Who was Junipero Serra?
Miguel Jose Serra was born in the village of Petra on the island of Majorca (Spain) on 24th November 1713 to farmers Antonio and Margarita Serra. His sister, Juanita, was born three years later. There were three other children who died while they were young. Majorca had only one bishop who lived in the capital, Palma. Whenever the bishop was on visitation to a Parish, people took the opportunity of having their children confirmed. Taking advantage of one such visitation, Serra’s parents had Miguel confirmed before his second birthday. The first years of the young Serra’s life were spent in the countryside working with his parents on the family farm. By his seventh birthday, Miguel was becoming knowledgeable about farming, produce and livestock. This knowledge was invaluable years later in his missionary work. Although Miguel’s parents were illiterate, they wished him to have an education and took him to the school of the Franciscan Friary which was only a few minutes’ walk from their h
