As one of America's most important missionaries, Junípero Serra is widely recognized as the founding father of California's missions. It was for that work that he was canonized in 2015 by Pope Francis. Less well known, however, is the degree to which Junípero Serra embodied the social, religious and artistic currents that shaped Spain and Mexico across the 18th century. Further, Serra's reception in American culture in the 19th and 20th centuries has often been obscured by the controversies surrounding his treatment of California's Indians. This volume situates Serra in the larger Spanish and Mexican contexts within which he lived, learned, and came of age. Offering a rare glimpse into Serra's life, these essays capture the full complexity of cultural trends and developments that paved the way for this powerful missionary to become not only California's most polarizing historical figure but also North America's first Spanish colonial saint.

PART ONE. MALLORCA: FROM STUDENT TO PROFESSOR Junípero Serra's Mallorcan Origins Josep Juan Vidal Father Junípero Serra's Education and Ideology Antoni Picazo Muntaner Eiusque Manu Scriptus: Junípero Serra's Mallorcan Class Notes John Dagenais PART TWO. MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA: SERRA AS MISSIONARY Junípero Serra's Mission Muse: Sor María de Jesús de Ágreda and Her Writings Anna M. Nogar Inside the Cloister: Exploring the Life of Fray Junípero Serra in the College of San Fernando David Rex Galindo Serra among the Faithful: The Popular Mission Karen Melvin Within the Confessional: Franciscan Utopias and Daily Practices in Mission San Carlos José Refugio de la Torre Curiel Junípero Serra's Approach to the Native Peoples of the Californias Rose Marie Beebe and Robert M. Senkewicz PART THREE. ART AND ARCHITECTURE: THE AESCTHETIC EYE OF SERRA Junípero Serra's Tastes and the Art and Architecture of the California Missions Clara Bargellini and Pamela Huckins Between Worlds: Junípero Serra and the Paintings of José de Páez Cynthia Neri Lewis PART FOUR. JUNÍPERO SERRA: INVENTION AND CONSUMPTION The Invention of Junípero Serra and the "Spanish Craze" Richard L. Kagan The Public Consumption of Junípero Serra Michael K. Komanecky