Saint Junipero Serra (1713-1784) was a Spanish Franciscan friar who founded the first nine of the California missions, evangelizing and baptizing thousands of Native Americans along the Pacific coast. Tireless despite a chronic leg ailment, he is remembered as the Apostle of California. He was canonized by Pope Francis in Washington in 2015.

July 1

• California
• vocations
• Hispanic Americans

Canonized

7

1