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Podcasts Take Two
Should Junípero Serra be considered a saint?
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May 19, 2015
Listen • 10:10
Should Junípero Serra be considered a saint?
The Catholic Church wants to make Junípero Serra, the controversial Spanish Franciscan friar who was a driving force behind the California missions, a saint.
A statue at Old Mission Santa Barbara depicts Franciscan missionary Junípero Serra. On Thursday, January 15, 2014, Pope Francis announced that Serra would be canonized — making him the newest Catholic saint.
A statue at Old Mission Santa Barbara depicts Franciscan missionary Junípero Serra.
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Wally Gobetz/Flickr Creative Commons
)

The Catholic Church wants to make Junípero Serra, the controversial Spanish Franciscan friar who was a driving force behind the California missions, a saint.

The Catholic Church wants to make Junípero Serra, the controversial Spanish Franciscan friar who was a driving force behind the California missions, a saint.

Ruben Mendoza, a professor of archaeology at Cal State University Monterey Bay and Joely Proudfit, director of the California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center at California State University, San Marcos debate Serra's sainthood.