Caltrans Removes I-280 Junipero Serra Statue In Hillsborough, and Boy Is SF’s Nutty Archbishop Mad

The article was originally published on https://sfist.com/2025/10/08/caltrans-removes-i-280-junipero-serra-statue-in-hillsborough-and-boy-is-sfs-nutty-archbishop-mad/The statue of Junipero Serra along I-280 was removed by Caltrans two months ago, and nobody really noticed. Now its removal is suddenly a big controversy, with SF Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone calling it anti-Catholic persecution. Back during SF’s post-George Floyd statue tear-down spree of 2020, activists ripped down a statue of 18th century Franciscan missionary Junipero Serra. It was not replaced, as Father Junipero Serra’s legacy of late-1700s of cruelty toward Indigenous peoples in establishing California’s missions was forcing many cities to rethink whether they wanted those statues of him or monuments to him that were