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Aztec Memories and the Florentine Codex: Interview with Ezekiel Stear (Part 1)

By Damian Bacich

The story of the Spanish missions in California has its roots in 16th century Mexico. There, Franciscan friars and their native partners sought to record the memories of Aztec elders before their culture was changed forever. The information they collected is contained in the Florentine Codex. Ezekiel Stear Dr. Ezekiel Stear is Assistant Professor of […]

Filed Under: Catholicism, Franciscans, Hispanic Heritage, Native Americans, Podcast Episodes, Spanish Missions Tagged With: Auburn University, Aztecs, Florentine Codex

Junípero Serra’s Mallorca: Where it All Began

By Damian Bacich

Filed Under: Catholicism, Franciscans, Junipero Serra Tagged With: Junipero Serra, Mallorca, Petra

California Mission Founders: Names, Dates and Bios

By Damian Bacich

California Mission Founders

People often ask who founded the Spanish missions in California. And while Fr. Junípero Serra and Fr. Fermín Francisco de Lasuén are rightly credited as the main mission founders, several other missionaries were involved in establishing missions in California.

Filed Under: Catholicism, Franciscans, Spanish Missions Tagged With: Estevan Tapis, Fermín Francisco de Lasuén, José Altimira, Junipero Serra, Luis Gil y Taboada, mission founders, Narciso Durán, Pedro Benito Cambón, Vicente Francisco de Sarría

A Trip to San Juan Bautista on the Winter Solstice (Video)

By Damian Bacich

Solstice San Juan Bautista

https://youtu.be/P6vj46xdq8Y&rel=0 The winter solstice illuminations are a fascinating and little-known aspect of the California missions. This is the story of my trip to witness this phenomenon.

Filed Under: Catholicism, Field Trips, Franciscans, Spanish Missions, Video Tagged With: Mission San Juan Bautista, Solar Illumination, Winter Solstice

The Five Reasons Pope Francis Canonized Junípero Serra

By Damian Bacich

Pope Francis Junipero Serra

Note: this is an updated version of an earlier post written at the time of Serra’s canonization. Catholics and non-Catholics alike seem to be interested in whether Junipero Serra should be declared a saint. In the previous post I gave an outline of the long process that Junipero Serra  — or any other would-be saint — must undergo […]

Filed Under: Catholicism, Junipero Serra, Sainthood

The Seven Steps to Sainthood for Junipero Serra

By Damian Bacich

When Pope Francis announced that he was going to declare sainthood for Junipero Serra during a flight to Manila in January 2015, some people took it as an impromptu decision. And while the announcement might have been made on the spur of the moment, the process that led to it was anything but. When the Catholic Church declares […]

Filed Under: Catholicism, Franciscans, Junipero Serra Tagged With: Junipero Serra

I’m Dr. Damian Bacich, and I started the California Frontier Project. Learn more about me and the project here.

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