Fr. Gustavo Martagón, ministering at St. Luke’s parish in Stockton, CA, was called back to Spain. There he will be pastor at a church in Sevilla. He will join Fr. Diego Molina, SDB, a close friend, who has been assigned as his director.  Three years ago, Fr. Molina was stationed in Los Angeles at St. Mary’s Church where Fr. Jesse Montes was pastor.  Fr. Diego remembers the Fr. Montes’ “guided tours”.  So, Fr. Gustavo asked Fr. Montes to show him around S. F. Unfortunately, with the pandemic wave and the at times violent protests, the six-day tour was limited.

However, both visited some of the instantly infamous locales. Places where, just two day before, three statues had been knocked down at Golden Gate Park, including St. Junipero Serra. They also visited Coit Tower where the statue of Christopher Columbus had been toppled. Some of Fr. Martagón’s favorite sites: John Steinbeck’s home, Salinas, CA, and what is considered the largest living thing in the world, the General Sherman tree in the Sequoia National Park.