Francis to declare late Serra saint

Pope Francis surprised Catholics worldwide Thursday when he disclosed that he plans to canonize Junipero Serra, the 18th-century Spanish Franciscan who founded nine missions in California and restored early places of Christian worship across the state and in Mexico.

“In September, God willing, I will canonize Junipero Serra in the United States,” the pope told journalists aboard his plane, as he flew from Sri Lanka to the Philippines, the final leg of his tour through Asia.

In comments carried by Catholic News Service, Francis said he would bypass the usual requirement for sainthood that a second miracle be verified.

“He was the evangelizer of the West in the United States,” the pontiff said of Serra’s life’s work to bring the faith to millions in the American West.

The pope made the announcement as an aside after telling journalists covering his Asia trip that he intended to seek sainthood for Joseph Vaz, a Portuguese missionary to Sri Lanka who predated Serra by a couple of decades.

Francis is scheduled to visit Philadelphia in September to attend a world gathering of Catholic families. He is expected to also make stops at the United Nations in New York and in Washington to meet President Barack Obama.

Los Angeles Times