Saint Junipero Serra coloring page: July 1st

Miguel Jose Serra became Junipero Serra when he entered the Franciscan order in the 18th century. After teaching for a while at a university, Father Serra became a missionary. He traveled to North America and spent the rest of his life there working for the conversion of the people there. He converted thousands of Indians and established twenty-one missions in what is today known as California. After Father Serra’s death, his heart was stolen from his body by Indians who wanted to make the priest pay for his evangelizing. The Indians believed that this caused a person to be restless in the afterlife and so, stole the hearts of many priests and kept them in jars. Some of these can still be seen in museums and missions along the West Coast. Father Serra was beatified by Pope John Paul II and canonized by Pope Francis in the U.S. on September 23, 2015.

Click on the image below to print the coloring page.