Item 5 - Letter from Fr. Joseph Fenelon

1 p.; typescript

Letter from Fr. Joseph Fenelon OFM Cap. to Fr. Peter Bowe OFM Cap., Provincial Minister, referring to arrangements for the Capuchins to take over Mission Santa Inés in California. He writes ‘As regards Sta. Inez the pastor who preceded the present man had retired but not resigned and the Bishop received a letter from him saying he was able again to resume the work of the parish, whereupon the Bishop wrote to me that he could not put us in charge for the present, but that it was a fait accompli that the Capuchins were to have the parish when the old man would fail or die, and this cannot be very long.

I was making arrangements to put Fr. Casimir and Bro. Didacus there, I asked Fr. Casimir would he mind or have any regrets if I asked him to take on St. Inez, not the slightest he said, so I had the matter nicely arranged when I received the note from the Office. Probably by the end of Summer old Fr. [Alexander] Buckler will give up’.

Fr. Alexander Buckler (1855-1930) was a central figure in the survival and restoration of Mission Santa Inés (often spelled ‘Santa Inez’ in period documents) in Solvang, California. For more information see https://missionsantaines.org/father-alexander-buckler