July 1 | Saint Junípero Serra

Welcome, young history buffs and curious minds, to My Daily Saint, the podcast that digs deep into the incredible lives of the saints, those remarkable people who shaped history and continue to inspire us today. Forget dusty old portraits and boring stories. Today, we're heading out to the wild frontier.

Imagine this. You've got a super comfortable, successful life. You're a brilliant, respected professor with a steady job in beautiful, sunny Spain. But instead of staying comfortable, you decide to leave all that money and prestige behind. You hop on a creaky wooden ship crossing a treacherous ocean, and then you walk thousands of miles across rugged, wild, unforgiving terrain. Oh, and you do all this with a severely infected, agonizing leg injury that never heals? For most of us today, a twisted ankle means lying on the couch for a week watching movies.

But for today's saint, a lifetime of agonizing leg pain didn't stop him from traveling thousands of miles on foot, founding major cities, and fearlessly standing up to heavily armed soldiers to defend the vulnerable. This is the story of the ultimate trailblazer and the legendary apostle of California, Saint Junipero Serra.

He was born Miguel José Serra in the year 1713 in the small town of Petra on the island of Mallorca, Spain. Miguel was a really smart kid and showed serious religious devotion from a young age. By the time he was 16, he entered the Franciscan order, and he chose a new name for himself, Junipero. He picked this name after a famous Super joyful companion of St. Francis of Assisi.

Junipero Serra was a total brainiac. He studied philosophy and theology and became a high-ranking professor at the University of Palma. People loved listening to him speak because his sermons were deep but also incredibly clear. Honestly, he had it made. But deep down, he felt a spark. He felt called to something much, much harder. Inspired by the fiery passion of Earlier Franciscan missionaries, Serra volunteered to head to the New World. So, in 1749, at the age of 35, an age when most people back then were completely settled down, he packed his bags and sailed for Mexico.

Almost as soon as he arrived in the Americas, disaster struck. He got an infected insect bite on his leg. Without modern medicine, this wound became chronic. It never fully healed, causing him intense, fiery pain for the rest of his entire life. But did Junipero call it quits, turn around and sail back to his comfy professor job in Spain? Not a chance. He absolutely refused to slow down.

Using just his two feet, a wooden walking staff, and pure willpower, he traveled thousands of miles across brutal terrain to preach Christianity to indigenous peoples and build up Catholic communities. After years of grueling work in central Mexico, he got a massive new assignment, head up to the far northern frontier of Spanish territory, an area known as Alta California.

Starting in 1769, Father Sarah led the charge to establish a massive chain of missions all along the Pacific coast. Under his leadership, nine of these mission foundations were built. These weren't just small churches. They were entire communities focused on agriculture, education, and religious instruction.

In fact, if you look at a map of California today, the mission network he started actually formed the beginnings of many modern California cities. But it wasn't just about building towns. Sarah had a deep, fierce commitment to the spiritual and physical welfare of the indigenous people he served. When military soldiers and colonial authorities tried to abuse the native communities, Sarah fought back and repeatedly defended them. He even traveled all the way down to Mexico City, an incredibly long and dangerous journey, just to argue for legal protection.

for the indigenous people. He wasn't afraid to stand up to the people in power. Despite his awful leg pain, constant travel, being sick, and having to manage all these giant missions, Sarah kept preaching and working well into his 70s. He baptized thousands of people and built a stable Catholic presence in the region. He finally passed away in 1784 at Mission San Carlos Borromeo in Carmel, California.

Because of his massive impact, his intellectual brilliance, and his extraordinary physical endurance, he was canonized as a saint only recently by Pope Francis on September 23, 2015. Today, he is the patron saint of vocations to church ministry and, fittingly, the patron saint of the California missions. In fact, a statue of St. Junipero Serra still stands today. In the rotunda of the United States Capitol Building, representing the state of California.

Sometime this week, you're going to face discomfort. It might be a really tough homework assignment, waking up early to help a sibling, or maybe you see someone getting picked on at school and you're scared to speak up. When you feel that urge to quit or stay silent because it's too hard, think of Saint Janiper of Sarah walking thousands of miles on a painful leg.

Push through the discomfort to do what is right. Stand up for someone who needs defending, just like he traveled to Mexico City to defend the vulnerable. Take one hard step today, and offer it up for a greater purpose. Thank you for joining us on My Daily Saint. We look forward to sharing another incredible story of faith and courage with you tomorrow.