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Born in 1713 on the island of Majorca off the east coast of Spain, Miguel José Serra was ordained a Franciscan priest in 1737, taking the name Fr. Junipero Serra. At age 37, he landed in Mexico City, beginning the missionary work that would consume the rest of his life. Read on for more about the history of Fr. Serra's missionary work, and the development of the mission bells.
In this final segment, 10-year FOCUS veteran and "newly-minted" Serra Club member, JohnMarc Skoch, talks about the mission similarities between the two organizations and the appreciation of Serra as a sequel to FOCUS. As a FOCUS Regional Director, JohnMarc leads FOCUS Missionary teams on five Kansas college and university campuses.
The second in a 3-part series about FOCUS and Serra, and the common mission elements of both organizations. In this segment, read about a life-changing encounter between brothers (now both Serra club members) in which an older brother (FOCUS missionary) challenged his younger brother (the author of this segment) in his faith life. The essay presented here won the author a scholarship back in 2017 to help defray expenses during his final year at KU.
Not long ago, I had the chance to have breakfast with two individuals, among thousands, whose lives are forever changed because of FOCUS. During that conversation, one of the men looked at me and said, "Every FOCUS alum ought to be a Serra Club member!" This triggered the development of this first of a four-part series on the spiritual connection between FOCUS and SERRA.