Faith in History / Sean Gallagher

St. Junipero Serra helped establish the Catholic Church in California

Last month, this column began a series about the 10 holy men and women from America who have been declared saints. The story of St. Kateri Tekakwitha was shared in the first column in this series.

This column focuses on St. Junipero Serra. Born in Spain in 1713, he joined the Franciscans in 1730 and was ordained a priest in 1738.

Soon established as a respected philosophy professor, Father Junipero’s heart was nonetheless far from university life in Spain. His eyes were set on serving as a missionary in faraway “New Spain,” which were Spanish colonial holdings in the Americas.

He and a group of fellow Franciscans landed in Veracruz, Mexico, in 1749. Starting at the coast, Father Junipero walked the 250-mile journey to Mexico City, which is some 7,500 feet above sea level. During the trek, the priest injured his left foot, leaving him with a significant limp that stayed with him the rest of his life.

After several years of successful ministry in the Sierra Gorda region of central Mexico, the Spanish government had Father Junipero and other Franciscans lead missionary work on the Baja Peninsula in what is now the northwestern corner of Mexico.

Later, when Russian explorers moved south along the Pacific coast out of Alaska, the Spanish crown wanted its colonies more firmly established in California. Father Junipero led a group of Franciscans missionaries there, arriving in 1768 in what is now San Diego.

Over the next 15 years, he tirelessly worked up and down the California coast founding nine missions, many of which would later become major cities, including San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Santa Clara.

At these missions, Father Junipero and his fellow Franciscans proclaimed the Gospel to the native peoples of the land. They also helped these people improve their material lives by teaching them well-established agricultural techniques, a practice that had met with success in Sierra Gorda.

Wherever he did his missionary work in the Americas, Father Junipero was a man of deep prayer amidst his bustle of activity. He was also a noted advocate, defending both the freedom of the Church against the interference of the Spanish government and the rights of the natives in the face of many colonists who sought to manipulate them for their own ends.

During the course of his missionary efforts in the Americas, Father Junipero baptized more than 6,000 people and confirmed more than 5,000.

Exhausted from his missionary work and suffering from poor health through much of his life in New Spain, Father Junipero died on Aug. 28, 1784, at Mission San Carlos, which is south of San Francisco.

A statue of St. Junipero Serra stands in the National Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, which features statues representing many states across the nation. St. Junipero understandably represents California.

In 1935, a Catholic organization bearing Father Junipero’s name was founded to promote vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Today, Serra International has more than 12,000 members in more than 500 clubs throughout more than 30 countries. The Indianapolis Serra Club was founded in 1951. Serra International will hold its 83rd international convention from July 9-12 in Indianapolis.

Father Junipero’s beatification and canonization cause was launched in 1949. St. John Paul II declared him blessed in 1988. Pope Francis declared St. Junipero Serra a saint on Sept. 25, 2015, during a Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. The Church celebrates his feast on July 1.

St. Junipero Serra, pray for us. †