Damián Massanet
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Damián Massanet was a Spanish Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....

 priest who co-founded the College of Santa Cruz de Querétaro
College of Santa Cruz de Querétaro
The College of Santa Cruz de Querétaro was the first missionary college, or seminary , in the New World to train missionaries. One of its founders was Father Damián Massanet. The college, founded in the latter 1600s, was located in Spanish colonial Viceroyalty of New Spain, in present day...

, the first missionary college in New Spain
New Spain
New Spain, formally called the Viceroyalty of New Spain , was a viceroyalty of the Spanish colonial empire, comprising primarily territories in what was known then as 'América Septentrional' or North America. Its capital was Mexico City, formerly Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Empire...

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Not much is known of Massanet's early life, but he is believed to have been born in Majorca. After traveling to New Spain, Massanet was one of the Franciscan priests who founded the College of Santa Cruz in what is present day Querétaro, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, in 1683. He would later establish Mission San Bernardino de la Caldera near the Coahuila
Coahuila
Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico...

Nuevo León
Nuevo León
Nuevo León It is located in Northeastern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Tamaulipas to the north and east, San Luis Potosí to the south, and Coahuila to the west. To the north, Nuevo León has a 15 kilometer stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border adjacent to the U.S...

 border.
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In April 1689, Massanet accompanied Alonso De León
Alonso De León
Alonso de León wasexplorer and governor, who led several expeditions into the area that is now northeastern Mexico and southern Texas.-Early life:...

, the governor of Coahuila, on his fourth and final expedition in search of Fort St. Louis, which had been abandoned by the French by that time. The following year, after having been named comisario for the planned East Texas missions, he assisted in the creation of Mission San Francisco de los Tejas. Later that year saw the establishment of Mission Santísimo Nombre de María, also near the Neches River
Neches River
The Neches River flows for through east Texas to its mouth on Sabine Lake near the Rainbow Bridge. Two major reservoirs, Lake Palestine and B. A. Steinhagen Reservoir are located on the Neches. Several cities are located along the Neches River Basin, including Evadale, Tyler, Lufkin, Silsbee,...

. Massanet would soon leave East Texas
East Texas
East Texas is a distinct geographic and ecological area in the U.S. state of Texas.According to the Handbook of Texas, the East Texas area "may be separated from the rest of Texas roughly by a line extending from the Red River in north central Lamar County southwestward to east central Limestone...

 due to a disagreement with De León over the size of the military contingent at San Francisco de los Tejas. He would return to the region in 1691, but would continue to challenge authority; one such incident involved his unwillingness to provide horses to Domingo Terán de los Ríos
Domingo Terán de los Ríos
Domingo Terán de los Ríos served as the first governor of Spanish Texas from 1691 to 1692.-Previous service:Terán served the Spanish crown in Peru for two decades. He came to Mexico in 1681, and was governor of the province of Sonora y Sinaloa for approximately five years...

, the first governor of Spanish Texas
Spanish Texas
Spanish Texas was one of the interior provinces of New Spain from 1690 until 1821. Although Spain claimed ownership of the territory, which comprised part of modern-day Texas, including the land north of the Medina and Nueces Rivers, the Spanish did not attempt to colonize the area until after...

, for his return voyage to Mexico.

In October 1693, after problems such as crop failure, floods, supply shortages, and hostilities with the Nabedache
Nabedache
The Nabedache were a Native American tribe from eastern Texas. Their name, Nabáydácu, means "blackberry place" in the Caddo language. An alternate theory says their original name was Wawadishe from the Caddo word, witish, meaning "salt."...

, who blamed the Europeans for bringing epidemics such as smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...

 to the region, Massanet and the remaining priests chose to bury San Francisco de los Tejas's cannon and bells, and burned and abandoned the site. The party would reach Monclova
Monclova
On the other hand, temperatures during late spring and summer can have bouts of extreme heat, with evenings above 40°C for many consecutive days. In recent decades the hottest records have climbed as high as 43°C on July 13, 2005 and 45°C on May 4, 1984. However nighttime low temperatures are...

in February 1694, at which point Massanet was asked by the viceroy to propose new sites for missions in Coahuila. He declined, noting that, without proper support, such efforts would be a failure similar to that seen at San Francisco de los Tejas.

Massanet would later return to Querétaro, and it is surmised that he spent the remainder of his life there.
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