Pope Francis weighed in on a thorny topic in California history Saturday when he spoke at length at a Rome Mass about Father Junipero Serra, the controversial California mission founder set to become America's first Latino saint later this year.
Addressing an audience that included many American priests, including Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez, the pope referred to the 18th century Franciscan priest as â??one of the founding fathers of the United Statesâ? and praised his willingness to abandon the comforts and privileges of his native Spain to spread the Christian message in the New World.
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