The History of Father Junipero Serra Bl. Junipero Serra: Serra joins the Franciscans

Feb 12, 2015

Editor's note: This is parts 1 and 2 of a series on the life of Bl. Junipero Serra. More articles will be posted leading up to his canonization in September 2015.

Petra de Mallorca

The Island of Mallorca in the Balearic Isles, an independent kingdom since 1229, had been united to the Spanish crown in 1479. Christianized as early as the first century after Jesus, Mallorcans customarily greeted one another with the words "Amar a Dios I," a salutation subsequently made famous in faraway Alta California. In the delightful climate of Mallorca, agriculture and stock raising flourished, delectable fruits were gathered, various kinds of fish were caught, orange, almond and olive trees abounded and grape vines grew in enormous quantities.

It was into this colorful and picturesque corner of the globe, at Petra de Mallorca, that Miquel Joseph Serra was born at one o'clock on the autumn morning of November 24, 1713. (The Mallorcan Serre becomes Serra in Catalan and Sierra in Spanish. With a few exceptions, Junípero preferred and customarily used the Catalan spelling)

Antonio and Margarita (Ferrer) Serra lived in a small stone home at No. 5 Calle Barracar, in the southeastern and oldest section of Petra. They were of common stock of the area, indus-trious farmers. Neither of Serra's parents had any formal schooling. It was at home and in the fields, beside his parents, that Junípero learned something of the secrets of nature and dignity of labor.

In Mallorca, the fulfillment of the Christian duty of presenting the child for baptism was as swift as it was devout. Young Serra was brought to the parish church of Saint Peter's and there christened by Father Bartolomé Llado as Miquel Joseph Serra. (The font where Serra was baptized was removed from the church in 1858 and, for many years thereafter, was used as an ornamental flower vase in the rectory garden. In modern times, it was restored to a special chapel, with a plaque indicating its connection with Serra. It has since been located in the sanctuary.)

Visitors to Saint Peter's generally ask to see the Registro de Bautismos opened to Number 85 and the four line entry for Miquel Joseph Serra. The parish priest eagerly points out the year 1713 as a special "blessing" for Mallorcans.

Returning to the Serra home, the god-parents handed the baby to his mother, with the words, "We return him to you a Christian." As soon as she was able, Margarita herself went to Saint Peter's for the "churching" of mother and child. And, if she followed another tradition of Petra, she took the first opportunity to ascend to the mountain-top shrine of Bon Any, there to dedicate the youngster to the Mother of God.

It was the practice in those times for infants to be presented for Confirmation on the occasion of the local bishop's next visitation to the parish. So it was that on May 20, 1715, Bishop Atanasio de Esterripa administered the sacrament to Miquel Joseph.

These were the humble beginnings of the man who one day would add a realm to the Church and a coastline to the Spanish empire.

Serra Joins the Franciscans

Franciscan influence was strong in Petra de Mallorca during the years when Miquel Joseph Serra was growing to manhood. The youngster attended the friar's primary school at San Bernardino, where he studied religion, Latin, mathematics, reading, writing and vocal music. Because of his gifted voice, Miquel was permitted to join in chanting the Divine Office on occasion.

It was a friendly as well as formal relationship that existed between the families living on Calle Barracar and the friars. And it was this association that first sparked Miquel's interest in the Franciscan way-of-life. California obtained Serra because there was a San Bernardino.

At fifteen, Miquel decided on the service of the Church for his career. In the fall of 1729, the young man was taken to Palma, the capital, and there entrusted to one of the cathedral's canons who supervised his religious and moral training. The name of Miquel Joseph Serra was enrolled as a student of philosophy in classes conducted by the Franciscans at the Convento de San Francisco. After a year of study, he formally requested admission to the Order.

On September 14, 1730, Miquel Joseph Serra was invested with the Franciscan habit in the Convento de Santa Maria de los Angeles de Jesus. For fifty-four years, Serra would joyfully wear the garb of Francis of Assisi.

During the ensuing months, Serra underwent his basic training as a Franciscan aspirant. Prayer, meditation, choral attendance, spiritual reading, silence, promptness and physical chores were punctuated only by the festivities of an occasional feastday. Serra spent what little spare time he had delving into books of asceticism and mysticism. And he took great delight reading the chronicles of the Order which portrayed histories of the Franciscan apostolate in the Spanish provinces and homeland.

It was this reading that stirred in Serra the desire of one day being a missionary. The Spanish age of conquest in the New World was indeed a challenge to the spiritually venturesome. And while his initial burst of enthusiasm for an active missionary life was submerged by obedience, it never died.

Serra himself chose the religious name of "Junípero." (The original Junípero was a companion to Francis of Assisi - the "Jester of God," a man of utter simplicity and celestial mirth.) When his novitiate was nearing completion, Serra cheerfully made the decision to bind himself irrevocably to God and the service of the Franciscan Order. And so, at the age of eighteen, on September 15, 1731, Miquel became Fray Junípero Serra.

From then on Serra was a Franciscan forever, known in ecclesial annals as Junípero. Each year, on April 16th, Serra renewed his vows, recapturing the jubilant feeling of that inspiring ceremony at the Convento de Jesus. Shortly afterwards, Serra moved to the Convento de San Francisco, close to the sea and the cathedral. There he had another six years of studying philosophy and theology in preparation for ordination to the priesthood.

To be continued.

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