According to reports by the Daily Mail, however, Pope Francis defended Serra’s actions in his sermon during the canonization, stating that Serra was dedicated to “defend[ing] the indigenous peoples against abuses by the colonizers”.
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The canonization was polarizing, as Serra is revered by Catholics for his missionary work, and many Latinos in the USA view his canonization as a badly needed acknowledgment of Hispanics’ role in the American church.
“It’s exciting to see our namesake being designated a saint and we’re excited that a priest from a little over 300 years ago is getting this recognition”, Chuck Lynch said.
Debate over Serra has been so fierce in fact that California politicians considered removing a statue bearing his likeness earlier this year that has been in the U.S. Capitol’s National Statuary Hall since 1931, though Gov. Jerry Brown said that it will remain.
“Pope Francis recently apologized to Native peoples in South America for past inhumane treatment and colonization; yet our ancestors were suppressed, dominated and enslaved by Serra and considered collateral damage to the Church and State”, the petition noted.
Spare a thought for Pope Francis, who seemed to be struggling to keep his eyes open during his first official visit to the US.
“I like that he does things that are ‘non-Catholic, ‘ ” she said, making quote marks in the air with her fingers.
Serra was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1988, beginning his path toward sainthood.
Some controversy does surround the name Serra though.
Pope Francis Wednesday canonized an 18th-century Spanish friar whose sainthood had been stalled for decades, holding up his missionary spirit as a guide to keeping the heart from growing “numb”. To saint him is an endorsement of colonialism, they say. VIDEO: Support for canonization of Junipero Serra divided among Native AmericansA group of Native Americans remains opposed to the canonization.
Portraits of Father Junipero Serra, who built a series of missions along the Pacific coast in the latter 18th century.
Teddy McCullough, 22, is a member of the Coyote Valley Pomo Indian tribe in California who is living in Washington, D.C. He is also a recent convert to Catholicism, and he said he was disappointed in Serra’s elevation.
“The mission system that he brought with him created total destruction of who we were as a people and our culture”, Gould said.
But Father Lucas says, in California at least, Serra and the Spaniards were better than what followed.
“This is a significant event for our nation and the world”, she said.
I will be accompanied by my dad, so I ask that you pray for us, and know I will be praying for all of you when I visit the missions. “And at that time, his way of providing religious communities was by building the missions”.
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The pope closed his homily by lifting up Serra as “one of those witnesses who testified to the joy of the Gospel” in a hard land.
