Who established the Alta California missions?
Father Junipero Serra, a priest in the Franciscan order, is considered to be the “father of California.” Serra was born on the island of Mallorca, Spain in 1713. He joined the Franciscan order in 1730, and taught philosophy at the university on his home island. He decided to give up this career in 1749 in order to convert the Indians of North America to Christianity. He worked for nine years among the Pame Indians at a mission north of Mexico City, and in 1768 was made president of the Baja California missions. Serra was a small man (5 feet 2 inches) who walked thousands of miles during his lifetime. When in residence at the Carmel, California mission, he lived in a small cell furnished only with a cot of boards, a single blanket, a table and chair, a chest, a candlestick and a gourd. The Franciscans are an order with a vow of poverty, and Serra certainly lived up to this vow. Serra was an intense man who loved the natural beauties of the world, a sweet man who instilled devotion in hi
