Pope Francis praises Junipero Serra as U.S. 'founding father'

Los Angeles Times ^ | 5-3-15 | Harriet Ryan

[afraidfortherepublic]

Pope Francis weighed in on a thorny topic in California history Saturday when he spoke at length at a Rome Mass about Father Junipero Serra, the controversial California mission founder set to become America's first Latino saint later this year.

Addressing an audience that included many American priests, including Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez, the pope referred to the 18th century Franciscan priest as “one of the founding fathers of the United States” and praised his willingness to abandon the comforts and privileges of his native Spain to spread the Christian message in the New World.

I wonder if today we are able to respond with the same generosity and courage to the call of God,” Francis said during a homily at Rome’s American seminary, the Pontifical North American College.

Francis will formally declare Serra a saint in September during the Washington, D.C., leg of his first visit to the United States. Although the Vatican has canonized Americans before, Serra will be the first saint canonized on U.S. soil.

In California, Serra has been criticized by native American activists for his role in a Spanish colonial system that mistreated and displaced indigenous people, and some have accused him of forcing people to convert to Catholicism. The state Senate voted last month to replace a statue of Serra in the U.S. Capitol with astronaut Sally Ride.

[Salvation]

Wow!

[xone]

Googled it

As did I. wiki is very contradictory with its 'facts' in this manner. I was hoping you had something else.

[GSWarrior]

The left can go back to hating the pope again.

[xone]

Well, he died in 84. How did he hear about the no shoes and manage to get money for shoes to Washington in the same winter? No telegraph, railroad, prevailing wind works against smoke signals. Spain was an enemy of England so it couldn’t have been delivered by ship.

Sounds like a nice story without basis in fact.

[BlueDragon]

Looks like baseless rumor and repetitious jibber-jabber, to me.

When you have something more solid, like some document from that era, then let us know.

Meanwhile, this should be dismissed as unsubstantiated rumor.

From one of those links, http://www.newmanconnection.com/faith/saint/blessed-junipero-serra-ofm;

His zeal frequently led him to extraordinary means in order to move the people to penance, he would pound his chest with a stone while at the pulpit, publicly scourge himself, or apply a lit torch to his bare chest – burning himself.

Sound like a whack-job.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Washington’s army had no shoes in ‘76. That is EIGHT years before Fr. Serra died in ‘84. Plenty of time to send a donation.

Do you think that these people were unaware of world events? They didn’t live in a vacuum. The clergy, in particular, were well informed with dispatches going back and forth all the time.

[xone]

Valley Forge was during the winter of 1777-78. How did the donation get to Washington? By ship? Bank transfer? As for hearing about it, no problem, but there is no way that Serra heard, raised the money, got it sent to Washington @ Valley Forge. No way. No Panama Canal no telegraph, nothing. A nice story, no facts.

[SoCal Pubbie]

A Founding Father of the United States has a very specific meaning. Serra doesn’t meet the qualifications, sorry. I’m not a Serra hater. I just call a spade a spade. I don’t call a club a spade however.

[Mrs. Don-o]

It's from the Letters of Captain Don Pedro Fages and the Reverend President Fr Junipero Serra at San Diego, California by Henry R. Wagner (LINK)

[bmwcyle]

AMEN

[bmwcyle]

AMEN

[xone]

Thank you. Of course it didn’t get there for Valley Forge, but he did send it. The wiki page needs a citation on this act, this looks like it would do.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Thank you, xone.