The idea of Serra International was born in 1934 in Seattle, Washington. Four Catholic friends – Dan Rooney, Richard Ward, Harold Haberle and Leo Sharkey – recognised the need for an association that would advance the cause of Catholicism through lasting friendships among Catholics and continuing education in their Catholic Faith.
Soon, the four Catholics invited more friends to join them and within several months, they had added an additional focus – the encouraging of vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Thus the first Serra Club in Seattle was formed on 27 February 1935, with the encouragement of the Most Reverend Gerald Shaughnessy, the Bishop of the Diocese of Seattle.
The founders searched for a name for the new club and chose Padre Junipero Serra, the noted Spanish Franciscan missionary in the Western United States, as Patron. Father Serra is often referred to as the “Apostle of California”. He founded the “El Camino Real”, the celebrated missions of San Diego, San Carlos, San Antonio, San Gabriel, San Luis Obispo, San Francisco, San Juan Capistrano, Santa Clara and San Buenaventura.
During the first four years, new Serra Clubs were formed in Spokane, Portland, Tacoma and San Francisco. It was then apparent that there was a need for unified direction and coordination of their programmes. On 2 July 1938, the five clubs voted to form Serra International, adopting as their common goals the original aims of the founders of the first Serra Club.
In 1951, Serra International became aggregated to the Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education and the Pontifical Work for Priestly Vocations. In fact, the Holy See affirms Serra’s role as a worldwide lay organization committed to vocation ministry.
Today, there are more than 800 Serra Clubs in 37 countries with a total membership of more than 20,000. Serra Clubs are the basic units of Serra International as they are the primary presence of Serra International in the local community. Each Serra Club is a member of both a national council and Serra International.
There are Serra Clubs in USA, Canada, Mexico, Peru, England, Italy, Spain, Venezuela, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, Ghana, Nigeria and Switzerland. With the political changes in Eastern Europe, Serra Clubs were chartered in Hungary, Croatia, Romania and Slovenia.
In Asia, there are Serra Clubs in Hong Kong, the Philippines, Taiwan, Macau, Korea, Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh and India.
