Junipero Serra Statue (2003)

Statue of Franciscan Father Junípero Serra, founder of nine California missions, at Mission Santa Barbara. Father Serra is nearing the end of the arduous process by which the Catholic Church canonizes saints. The Pope beatified him in 1989. In 2000 a Church committee confirmed the third miracle attributed to him, the final prerequisite for canonization.

Behind the statue is a “bell” marker denoting El Camino Real, the colonial-era “royal road” along the coast that linked the California missions.

© 2003 by Ted R. Marcus
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