Canonization of St. Junipero Serra
September 23rd, 2015
St. Junipero Serra was born on the Island of Majorca, off the coast of Spain in 1713, and died in Monterey, California in 1784. Partly of Jewish ancestry, this young and sickly boy applied to enter the Order of St. Francis of Assissi; he became a Franciscan in 1731. In 1742 he received his doctorate in Theology from the Lullian University in Palma. Two year later he assumed the Duns Scotus chair in philosophy at the University. He is known as the greatest missionary in the U.S. history, traveling 24,000 miles, baptizing and confirming thousands of persons, mostly Indians (in 1777 the Vatican authorized Serra to administer the sacrament of confirmation, usually the reserve of a bishop). His commitment to bringing the Gospel to the New World was such that he walked nearly 300 miles to consecrate his mission at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe before coming to California. On May 2, 2015, Pope Francis discussed how important this event was. He said, "Friar Junipero entrusted his missionary activity to the Blessed Virgin Mary. We know that before leaving for California he wanted to consecrate his life to O.L.G. and to ask her for the grace to open the hearts of the colonizers and indigenous peoples, for the mission he was about to begin. In this prayer we can still see this humble brother kneeling in front of the 'Mother of the true God,' the Morenita, who brought her Son to the New World. The image of O.L.G. was and has been present in the twenty-one missions that Friar Junipero founded along the coast of California. Since then, O.L.G. has become, in fact, the Patroness of the whole American people." St. Junipero Serra was canonized on Wednesday, September 23rd in Philadelphia, during Pope Francis' USA visit 2015.
From THE NOBLE LEGACY OF FATHER SERRA by Bill Donohue, President of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights 2015