Fray Junipero Serra: This Most Unworthy Priest. By Mark Burnable. Carmel, Cal.: Dobronte Publications, 1984. Map. Illustrations. 78
Pages. $6.50 Paperback.
In this year of Bicentennial celebrations, many new items
have come out on Junipero Serra. One such is Mark Brunelle's Fray Junipero
Serra, an account of the priest in California. The book is totally
undocumented and includes invented scenes and conversations to such an extent
that it has to be called a fictionalized account of Serra in California. It is
worshipful to a fault: Serra is "the little priest who had the heart of a
giant," and "with his arms outstretched in prayer," Serra "looked like a cross."
It is obvious that the author would consider sainthood an insufficient
recognition of Sierra's worth. The book is short and very readable and will
probably sell well in the bookshops of the museums and missions of California.
