Serra, a Franciscan priest, led the founding of the second California mission at Monterey in 1770. A year later he relocated it to the Carmel River, where Carmel Mission served as his headquarters as father-president of the missions until his death in 1784.
He was buried at his request in the sanctuary, and a bronze and marble sarcophagus by sculptor Jo Mora, finished in 1924, depicts his life, though his remains were never moved into it.
Serra remains a contested figure. Many Native people died of disease, overwork and malnutrition at the missions, and in 2015, after his canonization, the mission was vandalized. Anyone reading about him should consult both mission sources and the accounts of Native communities.