Skip to main content
Tags: junipero serra | saintly | native americans | okd | saint

Junipero Serra, Not So Saintly to Native Americans, OK'd as Saint

Junipero Serra, Not So Saintly to Native Americans, OK'd as Saint
(wikimedia/commons)

By    |   Thursday, 07 May 2015 07:14 AM EDT

Junipero Serra, hailed by the Catholic Church as a great evangelizer but accused by many Native Americans of forced conversions and enslaving converts, has been given thumbs up  by the Vatican's saint-making office.

The approval to be declared a saint comes four months after Pope Francis announced he would canonize the controversial 18th-century missionary during his upcoming visit to the United States, reported The Associated Press.

Serra has been blamed for helping wipe out indigenous populations after establishing missions across California as part of the European colonization machine in the Americas.

The out-of-order process that Serra's sainthood case has taken indicates that Francis personally willed the canonization and that the normal vetting process by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, which ended with the Vatican announcement Wednesday, was something of a formality.

© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.


TheWire
Junipero Serra, hailed by the Catholic Church as a great evangelizer but accused by many Native Americans of forced conversions and enslaving converts, has been given thumbs up by the Vatican's saint-making office.
junipero serra, saintly, native americans, okd, saint
133
2015-14-07
Thursday, 07 May 2015 07:14 AM
Newsmax Media, Inc.

Sign up for Newsmax’s Daily Newsletter

Receive breaking news and original analysis - sent right to your inbox.

(Optional for Local News)
Privacy: We never share your email address.
Join the Newsmax Community
Read and Post Comments
Please review Community Guidelines before posting a comment.
 
TOP

Interest-Based Advertising | Do not sell or share my personal information

Newsmax, Moneynews, Newsmax Health, and Independent. American. are registered trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc. Newsmax TV, and Newsmax World are trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc.

NEWSMAX.COM
America's News Page
© Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Download the Newsmax App
NEWSMAX.COM
America's News Page
© Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved