Spanish missionary Juniper Serra established his first U.S. mission in 1769. He built eight more California missions over the next thirteen years. He was granted sainthood in 2015.
Synopsis
Junipero Serra spent his early career as a Franciscan educator in Palma, Spain. He was in his thirties when he heeded the call to become a missionary. First he worked to spread the word of God in Mexico in 1750s and 1760s before moving to present-day California. Serra established nine missions there from 1769 to 1782. He died in 1784.
Early Life
Born on November 24, 1713, on the Spanish island of Majorca, Junipero Serra came from humble beginnings. His parents, Antonio Nadal Serra and Margarita Rosa Ferrer, spent their lives working the land in the town of Petra. They had him baptized on his first day in the world, giving him the name Miguel Jose. He was later educated by Franciscan monks at a local primary school. Serra was only 15 years old when he decided to join the priesthood. He moved to Palma to pursue his goal.
Serra then became a novice at the Convento de Jesus in September 1730. There he study theology and philosophy. The following year, Serra officially joined the Franciscans and took the name "Junipero" after a friend and associate of St. Francis. The exact date of his ordination into the priesthood is unknown. Experts estimate it was sometime between 1737 and 1739. Serra then devoted much of his time to teaching. In 1742, he earned his doctorate in theology from Lullian University.
Missionary in Mexico
In 1749, Serra took on a new challenge—bringing his faith to the New World as a missionary. He traveled first to Mexico with a former student, Francisco Palóu. Serra landed in Vera Cruz and walked 250 miles to Mexico City. Along the way, he suffered an injury to his leg, which would cause him pain the rest of his days. Serra joined College of San Fernando, a missionary school in Mexico City, but he didn't stay long. He volunteered for the Sierra Gorda missions in 1751, which were located in the lands of Pame Indians. Serra preached to the native people and sought ways to improve the area's economy.
During the late 1750s into the 1760s, Serra played many different roles at the College of San Fernando. He also continued his preaching on several different missions, including to Puebla and Oaxaca. In 1769, Serra became his journey northward where he would do some of his best-known work.
California Missions
Serra established his first mission in San Fernando de Velicatá in May 1769. Moving further north, he founded another mission in San Diego, first of nine missions he created in what is present-day California, that July. Serra spent the rest of his life devoted to his evangelical work in the region. In trying to.
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