they want to distrust me, who at the age of 
 sixty-six years and burdened with infirmities 
 hopes and believes to be near the end, I swear 
 to observe fidelity and obedience to the govern- 
 ment and the constituted authorities." Though 
 expulsion was threatened, he would not be 
 moved, and was then allowed to die in peace at 
 the mission. This occurred, happily, before the 
 holy man could witness the ruin brought upon 
 all the missions through the machinations of 
 unscrupulous, anti-Christian politicians in both 
 Mexico and California. 
 
 One should think that a man so considerate 
 and inoffensive as Fr. Magin could have no ene- 
 mies except the devil ; yet he, too, had to ex- 
 perience what it is to be vexed and persecuted 
 by bad Christians whose vices he had to re- 
 prove, or to encounter the contemptible conduct 
 of haughty military officers. Thus on January 
 7th, 1797, Governor Borica found it necessary to 
 
 2 Rom. xiii, 1.
 
 115 
 
 teach two young military officers a lesson, when 
 he ordered Ignacio Vallejo and Gabriel Moraga 
 to give satisfaction to Fr. Catala for their rude- 
 ness. At the same time he asked the Father to 
 bear a little with the manners of men who were 
 not educated "in a college of nobles, nor in a 
 Roman school." 3 What the trouble really was, 
 it is impossible to state. It is certain that the 
 servant of God wrote not a line, nor did he draw 
 the attention of the governor to the matter 
 through others. Borica must have been made 
 acquainted with the offense of the two men by 
 some one else. As early as the year before, Sep- 
 tember 3, 1796, Governor Borica wrote that it 
 was reported to him that Fr. Catala had threat- 
 ened the official in charge at San Jose, apparently 
 Vallejo, to destroy the house if he admitted 
 Christian natives to the town. The governor re- 
 garded the charge as so absurd that he would 
 not believe it, and moreover remarked that Fr. 
 Magin was a friar, not a Robespierre. 
 
 These incidents go to show with what kind of 
 people the missionaries had to deal in the per- 
 sons of some colonists and soldiers, and they also 
 prove in what esteem the servant of God was 
 held from the very first years of his ministry at 
 Mission Santa Clara. It may be said, however, 
 that as a rule Fr. Magin had no enemies save 
 
 3 "En colegio de nobles ni en el romano."
 
 116 
 
 those that were already the enemies of God. He, 
 therefore, had few opportunities to display his 
 spirit of forgiveness. 
 
 "The soul is not weakened or overcome by 
 temptations," St. Ambrose mentions as the third 
 mark of Christian fortitude. Fr. Magin doubt- 
 less encountered the temptation to cling to 
 parents, home, country, comforts, and worldly 
 prospects ; but these considerations could not 
 withdraw him from the one object which he had 
 learned to prize as alone worth acquiring his 
 dear Christ Crucified. Doubtless, too, his phy- 
 sical disabilities afforded the evil spirits abun- 
 dant opportunities for tormenting the holy man 
 dreadfully. If St. Paul was not spared these 
 difficulties, a poor missionary aspiring to be with 
 Christ must have been subjected to similar vexa- 
 tions from the powers of darkness. The life of 
 a missionary among pagans, or in the midst of 
 those that have scarcely renounced all pagan 
 habits, at best is a life of wearisome toil and 
 disappointment. If at the same time health and 
 every convenience be wanting, only Christian 
 fortitude in an heroic degree will enable the over- 
 burdened laborer in the vineyard of the Lord to 
 persevere. Fr. Magin possessed this virtue, and 
 therefore a faithful attendant could truthfully 
 affirm, "I have never seen him discouraged." 
 When his swollen and sore feet made it impos- 
 sible for the sufferer to walk alone to the
 
 117 
 
 wretched rancherias of the pagans or outlying 
 Christian Indians, as there was no other con- 
 veyance than the huge carts drawn by slow 
 oxen, and as Fr. Magin could not ride on horse- 
 back on account of his rheumatism, he would 
 lean on Juan Crisostomo or some other guide and 
 limp along as well as he could. He remained 
 cheerful withal, so that no one could tell whether 
 or not the holy man suffered any pain. 
 
 Nor would he depart from his penitential man- 
 ner of life because of his ailments. He practised 
 all the austerities prescribed by the Franciscan 
 Rule or the Constitutions of his missionary col- 
 lege, and added many more as hunger and thirst 
 for righteousness suggested. Hence it was 
 that he could with effect exhort his people to 
 practise patience and to do penance, inasmuch 
 as they had in him a shining example of the 
 spirit of penance and Christian resignation which 
 must have shamed into silence those that neg- 
 lected serious duties because of slight incon- 
 veniences. 
 
 Fr. Magin's fortitude appears most brightly in 
 his last illness, which lasted nearly a year; for 
 as early as February 9th, 1830, Fr. Vincente de 
 Sarria, the commissary, reported to the governor 
 that the servant of God had received Extreme 
 Unction. He did not die until nine months later, 
 however. It is sickness that lays bare the char- 
 acter of man. Fr. Magin's infirmities had been
 
 118 
 
 increasing for years. For nearly four years he 
 could not officiate at baptisms; but as we have 
 seen, he never neglected to preach. Besides suf- 
 fering from his feet, a witness testified that after 
 his death it was found that one arm was badly 
 sore, it was thought from the wearing of some 
 instrument of penance. Though from the force 
 of circumstances, but especially from choice, the 
 good Father was deprived of every convenience 
 that to us appears imperatively necessary, he 
 manifested no discontent, for it was suffering 
 that he desired in order to be as much like his 
 Crucified Love as possible. 
 
 4. TEMPERANCE. 
 
 Temperance, the last of the four cardinal vir- 
 tues, according to St. Thomas of Aquino con- 
 sists in moderating our passions, actions, and 
 inclinations, in harmony with reason. Accord- 
 ing to the same authority, it is the last and least 
 of the four virtues, for the other three tend to 
 a higher degree of moral perfection. 1 St. Pros- 
 per 2 when treating of this virtue enumerates 
 some of its qualities and effects. In the first 
 place, he says, that "temperance renders tem- 
 perate and tempers the affections." All the de- 
 
 1 Secund?. Secundae, quaest. 141, art. 1, et 8. 
 
 2 Lib. iii, de Vit. Cont., cap. 19, p. 92, quoted by 
 I'alou.
 
 119 
 
 sires of Fr. Magin aimed at possessing God ; 
 beyond that he wished for nothing more than 
 that all mankind should know and serve the 
 Creator so that all might enjoy Him. This re- 
 sult he endeavored to bring about by means of 
 preaching, teaching, exhorting, and by his own 
 example ; but he was not intemperate in his deal- 
 ings with those placed in his care. He pre- 
 served dignity, equanimity, and considerateness, 
 always bearing in mind the circumstances of 
 persons, places, things, and surroundings. 
 
 St. Prosper furthermore declares that tem- 
 perance makes abstemious, economical, sober, 
 and moderate. All these adjectives may truth- 
 fully be applied to the servant of God. Fr. Ma- 
 gin was a total abstainer. One of those that 
 knew his habits well stated that Fr. Magin was 
 never known to drink wine. This is the more 
 remarkable in that the good Father came from 
 Spain where wine is the common beverage. His 
 meals, which he took twice a day only, were 
 exceedingly frugal. They consisted of corn 
 gruel prepared with milk in small quantities. 
 When he celebrated holy Mass at San Jose, he 
 took the noonday meal at the house of Don An- 
 tonio Sunol. He would not join the family, but 
 had his milk and crumbs of tortillas placed on 
 a side table. Sometimes he would add a few 
 dried fruits. Instead of milk he would on Fri- 
 days and Ember Days drink nothing but water
 
 120 
 
 with the corncake. Bread was not baked in 
 those days. Tortillas or corncakes supplied the 
 place of wheat bread. We have these facts from 
 the daughter-in-law of Don Antonio Sunol, at 
 whose house Fr. Magin would accept the one 
 refreshment which he took outside the mission. 
 At the mission he also invariably fasted till noon, 
 and then from an ordinary earthen plate eat the 
 gruel with a horn spoon. Meat, eggs, and 
 fishes never formed a part of his meals. Juan 
 Crisostomo Galindo, the grandfather of Mrs. 
 Sunol, fasted similarly, and yet reached the age 
 of one hundred and one years. 
 
 Fr. Magin was very chary with his words. 
 People knew his love for silence, and therefore 
 his visitors were few, especially females, who 
 rather stood in awe of him. 
 
 Temperance, St. Prosper continues, corrects 
 and chastises what is faulty or vicious ; in other 
 words, it teaches mortification and self-denial. 
 St. Paul thought bodily mortification especially 
 necessary. "I chastise my body, and bring it into 
 subjection, lest perhaps when I have preached to 
 others I myself should become reprobate." 3 
 Christ, our Lord, declares self-denial should dis- 
 tinguish His disciples. "If any man will follow 
 Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross 
 
 a I Cor. ix, 27.
 
 121 
 
 daily, and follow Me." 4 These are the senti- 
 ments of all the saints and of all those that seri- 
 ously aspire to a place in heaven. From what 
 has already been said, it must impress every one, 
 as it impressed all that came into contact with 
 him, that mortification and self-denial in an he- 
 roic degree distinguished the holy missionary of 
 Santa Clara. 
 
 According to the Franciscan Rule, Fr. Ma- 
 gin wore sandals instead of shoes, but he would 
 use no stockings even during the cold and wet 
 seasons. This doubtless had much to do with his 
 rheumatism and other maladies, as there was no 
 place to warm or dry himself. Even if there 
 had been a heating apparatus in the mission, he 
 would probably not have availed himself of the 
 comfort which it afforded, since it was mortifica- 
 tion not comfort which he sought. During the 
 Lenten season the holy man would deny his poor 
 feet even the protection of sandals. He would 
 then in the mission buildings and church go bare- 
 footed. During Holy Week he would also go 
 barefooted outside the house, notably while the 
 devotion of the Way of the Cross was per- 
 formed on the Alameda, a distance of about half 
 a league. 
 
 The discipline or scourge was an instrument 
 of penance in use at the College or motherhouse. 
 
 4 Luke ix, 23.
 
 122 
 
 In the missions, there being enough oppor- 
 tunities for mortification, it might be discarded. 
 Fr. Magin, however, would apply the discipline 
 to himself in his cell or where he could be un- 
 observed whenever he deemed it conducive to his 
 spiritual welfare. The instrument consisted of 
 a number of leather strips twisted into knots to 
 which at intervals nails or pieces of wire were 
 fastened. 
 
 Moreover, the servant of God wore a cilicium 
 about his body and, according to some, also 
 about one arm. This instrument of mortifica- 
 tion sometimes consists of haircloth ; sometimes 
 it is a girdle of wire or iron about two inches 
 wide. It is formed like a flat chain, but with 
 the difference that the points of the wires, where 
 they connect, are purposely turned all to the side 
 placed next to the body. According as it is 
 laced about the body, loose or tight, it irritates 
 or torments the flesh. It seems the one Fr. Ma- 
 gin used was of this latter make. Such instru- 
 ments of penance might inflict serious injury to 
 the body if worn a great length of time. For 
 this reason its use is granted, never imposed, for 
 short periods only. The penitential girdle, like 
 the discipline, was a very common means of 
 penance among the saints of both sexes. Hence 
 Fr. Magin was practising nothing new. 
 
 It may be asked why this torturing of one's 
 body? It is not necessary for salvation. That
 
 123 
 
 depends. It is not easy to decide what a saint 
 or a soul in love with God, or one charged with 
 the salvation of others, would deem necessary 
 for himself in order to secure eternal bliss for 
 himself and others. St. Paul thought it neces- 
 sary to chastise, that is to say, to scourge his 
 body, in order to bring it into subjection to the 
 spirit which is determined to retain the love of 
 God. 
 
 People tainted with worldliness may scoff at 
 the foolishness of self-torture on the part of 
 those that aspire to holiness of life. What then 
 is the self-torture of the devotees of fashion 
 who squeeze their feet into shoes far too small 
 for comfort, and who torment their bodies 
 through tight lacing, much more dangerous to 
 health than haircloth or the girdle of the peni- 
 tent, for no other purpose than to be numbered 
 among the worshipers of fashion? What then 
 is the practise of others who abstain from cer- 
 tain foods, and who deprive themselves of neces- 
 sary sleep, for worldly gain or fame? What is 
 the difference between the self-torture of the 
 saint and that of the worldling? Surely, the 
 lofty aim of the former and the base motives of 
 the latter leave no doubt which of the two is 
 truly wise and which of the two is truly foolish. 
 
 True, Fr. Magin led an innocent life. So did 
 St. Paul and the saints who are known for their 
 mortifications ; but penances are not self-inflicted
 
 124 
 
 for personal faults only. To prevent the pas- 
 sions from governing the soul and leading it into 
 sins, is quite sufficient reason for self-denial and 
 mortification. Furthermore, the holy missionary 
 was in charge of souls. Many of these com- 
 mitted sin, even grievous sin. As their spiritual 
 father, he, like Job, thought it incumbent upon 
 himself to offer the sacrifice of his austerities and 
 self-abnegation for his spiritual children, inas- 
 much as they were unwilling or too forgetful to 
 do so for themselves, in order to turn aside the 
 wrath of God from the guilty individuals and 
 from the whole mission family. Saints and zeal- 
 ous men were no less solicitous for the eternal 
 than for the temporal welfare of their flock. 
 There we must look for the secret of many of 
 their frightful penances. Think of St. Francis 
 Xavier scourging himself until the blood flowed 
 to the ground for the sake of a wretched indi- 
 vidual whose conversion he desired. Remem- 
 ber St. Paul and Moses who prayed to have their 
 names stricken from the book of life rather than 
 that their people should be destroyed. If they 
 could offer their life, why not their convenience, 
 their meals, their sleep, etc., provided the sac- 
 rifice would bring about the salvation of those 
 they loved and with whose guidance they were 
 charged? Hence it was that Fr. Magin would 
 chastise himself unmercifully. Through Juan 
 Crisostomo and others we know that, like St.
 
 125 
 
 Francis, the holy missionary of Santa Clara 
 would kneel for hours before his Crucified Lord 
 weeping, lamenting, and praying for the sinners, 
 especially for those among the Indians and col- 
 onists of his district. This resulted in a coun- 
 tenance which appeared habitually sad, though 
 not morose." No one remembered to have seen 
 Fr. Magin laugh. Indeed, what Almighty God 
 seems to have shown him with regard to the 
 future of the mission, and what he himself knew 
 of the moral and religious state of many of his 
 flock, may well have precluded every inclination 
 to gaiety. 
 
 These austerities, however, by no means less- 
 ened the holy man's solicitude and activity for 
 the neophytes and colonists. They on the con- 
 trary added fervor to his energy. Had he neg- 
 lected his duties for the sake of performing pen- 
 ances to which he was not bound, he would have 
 been reprehensible. As it was, his spirit of mor- 
 tification rendered him the more zealous both 
 for God and immortal souls. After all, Fr. Ma- 
 gin was guided by the Spirit of God who leads 
 whithersoever He willeth. Nor did all the fast- 
 ing, vigils, and mortifications shorten his life, 
 for he reached the Scriptural age of three score 
 and ten. Of these he passed only the first six- 
 teen years in the world. As in the case of count- 
 less great and good men and women, who prac- 
 tised self-denial, the life of the servant of God
 
 126 
 
 shows that fasting and abstinence from food, and 
 from many others things that the worldly- 
 minded fancy to be necessary, is conducive to 
 longevity rather than not.
 
 127 
 THE RELIGIOUS VOWS. 
 
 "The vows of the just are acceptable." 
 
 (Prov. xv, 8.) 
 
 The main object of Religious Orders is to 
 lead their members to Christian perfection by 
 the fervent observance of the Evangelical Coun- 
 sels, besides faithfully keeping the Command- 
 ments of God and His Church. To this end the 
 Religious bind themselves by means of the usual 
 vows of obedience, chastity, and poverty. As a 
 Friar Minor Fr. Magin had vowed "to observe 
 the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ by 
 living in obedience, without property, and in 
 chastity." 1 It is required of the candidate for 
 the honors of the altar that his life show heroism 
 in keeping these vows as well as in the practise 
 of the Christian virtues already enumerated. 
 
 1. OBEDIENCE. 
 
 "Obedience is better than sacrifices." 
 
 (I Kings, xv, 22.) 
 
 There are no records extant concerning Fr. 
 Magin's conduct in the monasteries of either 
 Spain or Mexico. We are, therefore, unable to 
 say anything regarding his early life in religion. 
 When, however, the superiors sent the servant 
 
 1 Chapter 1, Rule of St. Francis.
 
 128 
 
 of God to the Pacific Coast, they informed Fr. 
 Lasuen, the presidente of the missions, that the 
 young priest was a good and peaceful religious. 
 They would not have made this remark, had he 
 given occasion for displeasure, nor would they 
 have allowed him to depart for California. 
 Moreover, two of, his immediate superiors in 
 succession, Fr. Vincente de Sarria and Fr. Ma- 
 riano Payeras, later recommended Fr. Magin 
 for higher offices. This they could not have 
 done, had he not been a model of obedience and 
 exactitude with regard to the Rules of the Order 
 and of his Institute, the College of San Fer- 
 nando. 
 
 Inasmuch as the holy man himself held the 
 office of local superior at Santa Clara, he had 
 little opportunity to manifest submission to others 
 besides the Fr. Presidente. As we have seen, 
 three of those that held the office of superior 
 of the California missions frankly expressed 
 their reverence for him. The fact that for thirty- 
 four years he had no other assistant than Fr. 
 Jose Viader, who was himself a superior char- 
 acter, and that not a shadow of disharmony ever 
 came between the two friars, shows that Fr. 
 Magin willingly deferred to the opinion of his 
 hardly less conscientious companion. 
 
 That the holy man scrupulously adhered to the 
 Commandments of God, the Precepts and de- 
 cisions of the Church, and to the Rules of his
 
 129 
 
 Order, and that he insisted that every one under 
 his charge should prove similarly faithful, the 
 preceding pages have abundantly proved. We 
 may therefore pass on to the next vow. 
 
 2. POVERTY. 
 
 "Hath not God chosen the poor of this world, 
 rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which 
 God hath promised to them that love Him?" 
 
 (James ii, 5.) 
 
 Absolute poverty of the community as well as 
 of the individual friar is the distinctive charac- 
 teristic of the Franciscan Order. Every mem- 
 ber imbued with the spirit of St. Francis aims to 
 be unhampered by worldly possessions. As a 
 most perfect observer of the vows, Fr. Magin 
 at his mission led such a life of abject poverty 
 that it called forth the astonishment of all that 
 became acquainted with him. His habit was 
 made of cloth coarsely woven by the Indians 
 from home-spun wool. The color, judging from 
 pieces found in the tomb of the holy man on 
 opening it in November 1907, was brown. His 
 room was furnished in the most primitive style 
 in accordance with the highest ideals of re- 
 ligious poverty. It contained nothing that could 
 be spared, and would have delighted St. Francis 
 of Assisi or St. Peter of Alcantara. There was 
 no bed. If Fr. Magin lay down at all for rest,
 
 130 
 
 he slept on the bare floor, or at most upon a 
 hide or blanket, without undressing. An adobe 
 brick served for a pillow. The cell which still 
 exists is situated on the first floor of the Jesuit 
 College facing the East and next to church 
 building. The wall of adobe on the front meas- 
 ures four feet in thickness ; the two partitions, 
 also of adobe or sunburnt brick, are three feet 
 thick. The church wall on the north of the room 
 formerly measured five feet through, and it like- 
 wise consisted of adobe.- There was no window 
 in this little room, but there was a door opening 
 upon the front corridor, and another leading to 
 the next room which may have been occupied by 
 Fr. Jose Viader, or according to some may have 
 been a reception room. In the corridor stood a 
 long wooden bench. Here the holy man fre- 
 quently sat when not at his prayers in Church 
 or otherwise employed. It was here, too, that he 
 received the visitors. There may have been a 
 pane of glass or two in the front door of his 
 cell, but there is no evidence to that effect. On 
 the wall could be seen a cheap crucifix and a 
 paper picture of our Lady. A small table and a 
 wooden chair completed the whole outfit. The 
 writer took the dimensions of this hallowed cell 
 and found them to be as follows: Length, east 
 to west along the church wall inside, three yards 
 and ten inches ; width, three yards and two 
 inches ; height, three yards and three inches.
 
 131 
 
 Like St. Francis, Fr. Magin would have noth- 
 ing to do with money. He would never even 
 touch it. As a matter of fact all the early Fran- 
 ciscan missionaries, in obedience to the letter of 
 their Rule, followed a similar course. Though 
 placed in absolute control of the mission tempo- 
 ralities, which before the Mexican War of In- 
 dependence, 1811-1821, had grown to be of con- 
 siderable value, the Fathers regarded themselves 
 merely as stewards. Not one of the missionaries 
 could or did accumulate anything for himself, 
 his relatives, his College in Mexico, his Order, or 
 for the Church at large. Not as much as a curio 
 was sent to the College of San Fernando or any- 
 where else. Everything was managed for the 
 benefit of the neophyte Indians. Even the sti- 
 pends or annual allowance, personal donations 
 for holy Masses, or gifts of any kind to the mis- 
 sionaries went into the common fund for the 
 Indians. All statements to the contrary, as fre- 
 quently found in magazines or so-called his- 
 tories, are calumnies. 
 
 Fr. Magin carried the rule to extremes in- 
 deed, but no farther than St. Francis himself, 
 who possessed a holy horror for money. The 
 faithful holy steward of Mission Santa Clara 
 would not even personally accept money that 
 was paid for goods purchased from the store- 
 house. He would call the majordomo to take 
 the coin. When urged to accept some money
 
 132 
 
 for himself, he would decline and say, "It will 
 not open the door of heaven." How scrupulous 
 the good Father must have been with regard to 
 the property of the mission, we can infer from 
 his solicitude for little things. It sometimes 
 happened that bits of food and crumbs would be 
 thrown away. This he would not tolerate. He 
 would distribute provisions without stint to his 
 great Indian family, and particularly to the help- 
 less and poor, whilst he would deny himself 
 every comfort or convenience. Some witnesses 
 speak of an old straw hat which they claim be- 
 longed to the holy man, and which they would 
 use as a relic to obtain relief from their mal- 
 adies. Whether he wore such a covering for 
 the head, it is impossible to determine. Possibly 
 he did wear it when he had to walk about the 
 mission or make visits to the sick at great dis- 
 tances in the hot summer season; but there is 
 no evidence to that effect. He wore the cowl 
 drawn far over his brow, however, as we have 
 already stated. His meals were as scanty as 
 possible ; no beggar fared worse all the year 
 round than the saintly manager of the populous 
 and prosperous Mission of Santa Clara. Hence 
 everything about Fr. Magin bespeaks the high- 
 est degree of religious poverty.
 
 133 
 
 3. CHASTITY. 
 
 "O hozv beautiful is the chaste generation with 
 glory! for the memory thereof is immortal, be- 
 cause it is known both zuith God and zvith 
 men." (Wisdom iv, 1.) 
 
 This queenly virtue is the beauty of the soul. 
 Without it the religious would be unworthy of 
 the sacred habit. Chastity is easily stained and 
 easily lost. Therefore all lovers of this sublime 
 virtue exercise the greatest care lest they en- 
 danger the priceless jewel. Fr. Magin may ap- 
 pear to have gone to extremes for employing 
 such odd means to preserve himself "unspotted 
 from the world." However, when the spirit that 
 controls the world and its votaries, by means 
 of lax notions on morality, is continually en- 
 gaged in laying snares for the virtue of the in- 
 nocent and unwary, we need not wonder that 
 Godfearing souls like Fr. Magin withdraw from 
 human society altogether and choose drastic 
 methods in order to preserve the beauty of the 
 soul. It is then -the worldly-minded receive an 
 opportunity to learn what God's views are on 
 the subject. His views never agree with those 
 of the world ; but they can be most quickly as- 
 certained from the conduct of the saints ; for 
 the lives of the saints is the Gospel put into 
 practice. 
 
 Owing to his position Fr. Magin could not
 
 134 
 
 exclude himself from the world entirely ; but like 
 the saints he determined to shut out the world 
 from his vision and his thoughts. He fled the 
 very shadow of impropriety. His shyness for 
 women was proverbial, as we have already 
 stated when treating of his virtue of prudence. 
 When women or young girls approached to 
 speak to him, the holy man conducted himself 
 with great reserve. He would indeed listen to 
 them, gently in a few words give the counsel 
 they needed, and then dismiss them. It was 
 customary with the Indians and colonists, male 
 and female, to kiss the consecrated hand of the 
 priest. Fr. Magin would not permit this, least 
 of all on the part of females. In fact, save for 
 the purpose of administering the Sacraments to 
 the sick, the holy man would not converse with 
 females about their spiritual affairs outside the 
 confessional. 
 
 When the holy missionary walked about in 
 pursuit of his duties he would fasten the eyes to 
 the ground. His gait was modest and dignified. 
 According to the regulations of the missionaries 
 in California, no women or girls were permitted 
 to attend the Fathers or to enter the quarters of 
 the priests. The part of the building contain- 
 ing the rooms of the missionaries was frequently 
 called coni'ento, because inaccessible to females. 
 Hence the cooking and all housework was per- 
 formed by Indian men or youths. It is hardly
 
 135 
 
 necessary to affirm that Fr. Magin would tolerate 
 no infraction of this rule, though in his last ill- 
 ness he is said to have accepted food specially 
 prepared for him by the mother of Juan Crisos- 
 tomo. It was the latter who brought the meals 
 from his mother's house, however. 
 
 Nevertheless, the female portion of his flock 
 entertained the greatest reverence and love for 
 the holy man. No others after his death applied 
 to him with such confidence as the women ; for, 
 after all, they had never pleaded in vain for 
 anything when they came to him with their 
 troubles. Nor were they disappointed, as we 
 shall see later. 
 
 Fr. Magin, unless duty so dictated, would not 
 pay visits to private houses ; nor would he 
 attend banquets or festivities held on occasion 
 of marriages or births. He would, moreover, 
 never take meals outside the mission buildings, 
 save when he had to celebrate holy Mass at San 
 Jose on Sundays or holydays. 
 
 "Wine is a luxurious thing," * Holy Writ 
 declares; hence Fr. Magin abstained from wine 
 in order to preclude every danger to the virtue 
 which he prized above anything in the world. 
 Furthermore he kept his body in subjection by 
 severe mortifications, as we have seen in the 
 proper place. 
 
 * Proverbs xx, 1; Ephes. v, 18.
 
 136 
 
 HUMILITY. 
 
 "When you shall have done all the things that 
 are commanded you, say, 'We are unprofitable 
 servants; we have done that which we ought 
 to do.'" (Luke xvii, 10.) 
 
 We now conclude with the last virtue de- 
 manding special consideration humility. It is 
 really the first in order, the foundation for all 
 others, inasmuch as without humility all other 
 virtues are impossible. Still it may be dwelt 
 upon here with propriety, because, even if it 
 were possible for a soul to possess the theo- 
 logical, cardinal and other virtues in the highest 
 degree, that soul could not retain them unless 
 they were supported by humility. Humility, in 
 reality, may be called the touchstone of every 
 Christian virtue. 
 
 Humility teaches us to recognize our own 
 weakness, sinfulness, and wretchedness, and to 
 look upon everything good we possess as coming 
 from God. Fr. Magin's humility effectually 
 barred insight into his interior life. He shrank 
 from publicity, and therefore his closest friends 
 or daily attendants were unable to furnish any 
 information as to what the holy man thought of 
 himself or his work. Fr. Viader, who knew 
 him best, might have transmitted a complete de- 
 scription of his companion's life; but he is ab- 
 solutely silent, probably in deference to his
 
 137 
 
 senior's wishes. We are thus compelled to reach 
 the facts in a roundabout way, which is most 
 laborious and cannot but fail to give satisfaction. 
 
 Agreeably to his love for the hidden life, we 
 may attribute to his humility that he wrote next 
 to nothing. As the head of a populous Indian 
 mission, and as pastor of San Jose City, he had 
 abundant occasions to write letters, draw up 
 documents, and make the annual and bi-annual 
 reports. Yet, though he held his position for 
 thirty-six years, there is not one document or 
 letter written by him alone in existence. All 
 such correspondence was preserved at Mon- 
 terey, and there are thousands of letters from 
 other Fathers preserved in the archives of Santa 
 Barbara and at the cathedral of San Francisco, 
 but only three unsigned copies of letters from 
 Fr. Magin. Lest he himself be brought before 
 the world, the holy man left all such work to 
 Fr. Jose Viader ; and Fr. Viader it is who figures 
 everywhere and at all times as the representative 
 and manager of Santa Clara. Fr. Magin seems 
 to have delighted in being overlooked and in 
 staying in the background. 
 
 It was, doubtless, also the sense of unworthi- 
 ness, and not only love of recollection, that made 
 him keep the eyes to the ground as one not de- 
 serving to walk the earth. Of himself he never 
 spoke either good or bad. He probably thought 
 there was no need to say anything bad, as people
 
 139 
 
 would realize it without being told ; and as for 
 the good, he judged there was none. This was 
 true humility. The thought of his utter insig- 
 nificance before the face of God prevented him 
 from showing resentment or anger at ill-treat- 
 ment. If ever he felt those movements of pas- 
 sion at all, he must have possessed wonderful 
 self-control, for no one ever saw him angry. 
 The same low opinion of himself added to his 
 gentleness and considerateness in his dealings 
 with the dull and fickle-minded Indians as well 
 as with the more wayward colonists. He con- 
 ducted himself at all times as the same affable, 
 patient, and solicitous father of all. Hence he 
 was beloved by all classes, though his person- 
 ality inspired awe rather than familiarity. Nor 
 would he speak against any one or permit the 
 speech that hurts, though in his sermons he 
 would not hesitate to denounce vice. Frequently 
 he would threaten unprepared deaths for those 
 that persistently gave themselves to dangerous 
 amuse^ments. Nor was it mere prudence which 
 forbade him to allow people, especially women, 
 to kiss his hand. More probably a deep sense of 
 unworthiness prompted him to reach out the 
 cord or the sleeve of his habit for veneration in- 
 stead. The cord or the habit in his estimation 
 was sacred ; but himself the holy man could not 
 deem worthy of reverence. Whatever good he
 
 140 
 
 possessed, or whatever good he effected, Fr. Ma- 
 gin dutifully ascribed to God. 
 
 Thus it was that the saintly missionary during 
 life succeeded in hiding his gifts, graces, and 
 good works before the world. On that very ac- 
 count Almighty God has glorified His faithful 
 servant after death, as we shall see in Part III. 
 Let us hope and pray that Mother Church may 
 set the seal of her approval upon the life of Fr. 
 Magin Catala, so that the words of Holy Scrip- 
 ture may eventually apply to our California mis- 
 sionary, "Nations shall declare his wisdom ; and 
 the Church shall shew forth his praise." * 
 
 LET US PRAY. 
 
 O God, Who didst send Thy servant, Magin 
 Catala, to preach the Gospel to the Indians among 
 whom he glorified Thee by his life and his deeds ; 
 for the greater glory of Thy Holy Name honor 
 him on earth with the miracles and the splendor 
 of the saints ; grant us through his merits all 
 manner of blessings, and fill our minds with the 
 light of Thy Truth, that walking in the way of 
 Thy Commandments we may finally come to 
 Thee. Amen. (Approved by His Grace, the 
 Archbishop of San Francisco.) 
 
 * Eccli. xxxix, 14.
 
 PART III. 
 MIRACLES AND PROPHECIES.
 
 143 
 
 "Amen, Amen, I say to you, he that believeth 
 in me, the works that I do, he shall do also, 
 and greater than I shall he do." 
 
 (John xiv, 12.) 
 
 Almighty God was pleased to manifest His 
 pleasure with the holy life of His servant by 
 conferring upon Fr. Magin the power of work- 
 ing miracles for the benefit of his fellow men. 
 This is not the place to discuss the possibility of 
 those extraordinary occurrences which are 
 called miracles. Those that feel inclined to cur- 
 tail the power of the Omnipotent over His 
 creation may have their doubts dispelled and 
 their notions easily corrected by turning to the 
 treatises on the subject which are accessible to 
 every lover of truth. The sanctity of a soul, we 
 repeat, is not dependent upon the gift of effect- 
 ing prodigies and wonders ; but if God in His 
 goodness deigns to distinguish a faithful ser- 
 vant in that manner, it behooves us to adore the 
 power of the Creator, who is so wonderful in 
 His saints, and to profit by its manifestation. 
 
 The incidents enumerated on the following 
 pages have been critically examined and found 
 to be historically true, whatever their merit as 
 miracles may be. Every statement has been 
 corroborated under oath by contemporaries of
 
 144 
 
 Fr. Magin, or by their immediate descendants 
 who lived in various sections of the coast from 
 San Rafael to Mission San Antonio. The evi- 
 dence, in most cases, was given under oath at 
 the homes of the respective individuals, and in 
 the presence of priests or other trustworthy per- 
 sons. Later, nearly all these witnesses testi- 
 fied before the Ecclesiastical Court at Santa 
 Clara. As a rule, nothing was included in this 
 narrative that rested upon the testimony of one 
 person only. Hence, from an historical point of 
 view, the depositions, repeated here, as nearly 
 as practicable, in the simple language of the wit- 
 nesses, are all that could be desired.
 
 145 
 
 I. MIRACLES DURING HIS LIFETIME. 
 VARIOUS MIRACLES. 
 
 "Amen I say to you, if you have faith as a 
 grain of mustard-seed, you shall say fo this 
 mountain: Remove from hence to yonder 
 place, and it shall move, and nothing shall be 
 impossible to you." (Matt, xvii, 19.) 
 
 "They shall lay their hands upon the sick, and, 
 they shall recover." (Mark xvi, 18.) 
 
 On one occasion while Fr. Magin was 
 journeying with two guards and two Indians 
 through a dry country in the hot season, the 
 men complained of thirst. The servant of God 
 told them to go to a certain spot which he in- 
 dicated, and there they should find water to 
 drink. The astonished natives declared that 
 there was no water in the whole region. The 
 Father, nevertheless, directed them to refresh 
 themselves with the water which they should 
 see flowing from beneath a rock. Still in- 
 credulous, but to convince Fr. Magin that no 
 water existed in the neighborhood, the men 
 went away. On reaching the place they indeed 
 discovered the rock and the water coming out 
 of the earth beneath. Soldiers and Indians alike 
 were amazed, as no one had ever heard of the 
 presence of water in that locality. After they
 
 146 
 
 had refreshed themselves, the journey was con- 
 tinued. When they returned the same way, the 
 guards and Indians visited the spot where they 
 had satisfied themselves before, but both rock 
 and water had disappeared. One of the mysti- 
 fied soldiers was the father of Gabriel Cipriano, 
 who testified before the Archbishop in 1884. 
 His evidence is corroborated by Francisco Ro- 
 mano Soto, Maria Josefa Berreyesa, Romana 
 Miramontes, Hedwige Miramontes, Felix Buel- 
 na, Rudolfo Miramontes, and Clara F. Sunol, 
 the granddaughter of Juan Crisostomo Galindo. 
 
 A similar incident was related by Philip a 
 Jesus Gonzalez, who had it from an Indian 
 named Felix, one of the company favored in 
 this way. Felix says : "I and some Indians 
 were perishing from thirst in a region where 
 there was no water. Suddenly Fr. Magin ap- 
 peared and asked us what the matter was. We 
 told him that we were dying for want of water 
 to drink. 'Go over there,' he said, 'and you will 
 find water.' The Indians were surprised, for 
 no water had ever been known to exist any- 
 where in the neighborhood. We went there, and 
 joyfully discovered very much water to drink." 
 
 Secundino Robles related under oath that, 
 when he was a boy already well grown up, at 
 one time innumerable locusts or grasshoppers, 
 called chapiilas by the Indians, settled down upon 
 the fields and orchards and devoured everything
 
 147 
 
 green in Santa Clara Valley. The afflicted people 
 appealed to Fr. Magin for help. The servant of 
 God directed some of the insects to be brought 
 to him. When he saw them, he said: "Let us 
 go into the church." There he put on his stole, 
 recited some prayers, and then ordered the lo- 
 custs to be taken back where they had been 
 caught. No sooner had the little creatures been 
 set at liberty in the field, when all the locusts 
 rose in a body, and flying away plunged into 
 the sea. On the next day the beach for three 
 or four miles was covered with dead locusts to 
 a depth of about three feet. The people again 
 sowed their seeds and obtained a good crop. 
 This fact was notorious. Very Rev. Joachim 
 Adam of Santa Cruz bore witness that he had 
 heard the miracle from Romano Rodriguez. 
 Secundino Robles' narrative was affirmed by 
 Encarnacion Pacheco, who also knew Fr. Magin 
 well. Other witnesses were Maria Alviso 
 Rodriguez, Filomena Pombera, Merced Castro, 
 Maria Miramontes, Ramona Miramontes, and 
 Maria del Pilar Larios, who all had known Fr. 
 Magin personally, and were aware of the 
 miracle. 
 
 Secundino Robles also relates the following 
 incident. "One year, about 1823 or 1824, the 
 whole valley was suffering from a great drought. 
 It had not rained during the entire preceding 
 winter, nor in the spring that succeeded it.
 
 148 
 
 About 5,000 sheep perished. In other places 
 the people suffered similarly. The inhabitants, 
 therefore, asked Fr. Magin for relief. He in- 
 vited all the people to join him in prayer for 
 rain. It was the month of April. A day was 
 set apart for a solemn procession to beg Heaven 
 for pity upon the people. After holy Mass, 
 during which Fr. Magin preached, the proces- 
 sion set out from the church and wended its 
 way .through the Alameda halfway to San 
 Jose, and then turned back. The great Crucifix, 
 surrounded by many burning candles, was borne 
 in the procession. When the praying multitude 
 had reached the last station of the Way of the 
 Cross erected along the Alameda, a black cloud 
 was seen far away in the mountains to the west. 
 It grew larger and wider and approached rap- 
 idly. When we were about 300 or 600 feet from 
 the church, the rain began to fall in torrents 
 and it was accompanied by a heavy wind. We 
 boys wondered greatly that the candles which 
 we bore were not extinguished by the wind, but 
 kept on burning. Much rain fell for seven or 
 eight days. The water in the streams rose so 
 high that many people could not go back to their 
 distant homes for some time. The fields were 
 again ploughed in May, grain was sown, and a 
 good harvest was obtained. I remember this 
 well, for I was about fourteen years old, and 
 was one of the boys that carried candles."
 
 149 
 
 Many desperate cases of women in labor were 
 told by a number of witnesses, which all ended 
 happily. Fr. Magin, except in one instance, 
 would not visit the sufferers, but instead sent a 
 straw hat, which he is said to have used occa- 
 sionally. He gave directions that the hat should 
 be applied, when the result would be happy. In 
 two cases, Fr. Magin sent his girdle with the 
 same result. Maria Ignacia Pacheco, Felix 
 Buelna, Juana Briones, Guadalupe Lorenzana, 
 and Maria Rodriguez are the witnesses who made 
 depositions on the subject. A great many more 
 such cases occurred after Fr. Magin's death, 
 which will be related in their place. 
 
 Like his Seraphic Father, St. Francis, Fr. 
 Magin seems to have exercised a great power 
 over wild beasts. A case is told by Maria 
 Josefa Berreyesa and corroborated by another 
 person. The girls of the mission, under the 
 watchful eye of the servant of God, had gone to 
 cut grass for the domestic animals. While at 
 work a bear suddenly rushed from a thicket upon 
 the frightened children. Their screams at- 
 tracted Fr. Magin, who fortunately was near. 
 When he saw the beast he walked towards it, 
 and gently told it not to harm the girls. As 
 though understanding the holy man, the shaggy 
 brute turned and quietly trudged away.
 
 150 
 POWER OVER EVIL SPIRITS. 
 
 "In my name they shall cast out devils." 
 
 (Mark xvi, 17.) 
 
 It seems that the servant of God had full 
 power over the spirits of darkness, as the follow- 
 ing instances show. On one occasion, in the 
 middle of the day which was very hot, the people 
 saw Fr. Magin, in surplice and stole, going along 
 the Alameda reciting prayers, just as he was 
 wont to do when he exorcised persons and places 
 that were thought to be possessed by evil spirits. 
 He said that he was exorcising not only a few, 
 but a whole legion of devils who had come to 
 cause destruction to the people of San Jose. As 
 a result, though everything was quiet, clouds of 
 dust were seen to rise as though a whole drove 
 of cattle were passing along the road ; terrible 
 noises, howlings and shrieks were heard, together 
 with the sounds of horns and the bellowing of 
 wild beasts. Then all was silent. Fr. Magin 
 explained that the evil spirits had gone away, 
 some taking one road, some another, but that he 
 had commanded them not to go to San Jose. 
 That the Alameda especially must have annoyed 
 the powers of darkness, may be well understood 
 from the fact that the fourteen Stations of the 
 Cross lined the road ; that it was on the Alameda 
 where the public outdoor devotions took place : 
 and that it was, by reason of the shade, an easy
 
 151 
 
 means for the people of San Jose to visit Santa 
 Clara Mission Church to hear Fr. Magin preach. 
 Even after the pueblo had its own church, the 
 townspeople would visit the mission for the sole 
 purpose of listening to the holy man's sermons. 
 The surviving witnesses of the foregoing occur- 
 rence were Maria Hernandez Miramontes, Fran- 
 cisca Sepulveda, Pilar Ortega, Maria Larios, 
 and Encarnacion Soto. According to Francisco 
 Palomares and Concepcion Palomares, evil spir- 
 its visited the Alameda at some other times, pre- 
 sumably to frighten the settlers from going to 
 Santa Clara ; but Fr. Magin scorned their antics 
 and assured the people that no harm would come 
 to them. 
 
 Pilar Ortega and Maria Pilar Larios, the 
 latter born at Mission San Jose in 1798, also re- 
 late that once, when Fr. Magin was about to 
 preach, he said that the sermon would be short, 
 because he was exhausted from fighting with the 
 serpent which was striving to devour the people 
 of San Jose, that there were many devils going 
 about in the streets by threes and fours, but that 
 he had exorcised them, and that they had dis- 
 appeared. There are other instances related of 
 a similar character, but as they are not corrobo- 
 rated by trustworthy witnesses, they are omitted 
 here. 
 
 The evil spirit appears to have had a prefer- 
 ence for his old disguise. Sometimes, probably
 
 152 
 
 against his will, he had to aid the holy mis- 
 sionary. Francisco M. Garcia, an uncle of Ro- 
 mana Flores, who with others gave evidence on 
 the subject, was exceedingly fond of tobacco, so 
 much so that even while the servant of God was 
 preaching, he would go out into the adjoining 
 cemetery to enjoy a cigarette. Fr. Magin 
 warned him not to give such bad example. 
 Garcia nevertheless continued his pastime. One 
 Sunday he again left the church for the cemetery 
 while the holy man was giving his usual instruc- 
 tion. Suddenly the Father stopped preaching 
 and said: "Let us recite an Our Father and a 
 Hail Mary for an individual who is about to be 
 devoured by a monster." The people tremblingly 
 joined in the prayer, for they knew from experi- 
 ence what such announcements meant. While 
 the people were saying those prayers, Garcia 
 rushed through the door into the church, ex- 
 claiming that a big snake wanted to swallow him. 
 "It was not merely a snake," Fr. Magin declared, 
 "but the devil himself." From that day forth 
 Garcia never left the church to enjoy himself as 
 he had done before. Besides Romana Flores, 
 Petra Soto, Rafaela Pacheco, Maria Ignacia 
 Rodriguez, and Very Rev. Joachim Adam testi- 
 fied to the truth of the narrative. Father Adam 
 says he had the particulars from Felix Buelna 
 and Maria (Majors) Castro. 
 
 A Christian Indian once ran away with the
 
 153 
 
 wife of another neophyte. Fr. Magin sent the 
 mission guards to arrest them. When both had 
 been brought back, the holy man, strangely 
 enough, had them both locked up in the same 
 room. Soon after unearthly screams and yells 
 of the imprisoned couple caused the soldier guard 
 to hasten and open the room. The terrified pair 
 explained that a monster snake had appeared and 
 was about to devour them. The frightful vision 
 effected a thorough cure from their unholy pas- 
 sion. Both were glad to return to their legiti- 
 mate partners and led exemplary lives ever after. 
 Gabriel Cipriano brought out this incident in the 
 life of Fr. Magin. Gabriel Cipriano also in- 
 formed the Commission that while Fr. Magin 
 was one day preaching, he told the faithful not 
 to leave the church immediately after holy 
 Mass, as he had a ceremony to perform. He 
 emerged from the vestry after Divine Service 
 vested in surplice, stole and cope, and went 
 through the kneeling multitude to the front door. 
 There for some time he recited the exorcisms 
 against evil spirits. Then he returned to the rail- 
 ing and informed the people that three legions 
 of devils had come to harm them, but that they 
 were now driven away. Confiding in the power 
 of their pastor the multitude thereupon dis- 
 persed. 
 
 One night Fr. Magin visited a sick person in 
 an Indian rancheria. On the following Sunday,
 
 154 
 
 while preaching, he related that on this occa- 
 sion he had discovered a legion of evil spirits 
 there ; that he had exorcised them and had com- 
 manded them not to go to the neighboring vil- 
 lage, whereupon they had disappeared. The 
 holy man then exhorted his hearers to fortify 
 themselves against the machinations of the devil 
 by reciting the Rosary of the Blessed Virgin, and 
 thus to prevent the evil spirits from taking pos- 
 session of their hearts. 
 
 One more instance of Fr. Magin's power over 
 the Evil One may find place here. "When my 
 daughter was dying," Petra (Pacheco) Soto 
 told Father Benedict Picardo, S. J., "she seemed 
 to behold a terrible monster who threw some 
 dirty thing over her face. Fr. Magin, who as- 
 sisted the young woman in her last illness, in 
 tones of conviction assured the terrified mother. 
 "Do not weep for your daughter," he said, "the 
 devil was working against her, but he could not 
 prevail. She is safe." 
 
 It will surprise those that are not acquainted 
 with the spiritual life to find that Fr. Magin 
 had to encounter so much opposition from the 
 powers of darkness. Our Lord and His 
 Apostles met with just such difficulties. Had 
 Fr. Magin been an ordinary or indifferent worker 
 in the vineyard of the Lord, his labors would 
 not have received much attention from the evil 
 spirits ; but inasmuch as the holy man was mak-
 
 155 
 
 ing extraordinary efforts to break their power 
 among his flock, and rescued from their clutches 
 many a soul Satan counted as already his own, 
 the devils also exerted themselves to counteract 
 the influence of the energetic missionary. 
 
 On the other hand, Fr. Magin seems to have 
 been rewarded with the certain knowledge of the 
 eternal salvation of souls who passed out of this 
 world, albeit they were detained from entering 
 heaven at once for some neglect. Antonia 
 Flores related an instance of this kind before 
 the Ecclesiastical Court. "My mother," she said, 
 "told me that, while she lived in a certain house 
 of the mission where my father was one of the 
 guards, during the night great noises and much 
 lamentation were heard. She was very much 
 frightened, as she imagined that a malignant 
 spirit wanted to torment the family. She there- 
 fore asked Fr. Magin to bless the house. The 
 holy man told her not to be afraid; that the 
 house was blessed, but that a poor soul wanted 
 to speak to her. Too much afraid to receive tho 
 message, my mother begged the servant of God 
 to come to the house and find out what the soul 
 wished. He declined ; but on the following day 
 he asked my mother whether she had heard any 
 more noises during the past night. When she 
 replied in the negative, he said : 'Do you know 
 who it was? It was the soul of Francisco who 
 died lately. He had promised to have a holy
 
 156 
 
 Mass offered up in honor of the Blessed Virgin, 
 but neglected to keep his promise.' Fr. Magin 
 himself had celebrated the Mass and did other 
 things to relieve the poor soul. Thereafter no 
 more trouble was experienced at the house." 
 This incident in the life of Fr. Magin is corrobo- 
 rated by Mrs. Clara Suiiol. Other persons were 
 also aware of the holy man's action in this case. 
 
 PROPHECIES. 
 
 "To one indeed by the same spirit is given the 
 word of wisdom . . . to another prophecy." 
 (1 Cor., xii, 8, 10.) 
 
 The future lies open to Almighty God alone. 
 If, therefore, an individual who leads a spotless, 
 religious life, possesses certain knowledge of 
 future occurrences or of what in a natural way 
 cannot be perceived by him, we may conclude 
 that he is enlightened by the Spirit of God, and 
 that he is a true prophet. Such a man was Fr. 
 Magin Catala, whom all the people of Central 
 California called El Profeta, the Prophet. As 
 a rule the servant of God would make his pre- 
 dictions while preaching from the pulpit or the 
 altar rail during holy Mass. The instances 
 which have come to the knowledge of the ec- 
 clesiastical authorities through the sworn testi- 
 mony of the witnesses are given in the following 
 order.
 
 157 
 
 As early as Palm Sunday, 1820 or 1821, 
 Fr. Magin suddenly interrupted his sermon and 
 said, "Let us recite an Our Father and a Hail 
 Mary for a person that is just now passing out 
 of this world at San Jose through violent death." 
 Naturally the people were frightened, as many 
 of the settlers happened to be present at the 
 Indian mission on that day, and they were curi- 
 ous to know who might be the victim. No 
 sooner had the people left the church after holy 
 Mass, than a messenger arrived with the news 
 that a woman known as Mariquita, the wife of 
 Martinez, had been killed by the cow she was 
 milking. Francisca, the daughter of the unfor- 
 tunate woman, was present during the announce- 
 ment made by Fr. Magin. The accident and the 
 prediction caused a great sensation all over the 
 country, and was recounted as a proof of the 
 holy man's power to know what no one could 
 know naturally. The following survivors bore 
 testimony to the circumstances : Francisca Se- 
 pulveda, Encarnacion Soto, Juan Bojorques, Na- 
 zario Galindo (then an altar boy), and Antonia 
 Flores (another daughter of Mariquita). The 
 following had the information from their imme- 
 diate relatives, who had been present in the 
 church: Juan Solano Sibriam, Gabriel Cipriano, 
 Rafaela Pacheco, Romana Flores (daughter of 
 the victim), Petra Soto, Maria (Alviso) Rodri- 
 guez, Maria Teresa (de la Guerra) Hartnell, 
 and Carlos Castro.
 
 158 
 
 On one feast of St. Clare the servant of God 
 during the sermon ceased speaking, and asked 
 the faithful to join him in saying one Our Father 
 and a Hail Mary for some one who was then suf- 
 fering sudden death. When the mystified wor- 
 shipers were on their way home, they met some 
 men bearing the body of Salvador Linarez, who 
 had been killed by a horse. Petra Soto, a sur- 
 viving eye-witness, gave evidence in this case. 
 
 Segundino Robles told a remarkable case at 
 the juridical examination. "I well remember," 
 he said, "that on one Sunday we were gathering 
 fruit and taking them to the house of Lucas Al- 
 tamirano de Larios, who was walking just ahead 
 of me. Scarcely had he reached the door when 
 he fell dead. Before calling his wife we put him 
 on a bed in the garden, and then informed Ge- 
 ronima, his wife. She came and knelt by the 
 side of her husband, but when she noticed that 
 he was dead, she fainted and soon after also 
 died. Not knowing whether both were really 
 dead, we sent for Fr. Magin, but as he was cele- 
 brating Mass Fr. Viader made himself ready to 
 visit the house of sorrow. It appears that Fr. 
 Magin had just finished the holy Sacrifice before 
 Fr. Viader departed on his errand; for he 
 told Fr. Viader that he need not go, as the two 
 people had already received assistance. Now, 
 during that very Mass Fr. Magin asked the peo- 
 ple to recite an Our Father and a Hail Mary for
 
 159 
 
 a married couple that was very soon to be ex- 
 tinguished. 'For un matrimonio que va muy 
 pronto a extinguir,' were the words used by the 
 servant of God. As the woman had been with 
 child, which a doctor named Castro failed to 
 save by an operation, Fr. Magin's prediction be- 
 came literally true. It was about twelve o'clock 
 when the couple died. I heard from my parents 
 that the holy man had made the announcement 
 in church, for they had been present. Both, Lu- 
 cas and his wife, were buried at the same time. 
 Other witnesses to this occurrence were Jose 
 Solano Sibriam, Nazario Galindo, Damiana Mar- 
 tinez, and Romana Berenda. 
 
 "On another Sunday," Segundino Robles tes- 
 tified, "I was present when Fr. Magin said, 'Let 
 us pray an Our Father and a Hail Mary for some 
 one who is going to die from an accident during 
 the coming week.' In the middle of that same 
 week my brother Nieves Robles broke his neck 
 and died." 
 
 "On one Sunday," Maria Flores relates, "my 
 mother was present when Fr. Magin told the 
 people to say an Our Father and a Hail Mary 
 because a misfortune would befall some one dur- 
 ing the week. Those present recited the prayers 
 with fervor, for they knew that whatever the 
 holy man announced would surely come to pass. 
 Three or four days after a certain Aguila died 
 suddenly."
 
 160 
 
 Rudolfo Miramontes told the examiners in 
 1884, "I heard my uncle say that he was present 
 at holy Mass when Fr. Magin invited us all to 
 offer an Our Father and a Hail Mary with him 
 for the welfare of a soul that must leave this 
 world through sudden death that very day. 
 Scarcely had the awed and wondering multitude 
 dispersed, when Serafino Arculeta brought the 
 news that a certain Molina had just been killed 
 by a horse. My uncle saw the body of the dead 
 man." 
 
 Merced ( Ortega ) Castro related that when her 
 nephew one day made himself ready to catch a 
 horse with a lasso, his mother said to him, "Don't 
 go out. Fr. Magin announced to-day that a man 
 and his horse would be killed." The wilful youth 
 nevertheless went out with his brother and 
 cousin. In throwing the lasso both horse and 
 rider were tangled up, and both fell so unfortu- 
 nately as to break their necks on a rock. Maria 
 Castro, the sister of the dead man, Carlos Cas- 
 tro, the father, Gabriel Cipriano, and Mrs. Ma- 
 ria Teresa Hartnell affirmed the testimony of 
 Merced. 
 
 Juana (Briones) Miranda gave evidence as 
 follows : "I was many times in the church when 
 Fr. Magin during holy Mass would ask for an 
 Our Father and a Hail Mary on account of some 
 misfortune which was to take place, and it always 
 came to pass, a death by falling from a horse, or
 
 161 
 
 some other accident just as he would predict it. 
 I remember that in Holy Week Fr. Magin, there- 
 fore, exhorted every one to make a fervent act 
 of contrition before going to bed, and another 
 act of contrition after rising in the morning and 
 to pray more, because no one could know when 
 he died. Once I remember he stopped preaching 
 and said, 'Let us recite an Our Father and a 
 Hail Mary for one who is going to die within 
 ten days.' On the tenth day we heard the bell 
 tolling for the death of Jose Mezquita, and two 
 hours later again for the death of Nicolasa Her- 
 rera. The woman had passed away suddenly. 
 Both were buried at Santa Clara on the following 
 day. Gracia Padilla is another witness to the 
 announcement in this case. 
 
 Encarnacion Soto declared that she was pres- 
 ent on one St. John's feast, when horse races 
 were held as was usual on that day. Before leav- 
 ing Santa Clara Fr. Magin warned the young 
 men, and said, "Do not hurry ; be careful, for an 
 accident is going to happen." While racing, one 
 of the young men, Juan Mesa, fell from his horse 
 and was killed near the bridge of San Jose. 
 
 Rufino Saiz, Berta Guadalupe, Guadalupe Pe- 
 ralta, and Felix Buelna, frequently heard the 
 servant of God asking for the usual prayers for 
 the victims of some accident. Whatever he an- 
 nounced would invariably take place, so that the
 
 162 
 
 people began to tremble whenever he asked for 
 the one Our Father and Hail Mary. 
 
 Rafaela (Pacheco) Soto testified as follows: 
 "I heard from my mother, who on that Sunday 
 went to holy Mass at Santa Clara while I had 
 to stay home (I remember it well though I was 
 only seven years old), that Fr. Magin had asked 
 the usual Our Father and Hail Mary for one 
 who should die the next day, Monday. All 
 wept, not knowing who it might be that should 
 suffer from an accident, but all were certain that 
 it would happen. On the Monday, about ten or 
 eleven o'clock in the morning, Pedro Pacheco 
 fell from his horse at San Jose, and was so badly 
 hurt that he died the same evening at six o'clock. 
 I was present." This Sunday happened to be 
 the feast of the Patronage of St. Joseph, which 
 patronal feast of the city was celebrated with 
 horse-races and bullfights the day after. The 
 people had come from all the country around, 
 even as far as Monterey. Juan Bojorques, who 
 gave this explanation, also said that Pedro's 
 horse was thrown by the bull and fell upon its 
 rider. The sad accident put an end to the bull- 
 fight for that day. Other witnesses to the proph- 
 ecy in the church were Paulina Berreyesa, Segnn- 
 dino Robles, Jose Solano Sibriam, and Nazario 
 Galindo. 
 
 Rafaela (Pacheco) Soto also relates that she" 
 heard from her aunt, Encarnacion Pacheco, and
 
 163 
 
 another aunt, that on one San Juan's Day, when 
 the people were wont to have races, the servant 
 of God during the holy Sacrifice warned the 
 faithful to proceed on the journey with great 
 care, because an accident would happen, and that 
 they should call for him then. After Divine 
 Service the women mounted their horses and 
 rode away. One of the women on her way to 
 San Jose was accompanied by her son. About a 
 mile from the mission the young man's horse 
 was frightened at something and became unruly. 
 In rushing off, the animal bore down on his 
 mother's horse which became uncontrollable and 
 ran away. The poor woman was thrown off and 
 lay like one dead. Fr. Magin was quickly called. 
 He gave her the Sacraments and then she ex- 
 pired. Her name was Pilar Sanchez, and she 
 was the wife of Higuerra. Both aunts were 
 present when Fr. Magin announced that the ac- 
 cident would take place. Ignacio Bernal heard 
 the same version from his mother and his aunt. 
 Juana Briones claimed to have been present on 
 St. Andrew's Day, which was a Sunday in 1818, 
 when Fr. Magin asked an Our Father and a Hail 
 Mary for one who was suddenly passing out of 
 the world. Two or three days later she accom- 
 panied her father and mother to Mission San 
 Juan, and while traveling they discovered the 
 body of Antonio Soto lying in the road. This 
 is the earliest incident of an apparently won-
 
 164 
 
 derful manifestation on the part of Fr. Magin. 
 
 It may be asked why, if Fr. Magin knew these 
 accidents in advance, he did not prevent them 
 or notify the persons in question? The reason, 
 doubtless, is the same which Our Lord had when 
 he warned His Apostles to "be ready, because at 
 what hour you know not the Son of Man will 
 come." (Matt, xxiv, 44.) "Watch ye, there- 
 fore; because ye know not the day nor the 
 hour." (Matt, xxv, 13.) If every one were 
 ready at all times, that is to say, led a life in 
 keeping with the Commandments of God and 
 His Church, death would be a welcome friend 
 who transfers the soul to a better land. Then 
 Fr. Magin could know such things only through 
 divine revelation. This special revelation was a 
 mark of favor both for the people who were 
 thus frequently reminded of the uncertainty of 
 life, and the danger of living in sin, and for the 
 victim who in this way through the prayers of- 
 fered up for him received the extra graces which 
 may have insured his eternal destiny. Moreover, 
 the holy man may have been left in the dark as to 
 the individual and merely instructed as to the 
 accident for the reasons given ; or the person, 
 too, might have been designated in the revela- 
 tion. In the latter case Fr. Magin was also in- 
 spired as to the will of God in the matter, which 
 was merely to announce the misfortune, but not 
 to prevent it. It was enough, by means of
 
 165 
 
 prayer, to procure the necessary graces for the 
 person in question, in order that he or she might 
 pass out of the world in a state that was at least 
 free from mortal sin. 
 
 One day Fr. Magin informed his people in 
 church that his own mother had passed away in 
 Spain, and he wished them to assist at the novena 
 of holy Masses which he would offer up for the 
 repose of her soul. About six months later the 
 news arrived from Spain that the holy man's 
 mother had indeed died just about the time that 
 he announced it in church. Maria del Pilar La- 
 rios and Gabriel Cipriano were the surviving 
 witnesses of this remarkable occurrence. 
 
 A certain girl, Pilar Ortega testified, was ac- 
 cused of a crime and died of grief in consequence. 
 Fr. Magin took up her defense, and one day 
 publicly declared that the charge was a calumny ; 
 that he knew the originator of the slander (who 
 happened to be present) ; and that moreover he 
 knew the innocent girl was saved. 
 
 Juana (Briones) Miranda told the following 
 incident : "My little boy was ill, and I went for 
 some olive oil for him to the holy man. He said 
 to me, 'There is nothing the matter with thy 
 child, but go and visit thy sister, who is very ill. 
 Take this tallow along and make a poultice. 
 Apply it where she has pain.' I did not know 
 that my sister was sick. I therefore asked the 
 Father, 'What does Your Reverence say? Is my
 
 166 
 
 sister very ill?' 'Somewhat,' he replied. More 
 he did not say. While I was speaking with the 
 holy man, my sister's husband arrived to ask the 
 Father to bring the Sacraments to his wife. My 
 sister lived about five or six leagues from the 
 mission. When I reached home, I found my 
 boy well. I then went into the country to see my 
 sister. I found her so weak that she could not 
 speak. I prepared the poultice after the manner 
 Fr. Magin had directed. Scarcely was it applied, 
 when she asked for a drink of water. Broth 
 was given her, and then I put on another poul- 
 tice and soon she was well. I forgot to say that 
 when Fr. Magin gave me the simple remedy he 
 said, 'This is the way St. Teresa cured the sick.' " 
 "When I was a boy," Juan Bojorques con- 
 cluded his evidence at the examination, "my 
 mother sent me and my little brother for some 
 roses. We had to pass the mission building on 
 the front. Fr. Magin was sitting in the corridor 
 on a bench. When he saw us he called me and 
 said, 'Whither art thou going, Juanito?' 'I am 
 going to pick some roses,' I replied. 'Good, 
 good,' he said, and kept his seat. When we 
 came to the rose-bushes some distance away, my 
 little brother could not reach the flowers. He 
 tried but only scratched his hands. I grew 
 angry and struck him. When we returned the 
 same way, the Father was still sitting on the 
 bench. As soon as he saw us, he called me.
 
 167 
 
 'Come here,' he said; 'why didst thou strike thy 
 little brother?' 'No, Father,' said I, 'I did not 
 strike him.' Fr. Magin then said, 'Thy little 
 brother could not reach the roses ; why didst thou 
 not gather them for him ? Thou deservest a pun- 
 ishment.' I was amazed, because he could not 
 walk, and he did not move. How could he see 
 me?" 
 
 In the last year of his life Fr. Magin would 
 preach the most fervent sermons while seated in 
 a chair before the sanctuary railing. It appears 
 that Almighty God in those days allowed His 
 servant a distinct view of the future of Califor- 
 nia. There were still many witnesses alive in 
 1884 who under oath declared that the holy man 
 had preached substantially as follows : People 
 from almost all the nations of the earth will come 
 to this coast. Another flag will come from the 
 East and the people that follow it will speak an 
 altogether different language, and they will have 
 a different religion. These people will take pos- 
 session of the country and the lands. On ac- 
 count of their sins the Californians will lose their 
 lands and become poor, and many of their chil- 
 dren's children will give up their own religion. 
 The Indians will be dispersed, and will not know 
 what to do, and they will be like sheep running 
 wild. Heretics will erect church buildings, but 
 these will not be true temples of God. Sons will 
 be against their fathers, and fathers against their
 
 168 
 
 sons, and brother will be against brother. The 
 coming of so many people will create great scar- 
 city, so that a measure of wheat will be bought 
 for its weight in gold. "Una fanega de trigo se 
 compraria a peso de oro." As a consequence, 
 much distress will come upon the Indians and 
 Californians. "I shall not see this," he ex- 
 claimed, "but there are those alive that will see 
 it. There will be no Franciscans here then, but 
 other Fathers will arrive." Those that testified 
 to hearing this sermon, which was repeatedly 
 preached by the holy man, were Guadalupe Pe- 
 ralta, Petra Soto, Nazario Galindo, Maria Cas- 
 tro, Encarnacion Soto, Jose Solano Sibriam, 
 Paulina Berreyesa, Juan Bojorques, Maria Mira- 
 montes, Ramona Miramontes, Hedwige Mira- 
 montes, Francisco Palomares, Francisca Sepul- 
 veda, John Alexander Forbes, according to his 
 son J. Alonzo Forbes, and Chrisostomo Galindo, 
 according to his grand-daughter Mrs. Clara Su- 
 nol. There are many more who heard it from 
 their parents. 
 
 Josefa Abrego, Bernardo Valencia, Francisco 
 Palomares, Rita Garcia, Maria del Pilar Larios, 
 Arciano Miramontes, Rudolfo Miramontes, Maria 
 Castro, Jose Solano Sibriam, Antonia Flores, Fe- 
 lix Buelna, Nazario Galindo, and Encarnacion 
 Pacheco, claimed to have heard from other per- 
 sons that Fr. Magin had predicted the discovery 
 of gold to the north of Santa Clara; but this
 
 169 
 
 statement is disputed. Certain it is that one day 
 not very long before his death in 1830, a deputa- 
 tion of pagan Indians came to the mission with 
 some presents for the holy man. Fr. Magin 
 looked through the contents of the basket and 
 espied a few gold nuggets. Taking one up he 
 asked Mr. John Alexander Forbes, who was 
 teaching school at the mission, "No es esto 
 oro?" "Is not this gold?" Mr. Forbes replied, 
 "Mucho parece oro, y creo que es oro." "It looks 
 very much like gold, and I believe it is gold." 
 "Tal vez, tal vez"; said Fr. Magin, "no lo per- 
 mita Dios." "Perhaps, perhaps; may God not 
 permit it." Then he dropped the nugget into 
 the little basket, and turned to the Indians with 
 these words : "Eso tiene muy mala hechiceria ; 
 no debeis tocar esa cosa amarilla, porque os cau- 
 saria muchos males." "That has a very bad 
 charm ; you must not touch that yellow thing, 
 because it will bring much evil upon you." 
 
 It may be that the servant of God took into 
 consideration that ultimately this precious metal 
 would be discovered, and that he seized the oc- 
 casion to speak about it. 
 
 There is more certainty about another prophecy 
 concerning the city of San Francisco. Fr. Ma- 
 gin predicted that a large city would rise on the 
 bay of San Francisco, great houses would be 
 erected, and the people would be wealthy; but 
 when the prosperity of the city would be at its
 
 170 
 
 height, then it would be destroyed by earthquake 
 and fire. How well known this prophecy was at 
 Santa Clara long before the calamity transpired 
 in 1906, may be gathered from the following let- 
 ter sent to the editor of the Monitor: 
 
 "San Francisco, December 4th, 1908. 
 
 "Editor The Monitor : Father Picardo's letter 
 to The Monitor, touching the history of Fr. Ma- 
 gin Catala, recalls to mind an incident I shall 
 venture to relate. While I was a student at 
 Santa Clara College fifty-one years ago, our 
 teacher of rhetoric was the Rev. Father White. 
 I well remember one bright afternoon in a reci- 
 tation room, fronting the garden, gay with bright 
 flowers, seated around the table our class of about 
 eight with Father White at the head, his genial 
 face beaming on us, while he related the fol- 
 lowing: 'Many years ago, a Father connected 
 with the early missionary work of this church, 
 held the deserved reputation of seer or prophet. 
 His was a most holy and remarkable character. 
 
 "'He predicted events that invariably trans- 
 pired, among which was the day, the hour and 
 the manner of his death. 
 
 " 'Among his many prophecies was the follow- 
 ing: At the place now called Yerba Buena (the 
 site of San Francisco) there shall one day arise a 
 great and populous city. This city will be built 
 by a race of foreigners and they will possess the 
 land. This city will flourish and its inhabitants
 
 JL'AN CRISOSTOMO GALINDO, PR. MAGfN CATALA'S 
 MAYORDOMO.
 
 171 
 
 will become rich and powerful, and when at the 
 height of its prosperity it will perish by earth- 
 quake and fire.' 
 
 "It is my recollection that Father White told 
 us that the above prophecy was on record in the 
 archives of Santa Clara College. Three days be- 
 fore the catastrophe of April 18, 1906, I related 
 the above prophecy at a dinner. 
 "Very respectfully, 
 
 W. S. THORNE, M. D." 
 
 According to Petra Pacheco, Fr. Magin pre- 
 dicted that a cholera epidemic would visit San 
 Jose, and that the dead would be hauled out by 
 the cartloads. This was verified about the year 
 1850. She was the only surviving witness of the 
 prophecy, but Gabriel Cipriano, who heard it from 
 his father, and Felipe Gonzalez, who had it from 
 others, affirmed what Petra had testified. 
 
 It may be presumed that the servant of God, 
 who knew so well the time of death of other 
 people, was aware of his own last hour; and so 
 he was. "The day before Fr. Magin died," Mrs. 
 Clara Sunol, the grand-daughter of Crisostomo 
 Galindo, told the writer, "the holy man called 
 Crisostomo to him, after coming from church, 
 and both sat on a bench in the front corridor. 
 There he said to Galindo, 'My time has come. I 
 am going up above ; in a day or two I shall die. 
 Do you want to go with me?' Galindo much
 
 172 
 
 frightened replied, 'No, Father.' Then Fr. Ma- 
 gin said, 'Well, you may stay; but remember 
 what I tell you now !' The Father then informed 
 him what would happen to himself and his fam- 
 ily; that he would become poor through the loss 
 of his property, and that the sons of his sons 
 would become apostates and also give up their 
 language. It all came about as it was predicted. 
 While the daughters remained faithful, the grand- 
 sons fell away. The prediction must have hurt 
 the good man exceedingly, and he therefore en- 
 deavored with all his might to confirm the faith 
 in his grandchildren. Every night he would as- 
 semble them, recite the Rosary with them, and 
 then tell of the life, wonders, and sayings of the 
 servant of God. Galindo lived to the age of one 
 hundred years. He could neither read nor write, 
 but had a remarkable memory ; and it is owing 
 to this that many incidents have come down to 
 us which throw much light on what the witnesses 
 testified, and on many other things of which they 
 took no notice, but which are of more moment 
 than miracles. 
 
 The night before he passed away, Fr. Magin 
 retained only two pious Indian attendants, Ro- 
 berto and Egidio, besides an old Spaniard by the 
 name of Jaime Monje, and asked them to stay 
 with him, as he should die that night. "Watch 
 the sky," he said, "and when you see the morn- 
 ing star appear let me know." What happened
 
 173 
 
 through the night, the stolid Indians have not 
 revealed, and probably did not notice. Fr. Ma- 
 gin, ever a man of few words, seems to have said 
 nothing to men, but to have communed the more 
 with his God. Finally the attendants came into 
 his room, and said, "Father, the morning star 
 has appeared." "Then please call Father Jose 
 to come and pray over me," he replied. These 
 were the last words recorded of him. Fr. Viader 
 at once hastened to his dying companion and 
 said the prescribed prayers. Meanwhile the serv- 
 ant of God quietly returned his soul to his Crea- 
 tor. It was a beautiful death, just such a one as 
 the true child of God, unhampered by family or 
 other ties, would wish for himself. 
 
 VISIONS. 
 
 "/ will come to visions and revelations of the 
 Lord." (II Cor. xii, 1.) 
 
 We have already seen that Fr. Magin mani- 
 fested an extraordinary devotion for the Cruci- 
 fied Redeemer. He seems to have brought all 
 his anxieties to the foot of the great Crucifix. 
 It was the common opinion of the white people 
 as well as of the Indians that the servant of God 
 received unusual favors while lost in sympathetic 
 contemplation of our Lord's Sufferings on the 
 Cross, and that intimate dialogue with Christ 
 took place when the holy man was alone before
 
 174 
 
 the altar of the Crucifix. At all events, he passed 
 hours at a time there in meditation and prayer. 
 A great part of the night, too, sometimes the 
 whole night he thus passed on his knees. It was 
 the firm opinion of the people that his sympathy 
 for the Crucified Lord raised the holy man above 
 the earth, and that both were in fond embrace of 
 each other. Rev. Nicholas Congiato, S. J., who 
 was stationed at Santa Clara in 1851-1856, and 
 therefore had exceptional opportunities for in- 
 vestigation, declared that from what he had 
 learned he was convinced of the truth of such 
 statements. In the Process of 1884 six witnesses 
 testified to the report regarding visions before 
 the Crucifix. 
 
 Thus Petra (Pacheco) Soto related that one 
 day, so persons of belief had stated, when Fr. 
 Viader could not find his venerable companion, 
 he was told that the Father as usual was in 
 church before the Crucifix. A messenger going 
 to the church discovered Fr. Magin raised up 
 high in the air on a level with the Cross. The 
 Savior had unfastened His hands and was resting 
 them on the shoulders of the holy man. The 
 servant informed Fr. Viader, who on going to 
 the church saw nothing more than that a bright 
 light surrounded the kneeling Fr. Magin. This 
 testimony was corroborated by Rufino Saiz, 
 Berta Guadalupe, Antonia Flores, and Encarna- 
 cion Soto.
 
 175 
 
 Ignacio Alviso stated that once, when he went 
 to call Fr. Magin for supper, he saw the holy 
 man raised in the air embracing the Crucified 
 Lord, and that when later the servant of God 
 noticed that he had been observed, he forbade 
 Alviso to communicate to any one what he had 
 seen. 
 
 The Indian Egidio, who also remained with the 
 Father in his last hours, claimed to have seen 
 the Crucified Savior place His unfastened hands 
 upon Fr. Magin. 
 
 "There was an Indian named Gorgonio, who 
 was very pious and a faithful servant of the holy 
 man," Felix Buelna relates. "After Fr. Magin's 
 death we used to ask him about the deceased mis- 
 sionary. He would tell us how the holy man 
 would pass much time, day and night, in prayer, 
 and that once when he had to call the Father he 
 found him in church. He saw him on his knees 
 in the air on a level with the base of the Cross. 
 He then saw the Savior release His hands from 
 the nails and embrace the Father. We young 
 people would not believe this, and therefore de- 
 nied that he had seen anything. He would then 
 reply, 'I am a Christian, and God hears me. I 
 tell the truth. I saw it with mine own eyes.' We 
 asked him further, 'How did he get up there?' 
 He would say, 'I do not know ; he had no chair 
 nor anything else.' We asked him at different 
 times to see whether he would vary or change
 
 176 
 
 the story; but Gorgonio always repeated the 
 same words. Various other persons heard this 
 from him on other occasions." 
 
 Rita Garcia told a singular incident in this 
 connection. "My mother," she stated before the 
 Ecclesiastical Court, "used to relate that once a 
 boy came running to my grandmother exclaim- 
 ing, 'Look, grandmother, the Father is kneeling 
 in the air, and he does not fall.' The grand- 
 mother replied, 'Don't go about telling lies ; take 
 care ! How can that be ?' The boy, seeing that 
 she did not believe him, made the sign of the 
 Cross with the finger and then kissed it, thus 
 indicating that he swore he was telling the truth." 
 
 We have already stated Jose Alviso's remark- 
 able experience in this connection on page 77. 
 
 BICOLATION. 
 
 Bilocation is a phenomenon which occurs in 
 the lives of very few saints, such as St. Anthony 
 of Padua, St. Alphonsus, and the Venerable 
 Maria de Agreda. It implies that the person at 
 one and the same time is seen to act in two sep- 
 arate places. The Indians of Mission Santa 
 Clara in time became so convinced that Fr. Ma- 
 gin could make himself visible in two places that 
 they were very careful not to do anything seri- 
 ously subversive of order lest they should incur 
 the displeasure of the holy man. Among the
 
 177 
 
 white people of the surrounding country it was 
 common talk that he made his presence felt in 
 that manner. 
 
 Romualda Vasquez in 1884, then ninety-eight 
 years of age, testified that the Indians of a cer- 
 tain rancheria on one occasion were practising 
 witchcraft. All at once Fr. Magin appeared 
 among the wicked men, who astounded at his 
 presence scattered in every direction. Yet it was 
 shown that he had not left the mission at all. 
 
 Josefa Berreyesa, born in Santa Clara Valley at 
 the beginning of the century, relates that on a 
 certain occasion her husband, who was one of 
 the mission guards, accompanied Fr. Magin on 
 a sick-call. Staff in hand the holy man walked 
 a great ways, until he felt so exhausted under 
 the scorching rays of the sun, that he had to 
 take refuge in the shade of a tree. As usual he 
 gave himself to silent meditation and prayer. The 
 house of the sick person was still far away. The 
 soldier waited for some time, but did not dare 
 to disturb the devotion of the Father. Suddenly 
 the servant of God came to himself and told his 
 companion that they need not go any farther, as 
 the sick person had been attended to. The mys- 
 tified guard accompanied the holy missionary 
 back to Santa Clara, and later on learned that 
 Fr. Magin had indeed administered the Sacra- 
 ments to the person, though he had not left the 
 soldier's side. The fact caused a great sensa-
 
 178 
 
 tion among the people and naturally increased 
 their veneration for the servant of God. 
 
 A soldier by the name of Juan Gonzales, ac- 
 cording to Pilar Ortega, always treated his wife 
 most cruelly. Once, while journeying with her 
 from Mission Dolores to Santa Clara, he beat her 
 so badly that she fell senseless by the roadside. 
 The brute continued on his way and left her 
 where she lay. On recovering, the poor woman 
 called upon Fr. Magin who was at Santa Clara. 
 Almost immediately he stood at her side, heard 
 her confession, consoled and cured her, and dis- 
 appeared. Meanwhile the worthless husband 
 reached Santa Clara. Fr. Magin asked him 
 where he had left his wife. Gonzalez answered 
 that she had remained at Mission Dolores. "Thou 
 tellest a lie," the holy man said, and then repri- 
 manded him severely. After a while some In- 
 dians led the woman to the mission. Though 
 she was restored, she still bore the scars of the 
 wounds on her face and body which she had 
 received from her brutal husband. 
 
 Gabriel Cipriano tells this little story of his 
 brother-in-law, Jose Hernandez. When Jose was 
 a boy his father sent him to buy some fruit from 
 Fr. Magin. The good Father was just then sit- 
 ting with Fr. Viader on the bench in the front 
 corridor. When he heard Jose's petition he said, 
 "Get the fruit thyself and take them to thy 
 father, but do not take any of the grapes, be-
 
 179 
 
 cause I need them for altar wine." While the 
 boy was picking the fruit, the temptation to steal 
 came at sight of the nice bunches of grapes. He 
 resolved to cut some and conceal them in the 
 basket. Just as he was about to cut a bunch off, 
 his eye fell upon the figure of Fr. Magin with a 
 book in his hands sitting near by under a tree. 
 Bewildered and frightened he let the grapes 
 alone, filled his basket with apples and then 
 walked back the same way. What was his sur- 
 prise, when on returning to the front he saw both 
 Fathers sitting together as before. The con- 
 clusion was that Fr. Magin must have been in 
 both places at the same time. 
 
 Beata Guadalupe Gutierrez heard from Apo- 
 lonia (Perez) Pinto the following facts which 
 were confirmed by Romualda Vasquez and 
 others. The husband of Apolonia would ill-treat 
 his wife fearfully, though she had the reputation 
 of being an excellent woman. Once when he had 
 again beaten her, Fr. Magin suddenly appeared 
 and consoling her said, "Be of good cheer; he 
 will not beat you that way again." She prob- 
 ably told her husband of the holy man's visit, 
 for he went to the mission and inquired of the 
 servants whether Fr. Magin had left the mission, 
 as it was known that, owing to his sore feet, he 
 could not walk far. The man learned that the 
 Father had not left the mission. Suspecting that 
 his wife had perhaps gone to Santa Clara, the
 
 ISO 
 
 brute tied her up in her room. Again the holy 
 man appeared and offered to loosen the bonds. 
 "No, no," she cried, "my husband will kill me." 
 "No," he replied, "he will not kill you. Tell him 
 I set you free." After the death of the servant 
 of God, which occurred not long after, the hus- 
 band of Apolonia resumed his brutality towards 
 his wife, at a time too when she was with child. 
 Fr. Magin then appeared to him, and threaten- 
 ingly s'aid, "Do not beat your wife ; be careful 
 or you shall be damned." He ceased the ill-treat- 
 ment after that, but fell sick and died. 
 
 Several other cases of apparent bilocation were 
 related by others ; but as there seems to be some 
 confusion in the names, it is better to omit 
 them. One instance seems to be identical with 
 the preceding narrative, except that the name in 
 the case of the husband is different. Suffice it to 
 say that it \vas the common belief that Fr. Magin 
 was not only a prophet and wonderworker, but 
 that to the consternation of the wicked and the 
 consolation of the just, he could appear in two 
 places at the same time.
 
 181 
 
 II. MIRACLES AFTER HIS DEATH. 
 
 "Know ye also that the Lord hath made his holy 
 one wonderful." (Psalm iv, 4.) 
 
 Fr. Magin's power to aid his clients did not 
 cease with his death, for those that invoked him 
 experienced the benefit of his intercession many 
 years after, and to this day there are those that 
 find their confidence rewarded. As Francisca 
 Sepulveda expressed herself at the investigation, 
 "He gave them everything they asked." For in- 
 stance, "When we lost anything," she continued, 
 "and the thing was necessary for us, we simply 
 prayed 'Soul of Fr. Magin assist me,' and we 
 would always recover it. The relics of the serv- 
 ant of God would be applied in desperate cases 
 of sickness or in perils of life, and always with 
 good results." 
 
 It is especially with regard to things lost that 
 the faithful among the Californians appealed to 
 Fr. Magin, and the instances in which they re- 
 covered what was despaired of are so many that 
 we can mention only a few. Felix Buelna relates 
 that at one time he lost two animals. His wife 
 promised to recite a Rosary in honor of Fr. Ma- 
 gin, and soon they were recovered. One was 
 found in a hole whence it could not extricate it- 
 self, the other was discovered tied up in the 
 woods where no one had thought of searching 
 for it.
 
 182 
 
 Nazario Galindo told of a case where Luisa 
 Sepulveda lost a pair of oxen. Search was made 
 everywhere in vain. Luisa then invoked the soul 
 of Fr. Magin, and they were speedily recovered. 
 At another time her son's horse disappeared. For 
 five days they hunted in vain for any trace of the 
 animal. Then Luisa called upon Fr. Magin, and 
 the lost horse was restored to them. 
 
 Francisco Raymundo Soto affirmed that when- 
 ever he lost anything he would appeal to Fr. Ma- 
 gin, promise a Rosary, or a holy Mass in his 
 honor, and always recover the article. Apolina- 
 rio Lorenzana and Josefa Flores, the latter 
 eighty years old, said they had the same expe- 
 rience. 
 
 Maria Bernal Benitez reported that "one night 
 some Indians drove away our horses. 'God help 
 me/ my mother exclaimed weeping, for the 
 horses were our whole property. My mother 
 prayed to Fr. Magin, and put aside two dollars 
 to have holy Masses offered up in honor of the 
 soul of Fr. Magin. On the morning of the third 
 day the horses all came back by themselves to 
 the corral, whence the Indians had driven them. 
 We all thought it was miraculous. Rosa Hoff- 
 man and Petra Pacheco confirmed this story. 
 
 "About two months ago," said Rosa Hoffman 
 in 1884, "Mariquita Oliviera was so ill that I 
 thought she would not live through the night. 
 She was suffering from gangrene of the leg. I
 
 183 
 
 advised her to have recourse to Fr. Magin who 
 would surely help her. In order to afford her 
 some relief, I applied a simple remedy which did 
 not operate speedily. Mariquita, however, ap- 
 pealed to Fr. Magin and he helped her, for she 
 is now in good health." When questioned by 
 one of the examiners whether she was sure that 
 Mariquita had made a promise to Fr. Magin, 
 Rosa replied, "Yes, because I told her to invoke 
 him, and I heard the promise. She promised 
 to recite some Rosaries. I do not know how 
 many." Again questioned whether there was any 
 other circumstance connected with Mariquita's 
 illness which made Rosa think that she would 
 not live till morning," Rosa answered, "Yes, she 
 suffered from a flow of blood. I did not believe 
 that she could live through the night, and there- 
 fore asked a little girl to stay with me. We both 
 wept, because we believed the woman would die." 
 To the question whether a doctor had been called, 
 Rosa replied, "Mariquita did not want a doctor. 
 She was herself experienced in medicine. She 
 used to attend and cure other sick people." 
 
 Vincencio Suarez made this statement: "At 
 one time a great fire broke out in a field about a 
 league from San Jose and consumed all the 
 standing grain. The people were terrified. All 
 ran together, but could do nothing to stop the 
 spread of the fire. In this distress my mother- 
 in-law, Luisa Botiller, brought out the crucifix
 
 184 
 
 which Fr. Magin used to wear on his breast, and 
 which they had taken away before burial. She 
 planted the crucifix in the course of the raging 
 element, and exclaimed, "Fr. Magin, assist us !" 
 Immediately the fire ceased to approach and died 
 out. Questioned by the Promoter of Faith as to 
 the direction which the wind was taking, Vin- 
 cencio said, "The wind was blowing towards the 
 south where there was a grainfield." Again 
 questioned, "Was there any stream between the 
 crucifix and the fire?" Vincencio replied, "No, 
 there was only a narrow footpath, about two 
 palms wide. In this path Luisa had planted the 
 crucifix. Everything was dry on both sides. I 
 heard this not only from my mother-in-law, but 
 also from Augustin Narvaez, Francisco Pacheco, 
 Andres Martinez, and many others who went out 
 to see the fire. All found the facts as I have re- 
 lated them." Nazario Galindo and others cor- 
 roborated the story of Suarez. 
 
 "Three years ago," (i. e. 1881) said Juana 
 Lightstone, "a woman who owed my mother a 
 sum of money, died. Her sons refused to pay 
 the debt. My mother had great confidence in Fr. 
 Magin. She promised him to have a novena of 
 holy Masses offered up if the matter were settled 
 out of court to her satisfaction. About a month 
 later the heirs of the deceased woman offered to 
 come to terms with my mother. They were will- 
 ing to accept $500 and cede the ownership of the
 
 185 
 
 land in question to my mother. This is just what 
 she had proposed, and what they had refused for 
 three years." Rafaela Soto confirmed the state- 
 ment of Juana. 
 
 "My husband," Maria Bernal related, "bought 
 a piece of land from a young man. The brother 
 of the young man was dissatisfied with the price 
 received, and started a lawsuit against my hus- 
 band. I promised Fr. Magin to have a holy 
 Mass offered up if the case were decided in our 
 favor. About two months ago it was so decided." 
 
 Maria (Majors) Castro told the Commission 
 the following incident : "I was once bathing in the 
 sea at Santa Cruz. I was then as now rather 
 fleshy, and could not help myself very well, and 
 hardly know how to swim. Suddenly a wave 
 carried me out into the deep. I felt myself sink- 
 ing. In terror I cried out, 'Soul of Fr. Magin 
 help me !' and found myself on the shore without 
 knowing how it happened." 
 
 There are numerous stories on record of des- 
 perate cases of women in labor where there was 
 little or no hope of survival. For obvious rea- 
 sons they cannot be told here in detail, though 
 the particulars appear in the sworn evidence. In 
 many instances a relic of Fr. Magin was applied, 
 such as a piece of his habit, the crucifix which 
 he wore on his breast, a sandal, or any other ar- 
 ticle that had belonged to the servant of God. 
 Where such things were not available the per-
 
 186 
 
 sons concerned would promise to recite one 
 Rosary or more in honor of Fr. Magin, or to 
 visit Santa Clara church on foot and receive the 
 Sacraments, or to have a holy Mass offered up. 
 It will suffice to quote the names of the principal 
 witnesses who testified for themselves or as eye- 
 witness for others. They are Petra (Pacheco) 
 Soto, Francisca Sepulveda, Encarnacion (Pa- 
 checo) Soto, Felix Buelna, Juana (Soto) Light- 
 stone, Antonia Flores, Maria (Duarte) Valencia, 
 Josefa Sepulveda, Ignacio Bernal, Maria Bernal. 
 All these attributed happy delivery and survival 
 to the miraculous intervention of Fr. Magin. 
 
 "I have been midwife for forty years," Encar- 
 nacion (Pacheco) Soto testified at the age of 
 eighty-five, "and I have had many apparently 
 hopeless cases. When the outcome looked des- 
 perate, I would apply a relic of Fr. Magin. I 
 have never lost a mother or child." 
 
 Maria del Pilar Larios of San Juan Bautista, 
 who had exercised the same profession during 
 forty years, related to Father Benedict Picardo in 
 the presence of Fr. Valentine Closa, and later be- 
 fore the Court, that in all serious cases she would 
 invoke the soul of Fr. Magin, and never lost a 
 case. 
 
 Anna Maria Sepulveda said on the same occa- 
 sion that she had carried on the profession of 
 midwife for thirty years. In the many perilous 
 cases that occurred she would appeal to Fr. Ma-
 
 187 
 
 gin, apply a relic of his, and never was a mother 
 or infant lost. 
 
 Clara Sunol, now of East Oakland, herself the 
 mother of eighteen children, for many years lent 
 her assistance in such circumstances. When 
 there seemed to be no hope, she would invoke 
 Fr. Magin, and in no instance was the result un- 
 happy. 
 
 "When I was twenty-five years old," Rafaela 
 Pacheco told the examiners, "a great tumor de- 
 veloped on one of my breasts. I feared greatly 
 that I should have to undergo a painful opera- 
 tion. I recommended myself to Fr. Magin and 
 promised a cord of all colors and two pieces of 
 silk for the great Crucifix at Santa Clara. Soon 
 the tumor opened from self and the pus flowed. 
 On the third day I was cured, and in gratitude 
 hastened to comply with my promise. 
 
 "When at the age of thirty years I found my- 
 self a widow," Rafaela continued. "I suffered 
 such terrible headaches that I could not bear the 
 light. I had borne this for more than a month, 
 when I remembered that my mother possessed 
 a piece of Fr. Magin's habit. I applied it to my 
 head, promising at the same time that if I was 
 relieved I would walk to holy Mass at Santa 
 Clara the following Sunday and receive the Sac- 
 raments. No sooner had I put the little piece of 
 cloth to my head than all pain was taken away.
 
 188 
 
 On the next Sunday I went to fulfill my promise 
 in good health." 
 
 Petra (Pecheco) Soto gave this evidence: 
 "Once I suffered a great pain in the head. It 
 was so intense that I had to take to bed for a 
 week. Then I thought of applying a piece of 
 Fr. Magin's habit. The pain left me at once, and 
 I have never since been troubled with a similar 
 headache. I kept the relic for three years and 
 kissed it frequently. By its application my daugh- 
 ter was relieved of an intense pain in the side. 
 She allowed another person to have the relic in 
 some trouble, but it was never returned. I 
 grieved much for its loss." 
 
 Juan Bojorques declared, "We all believe that 
 Fr. Magin was a very holy man. We invoke 
 him whenever anything is lost, or when we suf- 
 fer in the body. I always pray to him and am 
 always relieved. In such cases I light a candle 
 and recite the promised devotions." 
 
 Juana Lightstone testified, "My mother pre- 
 serves a piece of Fr. Magin's habit. She prizes 
 it highly, and whenever I have a bad headache, 
 I apply the relic and the pain passes away." 
 
 At the examination Nicolas Berreyesa stated 
 that in 1852 he was afflicted with such a violent 
 headache that he could not travel. He placed a 
 piece of Fr. Magin's habit against the head, and 
 the affliction ceased. He was never again tor- 
 tured in like manner.
 
 189 
 
 Rafaela Soto made this statement: "Once I 
 was very ill, and lay in bed for two months. I 
 thought I should never rise again. Then I prom- 
 ised Fr. Magin that I would make the Stations 
 of the Cross a whole day, if I recovered. I 
 prayed him to add this favor to the many others 
 bestowed upon me. Scarcely had I made the 
 promise and uttered the petition when I felt my- 
 self well, just as I am now. 
 
 "It is now (1884) less than two years ago 
 when I received another favor through Fr. Ma- 
 gin. One of my animals in falling was hurt so 
 badly that it seemed doomed to death. I offered 
 a Rosary in honor of Fr. Magin. The next day 
 the animal rose and was well." 
 
 Anna Sepulveda said she cured consumptives 
 whom the doctors had abandoned simply by 
 applying a sandal of Fr. Magin after praying 
 to him. She frequently used this relic in the 
 cure of the sick. 
 
 Josef a (Sepulveda) Flores, then eighty years 
 old, related that at one time a man had wan- 
 tonly shot an ox with a pistol. The poor ani- 
 mal lay on the same spot for five days without 
 taking anything. I promised Fr. Magin a 
 novena of Rosaries if the poor creature recov- 
 ered. When I had finished the first Rosary, the 
 ox rose and walked away a great distance. 
 After fifteen days he was found in sound 
 health.
 
 190 
 
 "My husband," said Maria Bernal, "had a 
 mare which fell very sick. He valued the 
 horse highly. When he thought that it would 
 die, he promised a Holy Mass in honor of Fr. 
 Magin. The mare recovered." 
 
 We omit many other seemingly wonderful 
 stories, which, at least, demonstrate the confi- 
 dence of the people in the intercession of the 
 servant of God, and close the narrative with the 
 recital of an extraordinary favor attributed to the 
 intervention of Fr. Magin. 
 
 "My father and mother," said Rita Garcia be- 
 fore the Commission, "daily recited an Our 
 Father in honor of Fr. Magin. I remember 
 well what I am going to tell, because I was 
 present at what happened. My father was a 
 soldier, and as such, when his turn came, had 
 to carry the mail between Mission Soledad and 
 Monterey. One day as he was ready to set out 
 on horseback from our home with the package 
 of letters, he thought of taking some money 
 along. He asked my mother to bring it out to 
 him. She replied, 'Come and take as much as 
 you want.' He dismounted. As the horse was 
 gentle, he left the reins upon the pommel of the 
 saddle without tying the animal. The package 
 of letters was wrapped in a piece of cloth about 
 one foot long. Instead of keeping it in his 
 hands, as it was but a few moments to go into 
 the house and return, he left the little bundle
 
 191 
 
 upon the saddle without securing it in any way. 
 Then he went into the house for the money. 
 
 "When he came out, to his consternation the 
 horse had disappeared and the letters with it. 
 We went out with a lantern, for it was still dark, 
 and looked everywhere, but the horse could not 
 be found. My father asked a friend, Simon 
 Cota, to look for the horse everywhere, without 
 telling him about the letters. Then he went away 
 to hide himself, for if the package with the mail 
 were lost he would surely be shot. 
 
 "The friend returned at noon the same day, 
 and said that he had not discovered any trace 
 of the horse. Meanwhile my mother and we 
 children were weeping, for the death of my 
 father was certain if the mail was lost and he 
 were caught. My mother at last promised to 
 have a holy Mass celebrated, and to receive the 
 Sacraments if the horse and letters were recov- 
 ered. This promise my mother made to the soul 
 of Fr. Magin. 
 
 "During all this time my father in despair 
 wandered off into the sierra of Soledad, where 
 bears roved about at that period ; for he said to 
 himself it is better to die there than to be 
 executed in disgrace and in the presence of my 
 family. At last, tired out, he sat down about 
 three or four miles from the top of the mountain 
 range near a high rock. It was late in the night 
 and very dark. All at once he heard a slight
 
 192 
 
 noise coming from the other side of the rocky 
 steep. It sounded as though a horse were 
 chewing his bit. Not knowing what it was, he 
 cautiously moved around to the other side. To 
 his great joy he discovered the horse there, just 
 as he had left it at the door of his own house. 
 The reins were on the pommel and the package, 
 most wonderful of all. lay on the saddle where 
 he had placed it. 'Blessed be God!' my father 
 exclaimed. 'He has at last listened to a poor 
 wretch ! Who would think of finding the horse 
 in this place and with the package loose upon his 
 back.' Declaring it was a miracle, he hastened 
 homeward. When he arrived, my mother ex- 
 plained that this was a miracle due to Fr. 
 Magin, because she had called upon him in their 
 distress and had made the promise of a holy 
 Communion and holy Mass. My father has- 
 tened to forward the mail, and my mother ful- 
 filled her promise." 
 
 When questioned by the examiners as to the 
 length of time that her father had been absent, 
 Rita replied, "He left early in the morning 
 when it was still dark. We bid him farewell 
 and said, 'Fly, and God help thee.' My father 
 fled and went afoot through the woods of the 
 sierra until midnight, when he, tired from wan- 
 dering through the brush and over the rocks, 
 sat down and then heard the horse chewing the 
 bit. He came down from the mountain with
 
 193 
 
 the horse with much difficulty. That day he con- 
 cealed himself until night, lest any one found 
 him as mail carrier off the road. When it was 
 dark, he returned home and arrived at four 
 o'clock in the morning." 
 
 To the question, "Did the horse have any cov- 
 ering or anything else which might have held 
 the package fast?" she replied, "No, sir, noth- 
 ing but the saddle. He who carries the mail 
 bears it tied around his body like a bandage. 
 My father put it upon the saddle and intended 
 to tie it around himself as soon as he was 
 mounted on the animal." 
 
 U. I. O. G. D.
 
 195 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 A. 
 
 ST. MAGIN, MARTYR. 
 (To Page 13.) 
 
 This saint is not known to the English-speaking 
 people, though in his own country he is very much 
 venerated. A short sketch may therefore be wel- 
 come. There is nothing on record concerning his 
 antecedents. We only know this much that, while 
 Maximian ruled the western part of the Roman 
 empire towards the close of the third century, three 
 hermits appeared in the mountains of Brufagaiia, 
 Catalonia, Fr. Catala's native country. One of these 
 servants of Christ was the Blessed Magin, who took 
 up his abode in a cave near Rocamora. There he 
 employed his time in works of penance, in prayer, 
 and in contemplating the Divine Perfections. 
 
 Zeal for the salvation of souls for whom the 
 Savior shed His Blood urged the holy hermit to 
 give up his beloved solitude in order to preach the 
 Gospel to the surrounding Gentiles. With the help 
 of God he succeeded in convincing the pagans of 
 the folly of idol worship and of the reasonableness, 
 truth, and beauty of the Christian Faith. 
 
 When the pagan governor of Tarragona heard of 
 Magin's activity in behalf of Christ, he had the 
 servant of God arrested for treason, because the 
 preaching of the Christian doctrine was contrary to 
 the laws of the Roman emperors. No sooner had 
 Magin been brought before the pagan tribunal than 
 the governor addressed him in terms of severity. 
 "Art thou the sacrilegious man," said he, "who 
 preaches Jesus, the Nazarene, and despises the nil-
 
 196 
 
 ers of the world? Thou shalt cease perverting the 
 people, and thou wilt offer sacrifice to the gods, or 
 thou shalt suffer the keenest torments." 
 
 Threats, such as these, could not frighten the holy 
 man. On the contrary, he at once showed that the 
 religion which he taught the people is true, and that 
 it was wicked and against reason to worship imag- 
 inary deities who were but demons in disguise. The 
 fearless speech enraged the judge. He commanded 
 Magin to be loaded with chains and cast into a 
 dungeon in order to break his resistance by means 
 of hunger. 
 
 Whilst the heroic confessor of Christ suffered in 
 prison, it pleased Almighty God to make known 
 the virtues of His faithful servant. He allowed a 
 demon to take possession of the governor's daugh- 
 ter. The evil spirit tormented the girl frightfully. 
 Her father appealed for help to the priests of the 
 idols, and directed them to offer sacrifices to the 
 gods in order that his child might be delivered from 
 her tormentor. The demon, however, compelled by 
 Almighty God, declared that he would not depart 
 unless driven out by Magin, the Christian. Paternal 
 love overcame hatred for the prisoner. The gov- 
 ernor had the servant of God relieved of his chains, 
 and then begged him to have pity on the girl. For- 
 getting the injuries he had suffered, Magin com- 
 manded the evil spirit to give glory to his Creator, 
 and in the Name of Jesus Christ to go out from the 
 child, in order that the people might recognize the 
 supreme power of Christ. The demon departed im- 
 mediately. 
 
 We should suppose that at sight of such a prodigy 
 the father would not only have ceased to molest the 
 deliverer of his daughter, but that he would have 
 thanked and rewarded him. Such was not the case.
 
 197 
 
 The obstinate heathen, probably fearing the loss of 
 his office, in spite of the entreaties of his more 
 grateful child, again committed Magin to the dun- 
 geon with orders to chain him and to starve him 
 into submission. The Lord, however, repeated the 
 miracle wrought in behalf of Peter, the prince of 
 the apostles. The chains dropped from the hands 
 and feet of the martyr, and the doors were opened 
 by an unseen hand, leaving Magin to return to his 
 beloved mountain cave. 
 
 When the tyrant was told that the prisoner had 
 escaped, he despatched some soldiers to search for 
 the fugitive, and to kill him wherever they might 
 discover him. The satellites found the holy man at 
 prayer. Seizing him they beat him cruelly, dragged 
 him over rocks and thorns, and then beheaded him 
 on the 26th of August, about the beginning of the 
 fourth century. Christians reverently buried the 
 body of the martyr on the spot where he had ob- 
 tained the crown of martyrdom. As soon as the per- 
 secutions against the Christians had ceased, an ora- 
 tory or chapel was erected over the grave which is 
 now enclosed in the parish church of Rocamora in 
 the Archdiocese of Tarragona. Innumerable mira- 
 cles have occurred at the tomb of the glorious St. 
 Magin.
 
 198 
 
 B. 
 
 MORNING HYMN, 
 
 As sung by Fr. Magin Catala and his Indians. 
 (To Pages 86 and 87.) 
 
 1. The dawn appears and ushers in the day, 
 Ave Maria, fondly let us pray! 
 
 2. For sinners' consolation wert thou born, 
 First ray of hope and brilliant star of morn. 
 
 3. Thy birth, O Queen, is Heaven's richest boon, 
 It fills the earth with joy, dispels sin's gloom. 
 
 4. The cunning serpent writhes and coils in pains, 
 Lest it do harm, thou fetterest it with chains. 
 
 5. At sound of thy sweet name, O Virgin chaste, 
 Doth tremble hell and demons fly in haste. 
 
 6. With voices glad and joyful let us sing, 
 A hymn to Mary, Mother of our King!
 
 199 
 
 C. 
 
 EVENING HYMN, 
 
 As sung by Fr. Magin Catala and the Indians. 
 (To Pages 90 and 91.) 
 
 1. Hail Mary, blessed of God and full of grace, 
 The Lord is with thee, Purest of our race! 
 
 2. Blest art thou, Dove of purest, spotless white, 
 Sole woman, never touched by sin's chill blight! 
 
 3. With one voice earth and heaven thee acclaim 
 As Queen, God's Mother, Virgin free from 
 
 stain! 
 
 4. So shall it be! Forever sound our strain! 
 With one voice earth and heaven thee acclaim. 
 
 (Then followed and was repeated three times:) 
 Holy God! 
 
 Holy and strong God! 
 Holy and immortal God! 
 Deliver us, O Lord! 
 From all evil. 
 
 (For the music see next page.)
 
 C/Q 
 O 
 
 O 
 E- 
 
 <LLL 
 
 tLJJ 
 
 =**t 
 
 T r 
 "S 
 
 BJ 
 
 
 
 c 
 
 9 
 (/I 
 
 ()u 
 
 K_ 
 
 
 o 
 o 
 
 g 
 
 T3 
 
 ffi 
 O 
 
 O rt 
 
 H S 
 
 CO C3 
 
 O dn
 
 Table of Contents 
 
 PART I. 
 LIFE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Page. 
 
 California. Discovery of Gold. The Missions 
 and Missionaries. Fr. Magin Catala's Birth, 
 Baptism, Parents. Enters the Franciscan 
 Order 11 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Dearth of Missionaries. Fr. Magin Goes to 
 America. Vandalism of the Liberal Poli- 
 ticians. Chaplain on the Nootka Ship. Ar- 
 rives at Monterey. Reaches Santa Clara.... 15 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 State of the Missions. Fr. Magin's Love for 
 His Rules. His Mortification. His Illness. 
 Asks to be Retired. His Zeal. Local Diffi- 
 culties. Dullness of the Indians. Statistics.. 23 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Fr. Magin's Inner Life. Shadows of Mission 
 Destruction. The Mexican Government De- 
 mands Oath of Allegiance. Fr. Magin's Re- 
 ply. His Last Years. His Precious Death. 
 Grief of the People. Burial.- Fr. Jose 
 Viader's Entry in the Records of Santa 
 Clara 29 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Fr. Magin's Fame for Sanctity. Practices of 
 the People. Fr. Magin's Relics. Opinion of 
 His Superiors, Fathers Lasuen, Sarria, and 
 Payeras. Fr. Jose Viader's Respect 36
 
 Page. 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Opening of Fr. Magin's Tomb. Identification. 
 Archbishop Alemany Interested. Petition 
 of the Jesuit Fathers. Decision of the Arch- 
 bishop's Council. Notary and Vice-Postula- 
 tor Appointed. Archbishop Alemany the 
 Moving Spirit 40 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Members of the Ecclesiastical Court. The 
 Witnesses. Demand for Corroborative Evi- 
 dence. A Life of Fr. Magin. Removal of Fr. 
 Magin's Remains. The New Process de Non- 
 Cultu. The Proceedings. Ridiculous Non- 
 Catholic Notions About the Canonization of 
 Saints . 48 
 
 PART II. 
 VIRTUES. 
 
 Introduction 59 
 
 Theological Virtues 61 
 
 Faith 61 
 
 Hope 75 
 
 Charity 79 
 
 1. Love of God 79 
 
 2. Love of Neighbor 94 
 
 Cardinal Virtues 104 
 
 1. Prudence 104 
 
 2. Justice 109 
 
 3. Fortitude Ill 
 
 4. Temperance 118 
 
 Religious Vows 127 
 
 1. Obedience 127 
 
 2. Poverty 129 
 
 3. Chastity 133 
 
 Humility 136
 
 PART III. 
 
 MIRACLES AND PROPHECIES. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Introduction 143 
 
 I. Miracles During His Lifetime: 
 
 1. Various Miracles 145 
 
 2. Power Over the Evil Spirits 150 
 
 3. Prophecies 156 
 
 4. Visions 173 
 
 5. Bilocation 176 
 
 II. Miracles After His Death.. 181 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Life of St. Magin 195 
 
 Ya Viene El Alba English Translation 198 
 
 Dios Te Salve Maria English Translation 199 
 
 Santo Dios Music and English Translation. . 199-200 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 St. Mary Major, the Parish Church at Mont- 
 blanch, Where Fr. Magin Catala Was Bap- 
 tized Frontis-piece 
 
 Guiding Angel 10 
 
 Fachada of St. Mary Major at Montblanch 13 
 
 Inscription on Tomb of Fr. Magin Catala at 
 
 Santa Clara 51 
 
 Franciscan Coat-of-Arms 58 
 
 The Famous Crucifix of Santa Clara 84 
 
 Ya Viene el Alba Music 87 
 
 Dios Te Salve Maria Music 91 
 
 Santa Clara Mission at Fr. Magin Catala's 
 
 Time 108 
 
 Autograph of Fr. Magin Catala 138 
 
 Jesuit Coat-of-Arms 142 
 
 Juan Crisostomo Galindo, Fr. Magin Catala's 
 
 Mayordomo 171 
 
 Coat-of-Arms of the Franciscan Province of the 
 
 Sp.cred Heart 194 
 
 Santo Dios Music 200
 
 A BOOK FOR THE LIBRARIES 
 
 The Missions and Missionaries 
 of California 
 
 By FR. ZEPHYRIN ENGELHARDT, O. F. M. 
 
 With numerous footnotes, illustrations, fac-similes, 
 and three maps, 654 pages. Price, cloth binding, 
 $2.50 net. Sent to any address on receipt of $2.75. 
 Apply to the author, Boys' Orphanage, Watson- 
 ville, Cal. 
 
 Contents: Lower California. Part I Early Voy- 
 ages. Part II Jesuit Period. Part III Franciscan 
 Period. Part IV Dominican Period. Appendix 
 A K. Copious Index. 
 
 "I would like to see this work in every library and 
 in every home." Rt. Rev. Thomas J. Conaty, D. D., 
 Bishop of Los Angeles. 
 
 "Wherever libraries know what scholarship means, 
 this work will be indispensable." Charles F. Lum- 
 mis, Editor of "Out West." 
 
 "The book is one of the most fascinating works 
 on the subject that it has been my privilege to read." 
 Miss Alice J. Stevens, Los Angeles, Cal.
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 Santa Barbara 
 
 THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE 
 STAMPED BELOW.
 
 A 001 021 406 2 
 
 a