Junípero Serra, Priest

No person had more influence on the settlement of California than Padre Junípero Serra. He was born Miguel José Serra to parents of humble means, living in Petra on the Mediterranean island of Majorca. His early education took place on the island at the Franciscan convent of San Bernardino. Miguel was ordained in 1737, and took the name Junípero at that time. In the same year, he was named a professor of philosophy at the university in Palma, Spain as well as to other posts. He could have worked at this the rest of his life,

but since he was a boy, Junípero Serra had dreamed of becoming a missionary in the New World. He accepted an appointment to help establish the church in Mexico and the United States and spent the rest of his life doing so with great vigor and many good results.

Junípero Serra undertook a bold journey in coming to the New World. Our physical travels may not be as far-reaching as Serra’s, but we are all on a spiritual journey whose course can often be as dramatic. We, too, can hold steadfast to our goal of reaching God’s kingdom.