Exerpt from Catholic Textbook Project; From Sea to Shining Sea textbook —Day after day, for nine days, the small man in a gray habit climbed to the summit of the little hill and looked anxiously out to sea. Day after day, he had been disappointed. Below him lay the bay like a long finger of…
Sponsored by the Catholic Textbook Project—Junípero Serra was born on the island of Mallorca off the Mediterranean coast of Spain on November 24, 1713. At the age of 16, he decided to become a priest, and a year later he entered the Franciscan order. For the first 19 years of his life as a Franciscan,…
While we were watching fireworks on TV, or in the backyard, or, this July 4th, groaning at the onslaught of nonstop mortars and fireworks in our local cities, the beloved statue of Saint Junipero Serra was being torn down at California’s state capitol; a state that in large measure was uniquely formed by his hand,…
A Spanish bishop recently celebrated Mass in the church where St. Junipero Serra was baptized, defending the saint’s legacy against those who have accused him of racism. Bishop Sebastià Taltavull of Mallorca, Spain, recently visited Petra, on the Mediterranean island of Majorca, the hometown of St. Junipero Serra. A great injustice He said the saint…
