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Msgr. Francis J. Weber
One year before he beatified Fray Junípero Serra in 1988, St. John Paul II made a pilgrimage to the grave of the Franciscan priest at Mission San Carlos Borroméo in Carmel, Calif. Standing on the site of Serra’s former missionary headquarters, the pope reflected on the historical impact of the friar’s Christian witness.
“At crucial moments in human affairs, God raises up men and women whom he thrusts into roles of decisive importance for the future development of both society and the Church,” the pope said. “We rejoice all the more when their achievement is coupled with a holiness of life that can truly be called heroic. So it is with Junípero Serra, who in the providence of God was destined to be the Apostle of California.”
In January, Pope Francis announced that he will canonize Serra during the Holy Father’s visit to the United States in September. As the Church prepares to celebrate this event, it is an occasion to rediscover the life and mission of a great pioneer of Catholic evangelization and to address some of the controversies concerning Serra’s legacy.
FROM MALLORCA TO MEXICO
Before spending the second half of his life in New Spain, Junípero Serra spent his first 35 years on the Spanish island of Mallorca. Born to a family of farmers on Nov. 24, 1713, Serra was raised in the village of Petra and attended the local Franciscan school. At age 18, he joined the Franciscan Order and took the name Junípero, after one of the first companions of St. Francis of Assisi.
Aware of his talent for teaching, Serra’s superiors singled him out to be a professor. He was ordained at age 25 and became a theology professor five years later at the Lullian University in the Mallorcan capital of Palma. His eloquence and fiery earnestness soon won him many listeners in churches and classrooms alike.
During his academic training, the young friar had been stirred as he read about missionaries in the New World. At age 35, Fray Junípero responded to a call that lay smoldering in his heart for years and asked permission to become a missionary. In a matter of months, Serra was on a ship bound for Mexico in 1749. Disembarking at Vera Cruz, he chose to make the 250-mile trek to Mexico City on foot. On the way, his leg became swollen from an insect bite, a wound that would plague him for the rest of his life. After a painful journey, he arrived at the capital and celebrated a Mass of thanksgiving at the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Serra then received intensive missionary training and was sent to the Sierra Gorda missions in the mountains north of Mexico City. Having learned the native language, he translated prayers and the catechism, and also taught the faith through rich liturgical celebrations. READ MORE…