CHAPTER VII
JUNIPERO SERRA
THE oustanding figure of his time in California was Junipero Serra, President of the California Missions. Born November 24, 1713, in the village of Petra on the island of Majorca, one of the Balearic Isles, off the east coast of Spain, and baptized Miguel Jose, he took the name of Junipero upon entering the Franciscan Order. His selection of a name is an index to his nature. It was that of a lay brother, who was a disciple and associate of St. Francis at Assisi, and had become renowned for his devotion to the poor.
Father Serra early developed a deep religious fervor, and with the consent of his superiors, dedicated his life to missionary work. In 1749, at the age of thirty-six, with the spirit of a crusader highly developed, and with a considerable reputation for appealing eloquence, he went to New Spain. Twenty years later, at the age of
58
