The Vatican is officially making Rev. Junipero Serra a saint

Rev. Junipero Serra, here depicted at a mission in Santa Barbara, California, is going to be canonized

(Image credit: CC by: Wally Gobetz)

published 6 May 2015

On Wednesday, the Vatican announced that, as Pope Francis had suggested four months ago, Rev. Junipero Serra will be canonized, at a ceremony on Sept. 23 while the pope is visiting Washington, D.C. Over the weekend, Francis celebrated a mass in honor of the 18th century Franciscan missionary at the U.S. seminary in Rome, after an academic conference on Serra's controversial legacy in California.

Serra, born Majorca in 1713, gave up his life as a professor of theology to become a missionary to the New World. He walked almost the entire length of California, establishing 21 missions. Many Native Americans view Serra negatively, accusing him of forcibly converting Indians and exposing them to deadly European diseases. The Catholic Church describes Serra as a protector of Indians who, along with bringing Christianity to the U.S. West, gave the indigenous Californians an education.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.