Understanding Work and Prayer in the Life of Junipero Serra
Franciscan Junipero Serra (1713-1784), one of the founders of Catholicism in California, should he miraculously walk the paths of California today (on tired, sore, bare feet, for he believed in the practice of mortification), would be astonished at the vitriol and condemnations of his efforts at bringing the Great Commission among the native people of California.
In recent years, progressives have joined on the bandwagon of hating Franciscan missionaries such as Fray Serra, who have become a symbol of the evils of the Spanish missionary experience in colonial California. Serra has been accused of outrageous actions in books such as Bad Indians by Deborah Miranda (2013) and in petitions to condemn his memory, such as the following:
Serra is not the historical hero people thought when this landmark statue to him was erected [in Ventura], one of many throughout California, as a historical emblem, he is toxic and should be removed. As a community we cannot and will not support the dehumanization of the Native American community any longer. We are calling for restorative justice and are petitioning for his statue to be removed immediately.