Picture source
Picture source
JUNIPERO SERRA,
APOSTLE OF CALIFORNIA
“I want to
be a missionary.”
Brother
John Samaha, S.M.
Saint Junipero Serra (1713-1784), the first
apostle and colonizer of Alta California was a model evangelizer and is a
benchmark for the missionary spirit for spreading and renewing the faith. The church celebrates his feast on July 1.
When
Pope Francis visited the USA in September 2015 he canonized him at the National Shrine of the Immaculate
Conception in Washington, DC.
A
native of Petra on the Spanish island of Majorca and baptized Miguel Jose, he followed
in the footsteps of his early educators, the Franciscans, and took the name of
Junipero, who was a disciple of St. Francis himself. After a decade of service as a noted preacher
and professor of philosophy, he rekindled his early desire to be a missionary
and requested to be sent to Mexico in the new World. In 1749 at the age of 36 he wrote a formal
petition to his provincial superior: “All my life I have wanted to be a
missionary. I have wanted to carry the
Gospel teachings to those who have never heard of God and the kingdom he has
prepared for them.”
Fray
Junipero was missioned to the New World in Mexico, where he served the native
populations for twenty years. When Spain
decided to complete the occupation of California, he and other specially
trained Franciscan missionaries accompanied the military and the
colonists. During the ensuing fifteen
years in Alta California, he founded the first nine of the twenty-one
missions. In this period Serra was
compelled to confront the military and civil authorities concerning the
mistreatment of the Native Americans. He
drafted a statement of thirty-two grievances which he personally presented to
the Viceroy in Mexico. Some of his
recommended improvements were implemented and some were overlooked.
Though
afflicted with an ulcerated leg wound, Padre Serra frequently visited his
missions, often walking rather than riding horseback because St. Francis al
Assisi had always walked. Records show
that he baptized and confirmed thousands of natives without neglecting the
colonists and the soldiers. He was
beloved by all. While concentrating on
the spiritual needs of the neophytes and catechumens, he and his collaborators
did not forget their material welfare.
The natives were taught methods of farming, cattle raising, along with
arts and crafts. The native peoples were
educated to shift from an unsettled lifestyle to a stable domestic way of life. Serra’s extensive written reports filed with
government and religious authorities reveal a saintly man who loved and served
his people as an adept teacher, organizer and manager.
Although
some Spaniards were guilty of abusive treatment, Padre Serra had never been
guilty of mistreatment. On the contrary,
he defended them from harm. In 1784
Father Serra died at Mission San Carlos Borromeo, and later he was buried in
the sanctuary of its church. When St. John Paul II beatified Junipero Serra on
September 25, 1988, he praised the Apostle of California as “an exemplary model
of the selfless evangelizer, a shining example of Christian virtue and the
missionary spirit.” These are the traits
we are challenged to exhibit.
A
statue of Junipero Serra represents California in the National Statuary Hall of
the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC.
Imposing statues of the colonizer of California also grace Golden Gate
Park in San Francisco and are also prominently placed in many other cities
throughout the state. His name has been
adopted by the international lay organization of men and women known as the
Serra Club, which is dedicated to fostering vocations to the priesthood and
religious life.
Saint
Junipero Serra witnessed to the holiness of the Church and its concern for all
people. As an extraordinary missionary
and an exceptional example of the Church’s apostolic calling to preach and
exemplify the Gospel to everyone, he personifies the spirit of the new
evangelization that characterizes our times.
A Junipero Serra Vignette
November
24 is the feast day of Saint Junipero Serra, Apostle of California. The son of Antonio and Margarita Ferrer, he
was baptized Miguel Jose and took the name Junipero as a Franciscan.
Pope
Saint John Paul II beatifed him in 1988.
Pope Francis canonized him in 2015.
This
is part of the documented legacy of Blessed Junipero Serra to the Church in
California.
·
He walked an estimated 4,000 miles in California
on his missionary journeys with an injured leg.
·
He baptized 98% of the adult converts at Mission
San Carlos Borromeo in Carmel.
·
He confirmed 4,076.
·
The records of The Early California Population
Project indicate that his efforts supporting the 21 missions, the Los Angeles
Plaza Church, and the Santa Barbara Presidio resulted in 101,000 baptisms,
28,000 marriages, and 71,000 burials.
