 Fathers Marcos de Niza And Eusebio
Francisco Kino
Fray Marcos de Niza, a Franciscan priest, was probably the first known white man to enter
the area which is now Arizona. He came in 1539 in search of the Seven Cities of Gold. He
came as an explorer but is certain to have preached the Gospel in the Indian villages he
encountered. When he reached the land of the Zuni Indians, he sent word that he believed
he had found the fabled cities.
Padre Eusebio Francisco Kino was the Jesuit Apostle to the Pima Indians and is best known
for the chain of about 24 missions he established in Primeria Alta (southern Arizona and
northern Sonora).
Born in Segno, Italy in 1645, he hoped to be a missionary to the Far East as had St.
Francis Xavier but instead was sent to New Spain in the New World. Headquartered in
Nuestra Sonora de los Dolores about 100 miles south of Tucson, he traveled through the
Gila River Valley, mapped large areas of Arizona, California and Sonora, and established
the missions at San Xavier del Bac, Quevavi and Tumacacori. His journals still are a main
source of historical information about the early Southwest. He brought cattle and sheep to
Arizona and taught the natives farming techniques. His statue is one of two that represent
Arizona in Washington.
|Home|Life Is...|Pictures|Calendar|Parents|Extras|Contact Us|
Last updated on Saturday, May 14, 2005 |
The Vatican
Diocese of Phoenix
College LIFE
ALIVE!
LifeTeen.org
|
