Pope Francis announced this month he plans to canonize and elevate to sainthood Father Junipero Serra, the 18th-century Spanish Franciscan priest who famously founded nine of the California missions.

WASHINGTON (KABC) -- Pope Francis is getting a lot of attention in the United States for many reasons. When it comes to California, it's because of the canonization of Father Junipero Serra, which ...

Pope Francis canonized the first saint in North America -- Junipero Serra -- on Wednesday afternoon at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., before a ...

To Pope Francis, the 18th-century priest Junipero Serra was one of the United States’ founding fathers, a missionary who brought the Gospel to the New World. To Valentin Lopez, the chairman of the ...

Pope Francis will canonize Spanish missionary Junipero Serra during his visit to the U.S. later this year, the Vatican says, affirming a plan that has drawn criticism over Serra's role in the ...

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican’s saint-making office has officially given its thumbs up for the Rev. Junipero Serra to be declared a saint — four months after Pope Francis announced he would canonize ...

Pope Francis entered the Basicala grounds to the roar of 25 thousand faithful, eager to share a mass with the Pope that would include the canonization of a new saint. 3000 Californians ventured east ...

WASHINGTON -- An 18th-century missionary who brought Catholicism to the American West Coast was elevated to sainthood Wednesday by Pope Francis in the first canonization on U.S. soil. Francis ...