Father Noel Francis Moholy, a Franciscan friar who worked for more than 40 years to persuade the Roman Catholic Church to make Father Junipero Serra a saint, died yesterday in Santa Barbara at the age of 82.
Father Moholy, who drove a car with personalized license plates that said "SERRA," devoted his life to the cause of the 18th century missionary known as the Apostle of California.
"There is nothing wrong with lobbying," he said in an interview in 1974. "Some people think the Pope wakes up in the morning and decides that someone should be a saint. It is not that way."
In 1988, the campaign bore fruit when Pope John Paul II beatified Serra -- the second of three steps to sainthood.
"The only thing better will be when we get the "old man" canonized a saint, and all we need is one more miracle," said Father Moholy, who seemed to regard miracles as mere administrative details in his campaign for Serra.
Six years ago, after decades of research, Father Moholy announced that he had found a medical miracle that could qualify Serra, the founder of the California missions, for sainthood. It involved a Southern California woman who said she was cured of scoliosis after praying to Serra. He sent the evidence off to Vatican City.
Over the years, Father Moholy led campaigns to mint Serra medals and erect a Serra statue in the state Capitol. In 1990, Father Moholy found an unusual method to obtain donations for the Serra cause -- he sold wooden and plastic containers containing tiny chips of Serra's bones for donations of $25 to $250.
A native of San Francisco, Father Moholy entered the Franciscan order in 1935 and was ordained as a priest in 1941.
He received a doctor of theology degree in 1947 at Laval University in Quebec and taught theology at the Santa Barbara Theological Seminary.
In the 1950s, he led the campaign to restore historic buildings at the Santa Barbara Mission.
Asked what the Catholic Church in California would be like without Serra, Father Moholy said, "Would there be a church? Would there be a United States as we know it? The whole course of history would have been different."
A funeral Mass will be celebrated Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. at the Santa Barbara Mission, followed by burial in the Friars' Vaults.
Father Moholy, who drove a car with personalized license plates that said "SERRA," devoted his life to the cause of the 18th century missionary known as the Apostle of California.
"There is nothing wrong with lobbying," he said in an interview in 1974. "Some people think the Pope wakes up in the morning and decides that someone should be a saint. It is not that way."
In 1988, the campaign bore fruit when Pope John Paul II beatified Serra -- the second of three steps to sainthood.
"The only thing better will be when we get the "old man" canonized a saint, and all we need is one more miracle," said Father Moholy, who seemed to regard miracles as mere administrative details in his campaign for Serra.
Six years ago, after decades of research, Father Moholy announced that he had found a medical miracle that could qualify Serra, the founder of the California missions, for sainthood. It involved a Southern California woman who said she was cured of scoliosis after praying to Serra. He sent the evidence off to Vatican City.
Over the years, Father Moholy led campaigns to mint Serra medals and erect a Serra statue in the state Capitol. In 1990, Father Moholy found an unusual method to obtain donations for the Serra cause -- he sold wooden and plastic containers containing tiny chips of Serra's bones for donations of $25 to $250.
A native of San Francisco, Father Moholy entered the Franciscan order in 1935 and was ordained as a priest in 1941.
He received a doctor of theology degree in 1947 at Laval University in Quebec and taught theology at the Santa Barbara Theological Seminary.
In the 1950s, he led the campaign to restore historic buildings at the Santa Barbara Mission.
Asked what the Catholic Church in California would be like without Serra, Father Moholy said, "Would there be a church? Would there be a United States as we know it? The whole course of history would have been different."
A funeral Mass will be celebrated Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. at the Santa Barbara Mission, followed by burial in the Friars' Vaults.
Father Noel Francis Moholy, a Franciscan friar who worked for more than 40 years to persuade the Roman Catholic Church to make Father Junipero Serra a saint, died yesterday in Santa Barbara at the age of 82.
Father Moholy, who drove a car with personalized license plates that said "SERRA," devoted his life to the cause of the 18th century missionary known as the Apostle of California.
"There is nothing wrong with lobbying," he said in an interview in 1974. "Some people think the Pope wakes up in the morning and decides that someone should be a saint. It is not that way."
In 1988, the campaign bore fruit when Pope John Paul II beatified Serra -- the second of three steps to sainthood.
"The only thing better will be when we get the "old man" canonized a saint, and all we need is one more miracle," said Father Moholy, who seemed to regard miracles as mere administrative details in his campaign for Serra.
Six years ago, after decades of research, Father Moholy announced that he had found a medical miracle that could qualify Serra, the founder of the California missions, for sainthood. It involved a Southern California woman who said she was cured of scoliosis after praying to Serra. He sent the evidence off to Vatican City.
Over the years, Father Moholy led campaigns to mint Serra medals and erect a Serra statue in the state Capitol. In 1990, Father Moholy found an unusual method to obtain donations for the Serra cause -- he sold wooden and plastic containers containing tiny chips of Serra's bones for donations of $25 to $250.
A native of San Francisco, Father Moholy entered the Franciscan order in 1935 and was ordained as a priest in 1941.
He received a doctor of theology degree in 1947 at Laval University in Quebec and taught theology at the Santa Barbara Theological Seminary.
In the 1950s, he led the campaign to restore historic buildings at the Santa Barbara Mission.
Asked what the Catholic Church in California would be like without Serra, Father Moholy said, "Would there be a church? Would there be a United States as we know it? The whole course of history would have been different."
A funeral Mass will be celebrated Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. at the Santa Barbara Mission, followed by burial in the Friars' Vaults.
Father Moholy, who drove a car with personalized license plates that said "SERRA," devoted his life to the cause of the 18th century missionary known as the Apostle of California.
"There is nothing wrong with lobbying," he said in an interview in 1974. "Some people think the Pope wakes up in the morning and decides that someone should be a saint. It is not that way."
In 1988, the campaign bore fruit when Pope John Paul II beatified Serra -- the second of three steps to sainthood.
"The only thing better will be when we get the "old man" canonized a saint, and all we need is one more miracle," said Father Moholy, who seemed to regard miracles as mere administrative details in his campaign for Serra.
Six years ago, after decades of research, Father Moholy announced that he had found a medical miracle that could qualify Serra, the founder of the California missions, for sainthood. It involved a Southern California woman who said she was cured of scoliosis after praying to Serra. He sent the evidence off to Vatican City.
Over the years, Father Moholy led campaigns to mint Serra medals and erect a Serra statue in the state Capitol. In 1990, Father Moholy found an unusual method to obtain donations for the Serra cause -- he sold wooden and plastic containers containing tiny chips of Serra's bones for donations of $25 to $250.
A native of San Francisco, Father Moholy entered the Franciscan order in 1935 and was ordained as a priest in 1941.
He received a doctor of theology degree in 1947 at Laval University in Quebec and taught theology at the Santa Barbara Theological Seminary.
In the 1950s, he led the campaign to restore historic buildings at the Santa Barbara Mission.
Asked what the Catholic Church in California would be like without Serra, Father Moholy said, "Would there be a church? Would there be a United States as we know it? The whole course of history would have been different."
A funeral Mass will be celebrated Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. at the Santa Barbara Mission, followed by burial in the Friars' Vaults.
Gravesite Details
See www.juniperoserra.us for more information on Frs. Moholy & Blessed Junipero Serra OFM
Family Members
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