This robed statue caught my eye the other day when a representative was being interviewed. The arm of the statue was raised and holding something I could not identify. I decided to do some research and make this statue the next in my series “Statues: The People They Salute.”
There are several statues in the National Statuary Hall collection whose subjects are attired in a robe. The only robed one holding up an arm was holding a cross. The subject of this statue is Junipero Serra. It is one of the statues donated by California.
Junipero was born in 1713 at Petra on the island of Mallorca, Spain. His parents gave him the name Miguel Jose Serra. Miguel Jose would take the name Junipero when he entered the Order of St. Francis of Assisi at the age of sixteen. Junipero was the name of a beloved companion friar of St. Francis of Assisi.
Junipero Serra volunteered to become a missionary in the New World in 1750. Although only 37 years old, he was considered old by the standards of the day. He was also in poor health, but that did not stop him from walking hundreds of miles to spread his faith. His missionary work began in Mexico. At the age of 56 he went to California with explorer Gaspar de Portola.
The expedition had both religious and political motivations. Spain was concerned that foreign powers were trying to claim territory. Russian fur hunters were on the move east from Siberia and the English were pushing in from what is now Canada. By establishing missions they could take command both of spiritual matters and earthly affairs.
Father Serra established nine California missions, among them San Francisco and San Diego. He brought not only the Catholic religion, but the Spanish language to California. He introduced agriculture and irrigation systems, and encouraged the creation of a network of roads. He pressed for laws that would protect people from the abuses of Spanish soldiers. He was protective of the people in his missions and was often criticized by the governors for not cooperating with the civilian government.
Junipero Serra was frail and sickly for much of his life but lived until the age of 70. He died at the Mission San Carlos Borromeo, and is buried under the sanctuary floor. Pope Francis canonized Junipero Serra in 2015. Sainthood for Junipero did not come without controversy. While some were overjoyed at the declaration of sainthood for the Spanish missionary, others felt Junipero had been part of Spanish imperialism and was not worthy of sainthood.
Diana Erbio is a freelance writer and author of “Coming to America: A Girl Struggles to Find her Way in a New World”. Read more in her series Statues: The People They Salute visit The Table of Contents and the Facebook Page. (I’ll be adding to the Substack Table of Contents as I transfer the Blog Posts. Please subscribe to this Substack 😊🇺🇸🤓)
Interesting Friar!