USA celebrates Saint Junipero Serra

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Saint Junípero Serra, the 18th-century Spanish priest Pope Francis called "the evangelizer of the west in the United States", has been taking it in the chin since his canonization in September 2015.

Vandalism of public statues of Junípero Serra have taken place by angry mobs and individuals and desecrated on Catholic church property-at Mission Carmel, Old Mission Santa Barbara, Mission San Gabriel, and Mission San Rafael. Some Catholics have not been hindered, however. They are lifting him up.

Serra was born and baptized on November 24, 1713, in the town of Petra, Mallorca, Spain. He grew up in a poor and deeply religious community. He had pious parents and a sister. His teachers were priests and brothers of the Order of Friars Minor, also known as the Franciscans, who noticed his deep faith and intellect when he was just a young boy.

In 1737, after many years of study, he was ordained a Franciscan priest. He would take the name Junípero, after Saint Francis' sidekick. His main ministry from 1740-1749 was Professor of Sacred Theology and Philosophy at Lullian University in Palma, Mallorca, yet he felt God calling him to serve in another way. When the call came from New Spain for missionaries, he signed up. On December 17, 1749, after a difficult crossing of the Atlantic, he landed at Veracruz (in modern-day Mexico). For the next twenty years he served communities, mainly the Pame Indians, who were already Catholic. His dream had always been to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to those who never heard it before, finally getting his wish in late June 1769, a few days journey south of San Diego. His feast day is July 1.

Today, Catholics know Saint Junípero Serra by many monikers - Patron of Vocations, Father of the California Missions, Apostle of California, Evangelizer of the West, a Founding Father of the United States, and the first Hispanic saint of the United States. On July 1, he was celebrated in various ways.

Camino Serra is an 85-mile route that is done over eight days, starting on June 23. The pilgrimage connects Mission Santa Clara de Asís (1777) and Mission Santa Cruz (1791). Pilgrims continue to Mission San Carlos Borroméo (1771), where Mass was celebrated at the Shrine of Saint Junípero Serra on the Apostle of California's feast day, July 1. Camino Serra is a ministry of the Legionary Community at Our Lady of Santa Clara.

Benedict XVI Institute for Sacred Music and Divine Worship sponsored the world premier of a new Mass composed by Frank La Rocca, honoring Saint Junipero Serra. Missa Sancti Juniperi Serra was celebrated by Archbishop of San Francisco Salvatore Cordileone at Mission Dolores Basilica. Built in 1918, the Basilica sits next door to Mission San Francisco de Asís, the 6th of the 21 California missions. The Mission was consecrated by Saint Junípero Serra's protégé Father Francisco Palóu on October 9, 1776, and the current building was completed in 1791, making it the oldest intact Mission and the oldest structure in the City and County of San Francisco. Ohlone Indian designs decorate the ceiling.

Mission Dolores Basilica seats 800, and the near capacity crowd for the Solemn Pontifical Mass (Missale Romanum 1962), was met by a small but vocal group of protestors before entering the sacred space. Protestors used megaphones to share slogans like "Colonizers burn in hell!" and "Abortion on demand!" at the men, women, and children going to Mass (see video links below). .

EWTN aired its first episode of the new series In Search of America's Catholic Founders on July 1. James Day wrote in a June 25, 2022 National Catholic Register article, "The pilot episode . . . examines Father Serra's legacy in light of the push to delete him as a force for good in both California and American history." Archbishop Cordileone is the primary interview subject in the EWTN documentary.

Rene Trevino, Knights of Columbus California State Deputy for 2022-2023, has chosen Saint Junipero Serra as the patron saint for the state's next Columbian Year. He installed the State Officers at Mission San Diego de Alcalá on July 1. The Knights of Columbus, founded in 1882, is a Catholic fraternal benefit society with over 2 million members worldwide. In California, according to the website for the Knights of Columbus Council 14754 at St Elizabeth Ann Seton parish in Bakersfield, there are 720 councils with just over 79,000 members.

Outgoing SD Dr Noel Panlilio wrote in his June 2022 message that Brother Trevino ". . . asks us [California members of the Knights of Columbus] to prepare to contribute and embrace our next set of challenges with the same spiritual zeal as those early missionaries led by St Junípero Serra when they journeyed by land to bring Christianity to California and to establish the mission system beginning with the first nine Missions along El Camino Real (Spanish for "The King's Highway") that runs from San Diego to San Francisco."

Christian Clifford is the author of books about Catholic Church history in Spanish-Mexican California. His latest is Pilgrimage: In Search of the REAL California Missions, the story of his 800-mile walk of the California Missions Trail.
See: https://missions1769.com/

LINKS

The Truth About Junipero Serra: www.youtube.com/watch?v=U04CkBtTNKM

Mission Dolores, San Francisco, on the feast of St. Junipero Serra, 7/1/22 - www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEThjgH2ZgE

In Search of America's Catholic Founders: St Junipero Serra - www.youtube.com/watch?v=clr7tSFKe_E&t=2s