Exemplar Of Sacrifice

The biography of Blessed Jumpero Serra, the inspiration and patron of Serra International, a voluntary global association of Catholic lay men and women and permanent deacons, provides the fulcrum for the motivational and thought-provoking book: Blessed Jumpero Serra: The Apostle of California.

Written by Olusegun Joseph Anjorin, the well-researched book amply demonstrates the tested path and fruits of a life of selflessness, altruism and religious commitment. Described as a man to whom religion was everything and whose actions were based on a philosophy that life is a brief probation, trembling between eternal perdition on one side and salvation on the other side, Jumpero Serra lived a life that not only impacted on the spiritual well-being of a generation and generations thereafter, but also had positive political, economic and educational impacts on followers. To underline the gravity with which he administered his duties, Serra was further said to be “habitually serious and rarely laughs to the extent that no joke or jovial mood was recorded of him. Laughter was inconsistent with the terrible responsibilities of his probationary existence”.

A renowned priest, teacher, missionary and politician, Serra was born to Antonio Nadal Serra and Margarita Rosa Ferrer on 24 November 1713 at Petra village on the island of Majorca, off the coast of Spain, and educated at some of the leading Catholic institutions, including the Pontifical, Imperial, Royal and Literary University of Mallorca.

Despite his success as a pulpit orator and professor, Serra hungered for missionary service. And when he was about 36 years old, he made a successful application and on Sunday 13 April, 1749, he sailed with his bosom friend, Father Paloy to Mexico enroute to California. Braving every discouragement and hurdle on the way of his noble journey, including an anti-clerical knife-attack while at sea, Father Serra trekked thousand of miles preaching at retreats and administering the sacraments for most of his life of devotion till he died at Carnal on 28 August, 1784.