Spanish Roman Catholic saints

Junipero_Serra

Saint Junípero Serra y Ferrer (; Spanish: [xuˈnipeɾo ˈsera]; Catalan: Juníper Serra i Ferrer; November 24, 1713 – August 28, 1784), popularly known simply as Junipero Serra, was a Spanish Catholic priest and missionary of the Franciscan Order. He is credited with establishing the Franciscan Missions in the Sierra Gorda, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. He founded a mission in Baja California and established eight of the 21 Spanish missions in California from San Diego to San Francisco, in what was then Spanish-occupied Alta California in the Province of Las Californias, New Spain.
Serra was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 25 September 1988 in Vatican City. Amid denunciations from Native American tribes who accused Serra of presiding over a brutal colonial subjugation, Pope Francis canonized Serra on 23 September 2015 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., during his first visit to the United States. Serra's missionary efforts earned him the title of "Apostle of California".Both before and after his canonization, Serra's reputation and missionary work during the Spanish occupation have been condemned by critics, who cite alleged mandatory conversions to Catholicism, followed by abuse of the Native American converts.

Rafael_Arnáiz_Barón

Rafael Arnáiz Barón, OCSO (9 April 1911 - 26 April 1938), also named María Rafael in religion, was a Spanish Trappist conventual oblate. He studied architecture in Madrid, but decided to cease his studies in favor of the religious life. This was often interrupted due to his struggle with type I diabetes and his being called for active service. But these never hindered his religious call and he did as best as he could to deal with his diabetes through his constant life of reflection and writing on spiritual subjects in his letters.He was beatified on 27 September 1992 by Pope John Paul II and was canonized a saint of the Catholic Church by Pope Benedict XVI on 11 October 2009.

Ezequiel_Moreno_y_Díaz

Ezequiél Moreno y Díaz, OAR was a Spanish Catholic friar in the Order of Augustinian Recollects and now venerated as a saint. He was born on April 9, 1848, in Alfaro, La Rioja, Spain and later served as a missionary to the Philippines. He also became the Bishop of Pinara and later of Pasto, in Colombia.
His nephew Julián Moreno is also venerated as a Blessed because of his martyrdom in Motril. Moreno is popularly invoked as the patron of cancer patients.

Maravillas_de_Jesús

María de las Maravillas de Jesús, OCD (born María de las Maravillas Pidal Chico de Guzmán; 4 November 1891 - 11 December 1974), in some contexts known as Maravillas de Jesús, was a Spanish Discalced Carmelite. She founded several houses of her order and even set one up in India after serving a brief exile with other Carmelites due to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War.Pope John Paul II canonized her during his apostolic visit in Madrid in 2003.