Junípero Serra

Lore & Background

Serra was born Miquel Josep Serra i Ferrer in the village of Petra on the island of Mallorca in the Balearic Islands. By age seven, he was working the fields with his parents, helping cultivate wheat and beans, and tending cattle. He showed a special interest in visiting the local Franciscan friary at the church of San Bernardino. Attending the friars' primary school, he learned reading, writing, mathematics, Latin, religion and liturgical song, especially Gregorian chant. At age 16, his parents enrolled him in a Franciscan school in Palma de Majorca, where he studied philosophy. A year later, he became a novice in the Franciscan order. On September 14, 1730, Serra entered the Franciscan Order at Palma, taking the religious name Junípero in honor of Brother Juniper, a companion of Francis of Assisi. In 1737, Serra became a priest, and three years later earned an ecclesiastical license to teach philosophy. He received a doctorate in theology from the Lullian College in Palma de Majorca, where he also occupied the Duns Scotus chair of philosophy until he joined the missionary College of San Fernando de Mexico in 1749. In 1749, Serra and the Franciscan missionary team landed in Veracruz. To get to Mexico City, Serra insisted on walking, strictly following the rule of Francis of Assisi that friars "must not ride on horseback unless compelled by manifest necessity or infirmity." During the trek his left foot swelled up, and a burning itch tormented him. He attributed the swelling to a mosquito bite. This wound plagued Serra for the rest of his life. Serra and Palóu arrived at the village of Jalpan in the Sierra Gorda and found the mission in disarray: The parishioners, numbering fewer than a thousand, were attending neither confession nor Mass.

Reader's Guide

Serra's legacy is deeply contested. He is credited with establishing the Franciscan Missions in the Sierra Gorda, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. He founded a mission in Baja California and established eight of the 21 Spanish missions in California from San Diego to San Francisco. Both before and after his canonization, Serra's reputation and missionary work during the Spanish occupation have been condemned by critics, who cite alleged mandatory conversions to Catholicism, followed by abuse of the Native American converts. Native American tribes accused Serra of presiding over brutal colonial subjugation. Pope John Paul II beatified him on 25 September 1988 in Vatican City. Pope Francis canonized Serra on 23 September 2015 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., during his visit to the United States. Serra's missionary efforts earned him the title "Apostle of California."

Did You Know?

• Serra was given the religious name Junípero in honor of Brother Juniper, who had been among the first Franciscans and a companion of Francis of Assisi.
• During the trek from Veracruz to Mexico City, Serra's left foot swelled up from what he thought was a mosquito bite; the wound plagued him for the rest of his life.
• Serra's philosophy course at the Convento de San Francisco included over 60 students, among them fellow future missionaries Francisco Palóu and Juan Crespí.
• At the mission in Jalpan, Serra found fewer than a thousand parishioners who were attending neither confession nor Mass.
• Serra was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 25 September 1988 in Vatican City and canonized by Pope Francis on 23 September 2015 in Washington, D.C.