Location: Carmel Mission Basilica
In 1943, St. Junípero Serra’s remains were exhumed for archaeological and canonical purposes. Unearthed from a redwood coffin, the remains were identified and then placed in a new copper coffin, which was then sealed with canonical markings and reinterred in the original grave. Remnants of the coffin were set aside for safekeeping and were eventually placed in the reliquary.
Left: The completed reliquary, with fragments of the wooden coffin inside.
Serra’s body has been exhumed on five occasions: 1856, twice in 1882, 1943, and 1987. The final two exhumations were part of the process of elevating him to sainthood.
Right: A photo of the interior of the church during the 1856 exhumation of St. Junípero Serra and the other priests who lay buried beside him.
Crafted in 1984 by former curator Richard Menn and Mission custodian Huu Van Nguyen, the Serra Reliquary is a beautiful, gilded wood and glass case. Inside rests a bundle of the redwood coffin fragments upon an episcopal kneeling pillow that once belonged to Archbishop Jose Sadoc Alemany of the Monterey diocese (1850-1853). Crowning the reliquary is a crest painted in the colors of Majorca’s flag, the Spanish island where Serra’ was born.
Left: The bundle of wooden fragments from St. Junípero Serra’ original coffin that now sit inside the reliquary.
