About Serra

Serra Clubs
of Orange County California
District 127, Region 11

Words from the District Governor

The History of Serra

I have been asked by several Serrans to provide details of the background and history of Serra. For the next couple of months, I will utilize information from the Serra Web-page for most of that information.

Serra began during the fall and winter of 1934, in Seattle, Washington. After meeting informally, four Catholic laymen, Dan Rooney, Richard Ward, Harold Haberle and Leo Sharkey, recognized the need for an association that would advance the cause of Catholicism through lasting friendships among Catholics and continuing education in their Catholic faith. Inviting several of their friends to join with them, they formed the first Serra Club in Seattle on February 27, 1935, with the encouragement of the Most Reverend Gerald Shaughnessy, the Bishop of the Diocese of Seattle. John Janette, an early member of the Seattle club and later founder of the Serra Club of Chicago, proposed the work of fostering vocations to the priesthood. On June 12, 1935, the original purpose of the Seattle club was enlarged to include this work.

The founders searched for a name for the new club. John Bray, also a charter member of the Seattle club, proposed the name of "Serra" after Father Junipero Serra a Spanish Franciscan missionary in the Western United States. Father Serra is referred to as the "Apostle of California." The new Serra Club became a living memorial to the spirit of this humble missionary. During the first four years, new clubs were formed in Spokane, Portland, Tacoma, and San Francisco, under the leadership and direction of members of the Serra Club of Seattle. At this point it was apparent that there was need for unified direction and coordination of their programs. On July 2,1938, delegates from the five clubs voted to form Serra International, adopting as their common goals the original aims of the founders of the first Serra Club. T.V. Sheehan of Seattle was elected first president. Bishop Gerald Shaughnessy became first chaplain, serving until 1946.

In 1946, the Board of Trustees of Serra International along with Samuel Cardinal Stritch, then Archbishop of Chicago and newly invited Serra Episcopal Advisor, decided to open a central office in Chicago with full-time personnel to aid in the overall management of Serra International. This decision was ratified at the International Convention in Chicago in April 1947. An Executive Director was appointed by the Board of Trustees.

Serra grew extensively throughout the world during the 1950s. Clubs were formed in Canada, Mexico, Peru, England, and Italy. To support vocations work, the Serra International Foundation was established. On May 6, 1951, at the request of Cardinal Stritch, then Serra’s Episcopal Advisor, Serra International was aggregated to the Pontifical Work for Priestly Vocations because it had been closely identified with the promotion of vocations to the priesthood and religious from its beginnings in the 1930s.

During the 1960s, brisk worldwide expansion spread the word of Serra to Spain, Venezuela, Brazil, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Australia. As a testament to its vital role in the Catholic Church at the international level, Serra participated in the First International Vocation Congress in Rome in 1962. Serra’s continued success in the 1970s was reflected in the establishment of National Councils in Great Britain and Brazil and the admission of permanent deacons as members. In addition, Serra became a member organization of the National Catholic Vocations Conference.

In the 1980s, Serra formed National Councils in Spain, ltaly, Mexico, and the Philippines and expanded into Africa, New Zealand, Ghana, Nigeria, and Switzerland. Serra participated in the Second International Vocation Congress in 1981. At the 1986 International Convention in Milwaukee, WI, the Constitution and Bylaws were amended to admit women as members.

Serrans around the world have accepted the challenge to become the "Vocations Arm of the Church." With the political changes in Eastern Europe, Serra Clubs were chartered in Hungary, Croatia, Romania, and Slovenia. Today, there are more than 800 Serra Clubs in 37 countries with a total membership of more than 20,000 laymen, laywomen and permanent deacons. Serra International, with headquarters located in Chicago, links Serra Clubs around the world.

Don Morris