‘Always forward, never back’: The canonization of Fray Junípero Serra

Franciscan Friar Junípero Serra, joined by a Native American companion, walked from San Diego to Mexico City for an unannounced visit with Viceroy Antonio Maria Bucareli y Ursúa in 1773. Another friar had told him of a soldier who had raped two native women. Father Serra, nearly 60, was so outraged he decided he was going to do something about it, according to archeologist Ruben Mendoza. ... Gregory Orfalea, author of “Journey to the Sun: Junípero Serra’s Dream and the Founding of California” and writer-in-residence at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, said Father Serra cannot be accused of genocide. more