44c Junipero Serra stamp

Spanish Franciscan priest Miguel Serra y Abram (1713-1784) was born in Petra, Majorca (i.e., Mallorca), a farming village. In 1730, at the age of 16, Miguel entered the Franciscan order and took the name Junípero, the name of Saint Francis’s close, extroverted friend. He founded nine missions in California (including San Diego and San Francisco) and was responsible for the baptism of over 6,000 Native Americans. Pope John Paul II beatified him in September of 1988. Serra is honored on a 44-cent airmail stamp issued August 22, 1985. Pope Francis canonized Junipero Serra on September 23, 2015, in Washington, DC.

Scott Catalogue USA: C116
mint

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Museum ID: 1986.0691.4921