Junipero Serra quotes

Junipero Serra was a Spanish Franciscan missionary and Catholic priest, remembered for founding the first nine missions in California. His missionary work significantly influenced the spread of Christianity and European culture along the Pacific coast of North America. He is both celebrated and criticized for his role in the cultural transformation and treatment of Indigenous peoples. Here are 9 of his quotes:

Thank God I arrived the day before yesterday, the first of the month, at this port of San Diego, truly a fine one, and not without reason called famous.

Junipero Serra

We have seen Indians in immense numbers, and all those on this coast of the Pacific contrive to make a good subsistence on various seeds, and by fishing.

Junipero Serra

We found on our journey, as well as in the place where we stopped, that they treated us with as much confidence and good-will as if they had known us all their lives.

Junipero Serra

Here I found those who had set out before me, both by sea and land, except those who have died.

Junipero Serra

As, however, the port in reality lies in thirty-two degrees thirty-four minutes, according to the observations that have been made, they went much beyond it, thus making the voyage much longer than was necessary.

Junipero Serra

The people got daily worse from the cold and the bad water, and they must all have perished if they had not discovered the port about the time they did.

Junipero Serra

We found vines of a large size, and in some cases quite loaded with grapes; we also found an abundance of roses, which appeared to be like those of Castile.

Junipero Serra

The tract through which we passed is generally very good land, with plenty of water; and there, as well as here, the country is neither rocky nor overrun with brush-wood.

Junipero Serra