A protester recites a lists of accusations against St. Junípero Serra, whose statue she and her fellow demonstrators are demanding to be removed from Mission Santa Inés in Solvang. The woman, who refused to give her name, was among a group of about 20 people who turned out for the noisy protest Saturday afternoon. 
Members of the Knights of Columbus, the Catholic fraternal service order, pray the rosary while blocking the entrance to Mission Santa Inés. 
Father Junípero Serra, credited with the founding of nine of California’s 21 missions, was canonized as a saint by Pope Francis in 2015. 
Counter-protesters gather across Mission Drive from Mission Santa Inés. 
Protesters gather at the driveway to Mission Santa Inés to call for the removal of the St. Junípero Serra statue on the campus. 
Two men blow rams’ horns to drown out the chants of anti-Serra protesters. 
Knights of Columbus member Matt Olson holds rosary beads while reciting prayers.
A demand to remove the St. Junípero Serra statue at Mission Santa Inés saw opposing groups shouting at each other in sweltering heat while members of a third group steadily recited the rosary Saturday afternoon in Solvang.
A group of 20 protesters gathered at Solvang Park to walk to the historic mission at 1760 Mission Drive, seeking removal of the statue of the Roman Catholic priest credited with the founding of nine of California’s 21 missions — although not the three in Santa Barbara County: Santa Inés, Santa Barbara and La Purísima near Lompoc.
Serra was canonized as a saint by Pope Francis in 2015, making him the first Hispanic saint in the continental United States. Opponents, however, criticize him as “Father Genocide.”
Saturday’s protest came after creation of an online petition calling for the Serra statue’s removal, contending the missionary “spent the majority of his life kidnapping, enslaving and stripping away the culture of indigenous peoples.”
As of Sunday, the petition had collected 1,055 signatures.
“Throughout his life he spread pain, misery and disease to the point where it has been discovered that more indigenous people died under him than were born,” according to the petition.
“We as a community need to say we acknowledge this little known history and not pay homage to this man causing further confusion and pain. We want the statue removed as keeping it standing shows reverence and respect for someone who murdered and enslaved so many.”
On Saturday, with the temperature topping 90 degrees, protesters called upon church officials to remove the statue from the mission’s property, shouting “Take it down!”
“Serra has blood on his hands,” protester Chuy Caracoles told Noozhawk. “We are not going to stop protesting until that statue comes down, until the mayor of Solvang and the City Council denounce that statue.
“Serra is not a saint, Serra is the devil,” he added.
As protesters aired their allegations, members of the Knights of Columbus, the Catholic fraternal service order, prayed the rosary while church-hired photographers recorded the activity on both sides of the barrier blocking the mission’s driveway.
Later, some men posted at the entrance to the mission blew rams’ horns and revved motorcycles to drown out the protesters.
In a statement released several weeks ago, church officials said the statue honors a saint, and does not represent a historical or civic monument.
Most Roman Catholic churches have a statue of a saint, typically one for whom the parish is named, in a location on their campus.
“We will have a group of us praying at the statue,” the Rev. Robert “Bobby” Barbato, a Capuchin friar and pastor of Mission Santa Inés, said in a video posted to social media. “Don’t worry, we will be protecting it.”
On Saturday afternoon, a number of brothers from San Lorenzo Seminary in Santa Ynez stood praying and singing as shouts of protesters could be heard in the distance.
Barbato said he hoped to discuss the matter with protesters.
“I am hoping that eventually further dialogue can happen rather than raw emotion emotion on all sides,” he said.
Earlier Saturday afternoon, Bishop Robert Barron, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, was joined by several priests as he said a socially distanced Mass near the statue.
Across the street, approximately 20 counter-protesters waved American flags, sang “God Bless America,” chanted “U.S.A.,” and yelled “liars” and “you’re the racists.”
Anti-Serra protesters responded by shouting back “Go back to Europe!”
As the noisy gathering wound down and protesters began walking away from the mission, the friars softly sang “Prayer of St. Francis,” which begins with “Lord, make me a channel of your peace. Where there is a hatred, let me bring your love.”
On Sunday morning, Barbato said everything went very well Saturday, and he renewed his offer for a discussion with protesters about the issue.
“I respect very much their right to express their opinion and protest,” he said. “I also respect our right to be able to have the freedom of our faith.”
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.