A few days ago I returned from our native country where I went first to Prague at the State Department. There from the hands of Czech Foreign Minister Karel Swarzenberger, along with twelve other deserving countrymen, I received the Gratias Agit award. From Prague, I returned to Moravia, where I visited several former classmates, and gave the sacrament of Confirmation to several dozen young people. I did get a little rest before the big pilgrimage to Velehrad, during which we celebrated the 1150th anniversary of the arrival of Saints Cyril and his brother Methodius to Great Moravia. In that famous Velehrad song is sung: “Our Velehrad blossoms again….” Velehrad once again has blossomed. The entire area in front and around the basilica is very nicely arranged for pilgrims. As I looked from the field altar, I had never seen so many people. The crowd was estimated at 50,000, but it looked like many more. Even the intense heat did not deter the pilgrims, who left their comfort somewhere in the shade to come to the altar. Participation in this pilgrim HolyMass was truly a religious experience. And it was not just the number of pilgrims … it was not just the main Mass on the main day of the pilgrimage …. Part of the power of this pilgrimage was what was happening that was not directly of a spiritual nature; as for example, youth sports competitions, evening enjoyments, and collecting money to support charitable activities. And so many believers participated in the Sacrament of Reconciliation!

Preserve our founding mothers and fathers, Lord.

And now a little about the history of the California mission or missions – here in California we have a mission in LA, San Francisco and San Diego. So we have one mission, but in three places. 2014 will mark 50 years since the establishment of this mission and it requires us to be thoughtful and kind, evaluating and celebrating our work, our successes and failures. Today, the modern approach is to recall only the bare facts, but as we approach the beginning of the 50th year of our Mission’s existence it might be good to describe the experiences and impressions of those early years. Although 50 years is a long time, a lot of us were right here in California. I invite you to send your own memories to us to publish during this year. There are surely among us at least a few witnesses who stood at the cradle of our mission and will remember Father Adolf Pelican, SJ, who had come to Los Angeles from San Francisco, where he came from Montreal, Canada. He came at the advice of a doctor, who sent him to sunny California to treat his rheumatism. First he meant to settle in San Francisco, where there was a Jesuit University, but he soon realized that the climate in San Francisco was not as hot as he had imagined, so he listened to the advice of his friends and traveled about 300 miles south, to Los Angeles, where he found what he wanted – a dry and warm climate that suited his needs. He lived with his Jesuit confreres in Hollywood in the parish of the Blessed Sacrament. There he offered a ministry that consisted mainly in the confessional. He knew several languages and the parish was in the middle of a very busy and lively location, so soon he won the confidence of believers who chose him as confessor. In addition, Fr. Pelikan met with a number of political refugees from Czechoslovakia who came to Los Angeles after fleeing their homeland. They introduced him to other compatriots living in Los Angeles and surrounding communities. Many of them were Catholics whom Pelican welcomed with open arms. Therefore it was not difficult for these people to begin with Mass with beautiful songs in Czech and also preaching in their native language. They quickly formed a group mostly of Czech origin who organized and began to meet once a month for the Holy Mass and a small refreshment.

After the death of Fr. Pelican, Fr. Jaroslav Popelka arrived and arranged to stay with members of his order. He expanded the pastoral care also to the expatriates living in San Francisco and later to those who lived in San Diego.

Fr. Popelka died suddenly on September 30, 1987, of a heart attack. It happened just after the departure of Bishop Jaroslav Skarvada, who had returned back home to Rome that afternoon, having completed a pastoral visitation to the Czech Catholic centers in America.  After Fr. Popelka’s funeral, which I came to California to attend, we had to decide what to do about our fairly active missionary centers in California. We had no free priest and so I decided that I would commute by plane from Minnesota while we tried to find a better resolution for the situation here. But since, even after two years, we had not found a Czech priest and our three communities in California were still active, I decided to quit teaching at the University of St. Catherine and move to the Los Angeles area. Even then for two years I commuted one weekend each month to meet my obligations as a chaplain in the Air Force Reserve Unit in Minneapolis, MN.