Heritage

Juniper Serra's statue in Palma is vandalised

The statue is by the Sant Francesc Basilica.

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma22/06/2020 11:10

The statue of Fray Juniper Serra by the entrance of the Sant Francesc Basilica in Palma was daubed with paint in the early hours of Monday morning. The graffiti stated "Racist".

Over the weekend, activists in Majorca were calling for statues of the saint to be removed. The Partido Popular condemned these demands, while Sonia Vivas, the Podemos councillor for social justice at Palma town hall, said that she was in favour of the statue by the basilica being removed, but in a peaceful way.

The statue is the work of Basque sculptor Horacio de Eguia. It was commissioned to coincide with the 250th anniversary of Juniper Serra's birth in Petra in 1713. It shows the Franciscan friar with a child from the native population in California and is in recognition of his missionary work.