Mission San Juan Capistrano, one of nine California missions founded by Fr. Junipero Serra, is located just over a mile from JSerra High School.
That means JSerra is the only Catholic high school in Orange County and beyond where the saint the school was named after actually walked near the soil on which its campus sits today.
“We are down the street from one of the missions that he probably prayed at just as he was fulfilling his call to go out and bring the Gospel to all nations,” said Pat Reidy, JSerra’s vice president of mission and faith. “He probably prayed for all those who would come after him, and so we really feel we’ve been called to JSerra to build on the shoulder of this giant.”
JSerra celebrates its 20th anniversary this year and school officials marked the milestone with a week of festivities, culminating with a “Patrons Day Mass and Bash” on Saturday Sept. 23.