By: Regina Wright ~Staff Writer~ After arriving in the United States on Sept. 23, Pope Francis began his trip to America with a welcoming ceremony at the White House. In the afternoon, Pope Francis held the Mass of Canonization of Junípero Serra at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. Junípero Serra was a Spanish Franciscan friar who aided in colonizing California in the late 1700s and converted thousands of Native Americans to Catholicism. Junípero Serra is the first Hispanic saint and the first saint to be canonized in the U.S. On Thursday, Pope Francis … Continue reading Pope Francis visits U.S., speaks to Congress