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A Franciscan with a Mission(s)

Sr. JosephMary f.t.i. — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 03:59:14 +0000

BLESSED JUNIPERO SERRA

July 1st is the feast day of Blessed Junipero Serra, the Franciscan priest from Mallorca who at the age of 55, with a limp in his gait and afflicted with asthma, walked up and down what is now the State of California evangelizing the indigenous people, teaching them European methods of farming and defending them against those who would have taken advantage of them. He is associated with the establishment of the California Missions, many of which still function as parishes today. The earthly remains of Father Serra are interred in the Mission San Carlos Borromeo in Carmel, California.

At the time of his death, Blessed Serra had baptized 6,000 Indians, a number which comprises approximately 10 per cent of the native population of California at the time. The Serra International website states: Between the years of 1796 and 1784, Father Serra made six voyages by sea totaling 5,400 miles. He traveled by land the distance between Monterey and San Francisco eight times, Monterey and San Antonio 11 times, His longest journey by land was from Monterey to Mexico City. In total, he traveled well over 5,500 miles by land.

His motto was, “Siempre adelante, nunca retredecer,” which in English means, “Always to go forward, never to turn back?.

Blessed Junipero Serra, Apostle of California, pray for usl

What I wish to say first of all is that, thank God, I am in good health, and that the famine which has laid heavily on all this country and been felt by so many poor people has hardly touched any of the Fathers, my companions, or myself…

Those who are the main supporters of our people are the gentiles. Thanks to them, we live because God so wills it; moreover, we must not forget that the milk from the cows and the vegetables from the garden have been very big factors in keeping these foundations going; but these two sources of food are becoming scarce. But, when all is said and done, I do not regret that these missions were founded and your reverence should not regret it either. None of the ministers who live in them have any criticisms on the matter. The complaint has only been with those without missions on account of the difficulty there has been to go ahead with their foundation.

And, above all, in regard to the promise made by God in these modem times to Our Father Saint Francis – as our Seraphic Mother Mary of Jesus declares – that the gentiles, at the mere sight of his sons, will be converted to our Holy Catholic Faith, it is my opinion that we are now seeing it with our eyes and touching it with our hands. Because if, at the present time, they are not as yet all Christians, it is, in my judgment, only for want of a knowledge of their language, a trouble of long standing with me which I have never been granted the grace to overcome, it seems to me, because of my many sins.

Yet, in San Diego, time has overcome the difficulty, and they already have baptized adults and solemnized marriages. And here, too, we are not far from arriving at the same state of improvement, since the children are beginning to express themselves in Castilian … To sum it all up: I put my trust in God that everything will turn out well.

Blessed Junipero SERRA (1713-1784)

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July 1st: Blessed Junipero Serra

Sr. JosephMary f.t.i. — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:00:37 +0000

Ave Maria Mediations



Blessed Junipero Serra
Also known as the Apostle of California

The incredible story of a Franciscan friar past the age of 50 and with a bad leg established the California missions:

Miquel Joseph Serra was born and baptized on November 24, 1713 in the small town of Petra on the island of Mallorca, Spain. At the age of fifteen, Serra left home to enter the Franciscan University in nearby Palma to study philosophy. When Serra was seventeen, he decided to join the Franciscan Order.

After much preparation and discernment of his vocation, Serra received his Franciscan habit in 1730 and took the name Junipero (which meant ‘Jester of God’, named after the real-life companion of St. Francis). Ordained in 1737, he taught for seven years at Llullian University of Mallorca. But his dream was to become a missionary. In 1749, his dream became reality. He left his family and friends and sailed off to a “New World”. Serra landed in the port city of Vera Cruz and then traveled by foot to Mexico City to begin his work. (On that journey, Serra’s leg became swollen from a mosquito bite. This would hinder Serra physically for the rest of his life. It especially made walking very painful.)

When he arrived in Mexico City, he studied and prepared for missionary work at San Fernando College. Afterwards, he began missionary work with other Franciscan friars in the Sierra Gorda Mountains. While he was there, he was named ‘Presidente’ of the region. Serra then returned to San Fernando College in 1758 where he taught philosophy for nine years. In 1767, King Charles III of Spain expelled the Jesuits from the Baja California region (and the rest of the Spanish colonies too!) and named Serra ‘Presidente’ of the regional Missions.

Two years later, Serra’s was given the opportunity to establish missions under his own direction. He was commissioned by the King to lead the Franciscans into Alta California (present day California U.S.). Fr. Serra traveled across the border to Alta California on July 1, 1769 and established his first mission, San Diego de Alcala, that same month. He then journeyed by sea on the ‘San Antonio’ to what he called “a pleasing stretch of land”, Monterey, the capital of Alta California. There he founded his second mission, San Carlos Borromeo del Rio Carmelo (St. Charles Borromeo by the Carmel River). This mission became the headquarters of all the missions in California missions and served as Serra’s residence when he was not traveling and evangelizing the natives. Presidente Serra established an additional seven missions* during his lifetime. He died in 1784 of tuberculosis at Mission San Carlos. His grave has never been moved and lies today in the front altar of the San Carlos Mission.

Serra traveled thousands of miles, suffered many pains and hardship, founded nine missions over a span of 800 miles, and converted many Indians to Christianity for the salvation of their souls. Today, he is in the process of canonization and is currently regarded by the Catholic Church as Blessed.

*San Antonio (1771), San Gabriel (1771), San Luis Obisbo (1772), San Francisco (1776), San Juan Capistrano (1776), Santa Clara (1777), and San Buenaventura (1784).

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PRAYER FOR THE CANONIZATION OF BL. JUNIPERO SERRA:

Heavenly Father, we ask you to look lovingly on the missionary journey of your faithful servant, Junipero Serra. His steadfast efforts in founding nine missions in California and the conversion of thousands of Native Americans have inspired the formation and work of Serra International. This ministry in Father Serra’s name is to encourage and affirm vocations to priesthood and vowed religious life. We pray that you bless his holy and courageous missionary and grant him the ultimate honor of Sainthood in your heavenly kingdom. We ask this in the name of Thy Blessed Trinity and of Mary, Queen of vocations. Amen.

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Video – California Missions of St. Juniper Serra – Variety 300

apostolate — Fri, 01 Jul 2016 23:41:36 +0000

Ave Maria!

Friar Gabriel Cortes filmed the nine California missions founded by St. Juniper Serra the Franciscan missionary who was recently canonized. He starts in the Serra Retreat Center in Malibu, California and then went from San Diego to San Francisco as follows:

Serra Retreat Center in Malibu, California – http://serraretreat.com/

San Diego Alcalá – http://www.missionsandiego.org/

San Juan Capistrano – http://www.missionsjc.com/

San Gabriel de Arcangel – http://www.sangabrielmissionchurch.org/

San Buenaventura – http://www.sanbuenaventuramission.org/

San Luis Obispo – http://www.missionsanluisobispo.org/

San Antonio de Padua – http://missionsanantonio.net/

San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo – http://www.carmelmission.org/

Santa Clara de Asís – https://www.scu.edu/missionchurch/

San Francisco de Asís – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_San_Francisco_de_As%C3%ADs

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Aug 28 – St. Juniper Serra – Franciscan Saint of the Day

apostolate — Sat, 28 Aug 2021 23:00:55 +0000

“The Life of St. Juniper Serra, Confessor, First Order (1713-1784) for the Franciscan Saint of the Day for Aug 28. St. Juniper Serra was born in Majorca and went to Mexico and Califonia to evangelize the natives there where he started many missions, giving education and protecting the rights of the natives. He walked many thousands of miles with a bad leg.

Reflection is on the effects of penance which played such a great role in the sanctification of Fr. Serra that enabled him to suffer much in the missions and to win many souls to God.

For more on St. Juniper Serra
– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jun%C3%ADpero_Serra
– https://www.roman-catholic-saints.com/blessed-junipero-serra.html
– https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=401

Also on Youtube: https://youtu.be/DlvR00YZjUQ

Read by Fr. Ignatius Manfredonia, FI from Marion Habig’s ‘The Franciscan Book of Saints’ Revised Edition, Franciscan Herald Press, ISBN: 978-0819907516

Playlist of Franciscan Saints: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TxcAETrU_k&list=PLejh_e0-LN4wErRczZGry4TXytCZFiLCm
Graphic By Burkhard Mücke – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42527677 – Cropped”

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Nov 22 – S. of God Magin Catala – Franciscan Saint of the Day

apostolate — Mon, 22 Nov 2021 15:50:45 +0000

The Life of S. of God Magin Catala, Confessor, First Order (1761-1830) for the Franciscan Saint of the Day for Nov 22. S. of God Magin Catala was born in Spain and went on the mission in Mexico City then Santa Clara, California for 37 years.

Reflection is on gratitude for true faith.

For more on S. of God Magin Catala
– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magin_Catal%C3%A1

Also on Youtube: https://youtu.be/LwC9Rzay9o0

Read by Fr. Ignatius Manfredonia, FI from Marion Habig’s ‘The Franciscan Book of Saints’ Revised Edition, Franciscan Herald Press, ISBN: 978-0819907516

Playlist of Franciscan Saints: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TxcAETrU_k&list=PLejh_e0-LN4wErRczZGry4TXytCZFiLCm

Ave Maria!

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