San Gabriel Mission, San Gabriel, CA - Philatelic Photographs on Waymarking.com

Junipero Serra was born on the Island of Majorca in 1713. Before the age of seventeen, he had joined the Franciscan Order and studied to become a priest and teacher of philosophy. Ever desirous to become a missionary in the furthest reaches of the Spanish Empire, he sailed to Mexico in 1749 where he became inextricably associated with the establishment of the Spanish missions of California.

He began his missionary career teaching and performing other priestly duties in Mexico City but was soon appointed president of the missions in Baja California. Eventually, as part of the Portolá expedition into Alta California, Serra established several missions which became the first permanent settlements by Europeans in what is now the state of California. The first of these California missions was established at San Diego in 1769. The next year, Serra founded Mission San Carlos Borromeo in Monterrey (Carmel Mission). In all, 21 Spanish missions were established in California, with Junipero Serra having established the first nine.

Seen in the background of this stamp is a detail from Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, the fourth mission founded by Junipero Serra in Alta California. This mission was located near the spot where the City of Los Angeles would soon be established. It was the most affluent of all the early missions and the best preserved. Interestingly, the six-bell campanile seen on the stamp was not part of the original structure. It was added in the early nineteenth century after an 1812 earthquake destroyed the original free-standing bell tower.

This was not the first US stamp to show a California mission. In 1969, the United States issued a stamp commemorating the “Settlement of California.” This is a reference to the establishment of the Mission and Presidio at San Diego in 1769. The stamp, however, shows a detail from the Carmel Mission which was founded in 1770. The Portolá expedition was also portrayed on a US postage stamp: “The Discovery of San Francisco Bay,” part of the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition issue.

Stamp Issuing Country: United States Date of Issue: 22-Aug-1985 Denomination: 44c Color: multicolored Stamp Type: Single Stamp Relevant Web Site: [Web Link]

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