Namesake’s history

December 4 a day to honor the patroness of Santa Barbara.
By Mark D. Robertson
The South Coast Beacon

Today, 401 years ago, Spanish explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno entered the waters off the South Coast and named them after Saint Barbara, the patroness of mariners, geologists and inhabitants of our city. Like many other West Coast regions, Santa Barbara was named for the saint celebrated on the day Vizcaíno arrived. In the late 1700s, the name of the channel was ascribed to the presidio, and soon thereafter to the mission of Santa Barbara.

The mythic Saint Barbara is said to have been a strikingly beautiful 3rd or 4th century Roman. Her outward beauty, the story goes, was complimented by a substantive inner life that involved consorting with the poor and downtrodden and the giving of her family’s great wealth. It was for these reasons her father kept her locked in a tower, perhaps becoming the church’s own Rapunzel.

During her house arrest she requested a third window to be added to the tower — a representation of the three aspects of the Holy Trinity, an imitative three-window arrangement of which can be seen on Santa Barbara’s Town Hall. This act, which implied she had accepted the tenets of the Christian faith, was enough to have her arrested and executed at the hand of her own father.

Whether or not one is part of an orthodox Christian tradition, our city’s sainted name offers a historical and spiritual resonance, said the Rev. Virgil Cordano, former pastor at the Santa Barbara Mission. The land has been so coveted and appreciated by many races and nationalities — the Chumash, the Spanish, the Mexicans, and the new Americans — governments have changed hands twice since the mission was established.

That the name “Santa Barbara” is still attached to the region bespeaks something of the strength of the spiritual bonds of the Franciscan Fathers, Cordano said.

Saints’ days in general remind followers that “there is a communion, an exchange, a dialogue between heaven and Earth,” he said, and “death does not sever the bond” between the two.

“A saint is heroic in giving himself or herself to others. Because, whether or not they know it, they are also giving to God.”

This, at least, offers new perspective on what it means to be a Santa Barbaran.