Biography of father junipero serra death

Amid denunciations from Native American tribes who accused Serra of presiding over a brutal colonial subjugation, [ 9 ] [ 10 ] [ 11 ] Pope Francis canonized Serra on 23 September at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D. Both before and after his canonization, Serra's reputation and missionary work during the Spanish occupation have been condemned by critics, who cite alleged mandatory conversions to Catholicism, followed by abuse of the Native American converts.

By age seven, Miquel was working the fields with his parents, helping cultivate wheat and beans, and tending the cattle. But he showed a special interest in visiting the local Franciscan friary at the church of San Bernardino within a block of the Serra family house. Attending the friars ' primary school at the church, Miquel learned reading, writing, mathematics, Latin, religion and liturgical song , especially Gregorian chant.

Gifted with a good voice, he eagerly took to vocal music.

Junípero serra childhood

The friars sometimes let him join the community choir and sing at special church feasts. Miquel and his father Antonio often visited the friary for friendly chats with the Franciscans. At age 16, Miquel's parents enrolled him in a Franciscan school in the capital city, Palma de Majorca , where he studied philosophy. A year later, he became a novice in the Franciscan order.

On September 14, , some two months before his 17th birthday, Serra entered the Franciscan Order at Palma, [ 22 ] [ 23 ] specifically, the Alcantarine branch of the Friars Minor, a reform movement in the order.