When was serra junipero born

He arrived at the point of death. Because the Native Americans were living a nonhuman life from the Spanish point of view, the friars were made their legal guardians.

Through it all his unquenchable zeal was fed by prayer each night, often from midnight till dawn. He baptized over 6, people and confirmed 5, His travels would have circled the globe. He brought the Native Americans not only the gift of faith but also a decent standard of living. He won their love, as witnessed especially by their grief at his death. He turned with dislike from nearly all the sources of pleasure in which the polished society of our age delights. The conversation of his own sex was not a source of amusement.

He was habitually serious. Laughter was inconsistent with the terrible responsibilities of his probationary existence. Not a joke or a jovial action is recorded of him. He delighted in no joyous books. Art or poetry never served to sharpen his wits, lighten his spirit, or solace his weary moments. The sweet devotional poems of Fray Luis de Leon, and the delicate humor of Cervantes, notwithstanding the perfect piety of both, were equally strange to him.

He knew nothing of the science and philosophy which threw all enlightened nations into fermentation a hundred years ago. The rights of man and the birth of chemistry did not withdraw his fixed gaze from the other world, which formed the constant subject of his contemplation. Serra was only 15 years old when he decided to join the priesthood.

He moved to Palma to pursue his goal. Serra then became a novice at the Convento de Jesus in September There he study theology and philosophy. The following year, Serra officially joined the Franciscans and took the name "Junipero" after a friend and associate of St. The exact date of his ordination into the priesthood is unknown. Experts estimate it was sometime between and Serra then devoted much of his time to teaching. In , he earned his doctorate in theology from Lullian University.

In , Serra took on a new challenge—bringing his faith to the New World as a missionary. Serra landed in Vera Cruz and walked miles to Mexico City. Along the way, he suffered an injury to his leg, which would cause him pain the rest of his days. He volunteered for the Sierra Gorda missions in , which were located in the lands of Pame Indians.

Serra preached to the native people and sought ways to improve the area's economy. During the late s into the s, Serra played many different roles at the College of San Fernando. Serra was small of stature, five feet two inches in height. He had a sonorous voice, swarthy skin, dark hair and eyes. Though it appears that he had a fundamentally robust constitution, he suffered a great deal during the latter part of his life. His first affliction was the swelling and painful itching of his feet and legs from mosquito bites which caused varicose ulcers.

At times he could neither stand nor walk. After he began to suffer from asthma. In character Serra was eager, optimistic, zealous, dynamic, even adamantine. Primarily a man of action, he preferred the active apostolate to the classroom or to writing. He remained a model religious despite his distractions and activity — a man of prayer and mortification. He had a consuming love for his American converts. He fought for the freedom of the Church against royal infringement.

Serra was considered by some too aggressive, zealous, and demanding. Though he defended the Indians, he had a paternalistic view and believed in and practiced corporal punishment. Pope Francis canonized Junipero Serra on September 23,