Today, the church celebrates The Feast of Saint Junipero Serra. A Franciscan priest from Maiorca, Spain, Junipero worked tirelessly to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ by establishing nine of the California Missions. Pope John Paul II described him as “an exemplary model of the selfless evangelizer.” When he was canonized by Pope Francis in 2015, he was held as the inspiration for Serra International, an organization that encourages vocations to the priesthood.