Serra celebrated at school named in his honor

At a private San Juan Capistrano high school named for the Catholic Church’s latest saint, students on Wednesday celebrated the canonization of Junipero Serra during a celebration Mass.

More than 1,200 students filled the JSerra Catholic High School gymnasium to honor the 18th century priest who founded the first nine of 21 Spanish missions in California.

Bishop of Orange Kevin Vann celebrated the ceremony and reflected on his trip to the East Coast to experience Pope Francis’ first visit to the United States.

He told students, faculty and guests that when he traveled to Independence Mall in the historic area of Philadelphia, he had to stand in the sun and wait for the pope’s arrival.

As the crowd filled up, a couple from Orange County spotted him in the California diocese section and asked for him to pray for them. Their daughter had died a year ago.

“Through God’s providence, I was there to pray for them,” Vann said. “Something told me inside to be patient. I believe all of us, in our lives and whatever our call, there is a tendency to get so focused on the present moment. There are moments where we need someone to lift us out of the present moment, and it is a gift for you and I to pull ourselves out of the reality and focus on the greater reality God has for you and I.”

Students were allowed to bring their cellphones to school on Wednesday, take photos of themselves with cardboard cutouts of Serra and share them on social media under Vann’s Twitter account.

“Father Serra never looked back,” Vann said. “Today we celebrate the gift of the Holy Father.”

The school was founded in 2003 and named for Serra in honor of his founding the Catholic missions and devoting his to life to promoting faith and education, said Tim Busch, who co-founded the high school. The campus, on Junipero Serra Road, is a little more than a mile away from Mission San Juan Capistrano.

To pay further homage, the Mass showcased a piece of Serra’s bone, defined as a first-class relic because it came from the body of a saint. Serra’s cross and a chalice bearing an engraving of Serra sat on a side table next to the altar during the Mass.

A banner with the image of Serra that was hung outside the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington during the canonization ceremony was sent to the high school and hung from the ceiling.

The pope’s decree marked the first time in history that a Catholic saint has been canonized on U.S. soil. Serra was celebrated as a major influence in the history of California, having been a Franciscan friar who spread Catholicism to native peoples in the late 1700s. Serra is America’s first Latino saint.

In California, Serra has been criticized by native American activists for displacing indigenous people, and some have accused him of forcing people to convert to Catholicism.

Francis addressed the missionary’s legacy by portraying him as a protector, not an oppressor, of early Californians.

Serra “sought to defend the dignity of the native community, to protect it from those who had mistreated and abused it,” Pope Francis was quoted as saying in Spanish. “Mistreatment and wrongs that today still trouble us, especially because of the hurt they cause in the lives of many people”

At Wednesday’s Mass, Vann said “siempre adelante,” quoting Serra’s motto in Spanish. “Keep moving forward.”

“We know that we’re called to always go ahead and never look back, no matter how challenging it is. St. Junipero Serra shows us it is possible,” Vann said. “We always go forward in hope and joy for what God’s plans are for us.”