Spanish missions in Arizona
Encyclopedia
Beginning in 1493, the Kingdom of Spain
maintained a number of missions throughout Nueva España (New Spain
, consisting of Mexico
and portions of what today are the Southwestern
United States
) in order to facilitate colonization of these lands.
, or "Upper Pima Country," which presently is located in the areas between the Mexican
state of Sonora
and the state of Arizona
in the United States
. During Father Eusebio Kino's stay in the Pimería Alta
, he founded over twenty missions in eight mission districts. In Arizona, unlike Mexico
, missionization proceeded slowly.
Father Kino founded missions San Xavier and San Miguel at the Piman communities of Bac and Guevavi along the Santa Cruz.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
maintained a number of missions throughout Nueva España (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...
, consisting of 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...
and portions of what today are the Southwestern
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
) in order to facilitate colonization of these lands.
Jesuit missionaries
In the Spring of 1687, a Jesuit missionary named Father Eusebio Francisco Kino lived and worked with the native Americans in the area called the Pimería AltaPimería Alta
The Pimería Alta , an area of the 18th century Sonora y Sinaloa Province in the Viceroyalty of New Spain, encompassed parts of what are today southern Arizona in the United States and northern Sonora in Mexico....
, or "Upper Pima Country," which presently is located in the areas between the Mexican
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...
state of Sonora
Sonora
Sonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....
and the state of Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. During Father Eusebio Kino's stay in the Pimería Alta
Pimería Alta
The Pimería Alta , an area of the 18th century Sonora y Sinaloa Province in the Viceroyalty of New Spain, encompassed parts of what are today southern Arizona in the United States and northern Sonora in Mexico....
, he founded over twenty missions in eight mission districts. In Arizona, unlike 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...
, missionization proceeded slowly.
Father Kino founded missions San Xavier and San Miguel at the Piman communities of Bac and Guevavi along the Santa Cruz.
Missions
- Mission Nuestra Señora de los DoloresMission Nuestra Señora de los DoloresMission Nuestra Señora de los Dolores is a former Mission church in Sonora, Mexico.It was founded by Jesuit missionary Father Kino on March 13, 1687. The Mission church was built near the Pima settlement of Cosari, about 30 km north of Cucurpe, Sonora...
founded on March 13, 1687. This was the first mission founded by Father Kino. By 1744, the mission was abandoned. The cemetery remains on the site of the Tumacácori National Historical ParkTumacácori National Historical ParkTumacácori National Historical Park is located in the upper Santa Cruz River Valley of southern Arizona. The park protects the ruins of three Spanish mission communities, two of which are National Historic Landmark sites, and it also contains the Tumacácori Museum, a historic landmark building...
in Southern Arizona. - Mission San Cayetano de Tumacácori was founded in 1691, then moved in 1751 and renamed Mission San José de TumacácoriMission San José de TumacacoriMission San José de Tumacácori is a historic Spanish mission preserved in its present form by Franciscans in 1828. Mission San Cayetano del Tumacácori was established by Jesuits in 1691 in a different location, as has been discussed by Seymour who has documented and excavated this original native...
. The farming land around the mission was sold at auction in 1834 and the mission was abandoned by 1840. The remains are part of the Tumacácori National Historical ParkTumacácori National Historical ParkTumacácori National Historical Park is located in the upper Santa Cruz River Valley of southern Arizona. The park protects the ruins of three Spanish mission communities, two of which are National Historic Landmark sites, and it also contains the Tumacácori Museum, a historic landmark building...
in Southern Arizona. - Mission Los Santos Ángeles de GuevaviMission Los Santos Ángeles de GuevaviMission Los Santos Ángeles de Guevavi was founded by Jesuit missionary Fathers Kino and Salvatierra in 1691 as La Misión de San Gabriel de Guevavi, a district headquarters in what is now Arizona, near Tumacácori...
was also established by Father Kino, one day after Tumacácori, in January 1691. - Mission San Pedro y San Pablo del TubutamaMission San Pedro y San Pablo del TubutamaMission San Pedro y San Pablo del Tubutama is located in Tubutama, Sonora and was first founded in 1691 by Father Eusebio Francisco Kino.Father Antonio de los Reyes on 6 July 1772 submitted a report on the condition of the missions in the Upper and Lower Pimeria Alta...
, first founded by the Jesuits in 1691. The present structure is located on a part of the Tumacácori National Historical ParkTumacácori National Historical ParkTumacácori National Historical Park is located in the upper Santa Cruz River Valley of southern Arizona. The park protects the ruins of three Spanish mission communities, two of which are National Historic Landmark sites, and it also contains the Tumacácori Museum, a historic landmark building...
in Southern Arizona. - Mission San Xavier del BacMission San Xavier del BacMission San Xavier del Bac is a historic Spanish Catholic mission located about 10 miles south of downtown Tucson, Arizona, on the Tohono O'odham San Xavier Indian Reservation...
, located South of Tucson, active religious use, founded in 1699. - Mission San Agustîn del Tucson, also known as San Cosme y Damian de Tucson, was established by Father Garcés as a visita or daughter church of San Xavier del Bac in the O'odham village of Chuk-Son in 1775. This community becomes to be called Tucson in the following century.
- Mission San Cayetano de CalabazasMission San Cayetano de CalabazasMission San Cayetano de Calabazas, also known as Calabasas, was founded by Jesuit missionary Father Francisco Xavier Pauer in 1756 when he relocated at least seventy-eight Pima Indians to the site from their village of Toacuquita in what is now Arizona, near Tumacácori...
was established in November 1756 by Jesuit Father Francisco Pauer. - Mission Puerto de Purísima ConcepciónMission Puerto de Purísima ConcepciónMission Puerto de Purísima Concepción was founded in October, 1780, by Father Francisco Garcés. The settlement was not part of the California mission chain, but was administered as a part of the Arizona missions...
was founded in October 1780 by Father Francisco Garcés. - Mission San Pedro y San Pablo de BicuñerMission San Pedro y San Pablo de BicuñerMission San Pedro y San Pablo de Bicuñer was founded on January 7, 1781 by Father Francisco Garcés to protect the Anza Trail where it forded the Colorado River....
was founded in January 1781 by Father Francisco Garcés.
See also
- Spanish missions in the Sonoran DesertSpanish missions in the Sonoran DesertThe Spanish missions in the Sonoran Desert are a series of Jesuit Catholic religious outposts established by the Spanish Catholic Jesuits and other orders for religious conversions of the Pima and Tohono O'odham indigenous peoples residing in the Sonoran Desert...
- Spanish missions in CaliforniaSpanish missions in CaliforniaThe Spanish missions in California comprise a series of religious and military outposts established by Spanish Catholics of the Franciscan Order between 1769 and 1823 to spread the Christian faith among the local Native Americans. The missions represented the first major effort by Europeans to...
- Spanish missions in New MexicoSpanish missions in New MexicoThe Spanish Missions in New Mexico were a series of religious outposts established by Franciscan friars under charter from the governments of Spain and New Spain to convert the local Pueblo, Navajo and Apache Indians to Christianity. The missions also aimed to pacify and Hispanicize the natives...
- Spanish missions in TexasSpanish missions in TexasThe Spanish Missions in Texas comprise a series of religious outposts established by Spanish Catholic Dominicans, Jesuits, and Franciscans to spread the Christian doctrine among the local Native Americans, but with the added benefit of giving Spain a toehold in the frontier land. The missions...
- Jesuit Asia missionsJesuit Asia missionsThe Jesuits, or Society of Jesus, a Catholic religious order, have had a long history of missions in East and South Asia, in fact from their very foundation in the 16th century as St Francis Xavier, a friend of St...
- Jesuit ReductionsJesuit ReductionsA Jesuit Reduction was a type of settlement for indigenous people in Latin America created by the Jesuit Order during the 17th and 18th centuries. In general, the strategy of the Spanish Empire was to gather native populations into centers called Indian Reductions , in order to Christianize, tax,...
- Reductions