Denver Newsroom, Jun 28, 2020 / 13:01 pm
A Catholic teacher who finished a pilgrimage to the Spanish Missions in California this week has emphasized his devotion to the first missions' founder, St. Junipero Serra, and their influence on him as an educator.
Over the last two years, with a total of 45 days of walking, theology teacher Christian Clifford has trekked the California El Camino Real trail connecting all 21 missions. He finished the 781-mile pilgrimage June 22.
He told CNA that it has been an opportunity to walk in the shoes of the 18th-century friars, such as Serra, and to grow in virtues relevant to his experience as a teacher.
"I started visiting the missions and I really fell in love with them. I immerse[d] myself in learning more about it in the process. I [began] a real deep relationship with Junipero Serra," he said.