Pope Francis canonizes, and defends, controversial Spanish missionary

c. 2015 Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS) Pope Francis canonized a controversial 18th-century Spanish missionary on Wednesday—but he made scant mention of the new saint, Junipero Serra, whom he has defended for protecting Native Americans.

Nor did he refer to the fact that the mass—in Spanish—was also a celebration by the first Latin American pope in history of the booming Latino presence in the U.S. church.