Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Students tour San Gabriel Mission in early May in San Gabriel, Calif. The fourth-grade California history curriculum looks at the social, political, cultural and economic life of the mission period. (CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec)

California Catholic leaders plan to revamp church curriculum and museum programs on the California mission system to present more accurately the history, the perspective of California Indians and the missions’ impact on Indian life. The initiative is part of a larger program of the California bishops and Franciscan leaders preparing for the canonization of Blessed Junípero Serra, a Spanish Franciscan missionary who founded the California mission system. Pope Francis is scheduled to canonize him in Washington on Sept. 23. Many Native Americans and organizations have criticized the upcoming canonization, saying that Blessed Serra was part of a system that destroyed Indian life. “The Indian experience has been ignored or denied, replaced by an incomplete version of history focused more on European colonists than on the original Californians,” said the president of the California Catholic Conference, Bishop Jaime Soto of Sacramento, in a statement on Sept. 4 about the curriculum and cultural review.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

In this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell walk us through the pontiff’s recovery, including “slight improvements” in his speech.
Inside the VaticanApril 03, 2025
A Reflection for Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent, by Ashley McKinless
Ashley McKinlessApril 02, 2025
A Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Father Terrance Klein
Terrance KleinApril 02, 2025
During his long and fruitful pontificate, St. John Paul II embraced the entire world, which stands yet again in need of his blessing, Cardinal Pietro Parolin said.