Spanish missions in Arizona

17th to 19th-century Catholic religious outposts

Part of a series on

Spanish missions
in the Americas
of the Catholic Church
Missions in North America

* California
* Arizona
* New Mexico
* Texas
* Spanish Louisiana
* Virginia
* The Carolinas
* Georgia
* Spanish Florida
* Baja California
* Mexico
* Sonoran Desert
* Chihuahua
* Querétaro
* Trinidad

Missions in South America

* Chiloé
* Río Bueno
* Nahuel Huapi
* Córdoba
* Itapúa
* Chiquitos
* Moxos
* Mainas
* Eastern Missions

Related topics

* Cargo system
* Mission Indians
* Reductions
* Andes
* Jesuit
* Visitas

Catholicism portal

* v
* t
* e

[edit]

History of Arizona
European Colonization
Spanish Period
Mexican Period
Territorial Period
The Depression and World Wars

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Spanish missions in Arizona" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (April 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

Beginning in the 16th century Spain established missions throughout New Spain (consisting of Mexico and portions of what today are the Southwestern United States) in order to facilitate colonization of these lands.

## History

[edit]

### Early Franciscan missions

[edit]

The indigenous peoples of Arizona remained unknown to European explorers until 1540 when Spanish explorer Pedro de Tovar (who was part of the Coronado expedition) encountered the Hopi while searching for the legendary Seven Cities of Gold. Contact with Europeans remained infrequent until three missions were established in 1629 in what is now northeastern Arizona.

In 1680, the Pueblo Revolt resulted in the destruction of all three missions, greatly limiting Spanish influence in the region. Subsequent attempts to reestablish the missions in Hopi villages were met with repeated failures. The former mission is still visible today as a ruin.

### Jesuit missions

[edit]

In the spring of 1687, the Jesuit missionary Eusebio Francisco Kino lived and worked with the Native Americans in the area called the Pimería Alta, or "Upper Pima Country," which presently includes the Mexican state of Sonora and the southern portion of Arizona. During Father Eusebio Kino's stay in the Pimería Alta, he founded over twenty[quantify] missions in eight mission districts. In Arizona, unlike Mexico, missionization proceeded slowly.

Father Kino founded missions San Xavier and San Gabriel at the Piman communities of Bac and Guevavi along the Santa Cruz River.

### Late Franciscan missions

[edit]

Following the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1767, the Franciscans from the college of Santa Cruz in Querétaro took over responsibility in the Pimería Alta missions. Meanwhile, other Franciscans from the college of San Fernando in Mexico City under the leadership of Junípero Serra, were assigned to replace the Jesuits in the Baja California missions of the lower Las Californias Province.

Under the administration of Franciscan friar and explorer Francisco Garcés, three additional missions were established with the goal of establishing a permanent connection between the missions of Las Californias and Pimería Alta. However, following a Quechan raid in 1781 that destroyed two mission near present-day Yuma, the two regions remained isolated. This greatly limited the expansion of Spanish influence throughout the lower Colorado River.

Following the Mexican War of Independence and the expulsion of all Spanish-born priests from the region in 1828, the remaining missions were gradually abandoned. Mission San Xavier del Bac was the last mission to be abandoned, with the last priest leaving for Spain in 1837.

## Missions

[edit]

List of missions in Arizona, from year of first established  Name  | Image  | Location  | Date founded  | Order | Notes  | Sources

|
|
|
|
|
|

Mission San Francisco de Oraibi |  | 35.87344, -110.63634 | 1629 (1629) | Franciscans | Destroyed during the 1680 Pueblo Revolt. In ruins.  |
Mission San Bernardo de Aguatubi |  | 35.72529, -110.27803 | 1629 (1629) | Franciscans | Destroyed during the 1680 Pueblo Revolt. Rebuilt in the 1690s before it and the surrounding village was destroyed in 1700. In ruins.  | [1]
Mission San Bartolomé de Shungópove |  | Second Mesa | 1629 (1629) | Franciscans | Destroyed during the 1680 Pueblo Revolt.  | [2]
Mission Los Santos Ángeles de Guevavi |  | 31.41007, -110.90198 | 1691 (1691) | Jesuits | Abandoned in 1775. The church ruins date to 1751. It later became a visita of San José de Tumacacori around 1773.  | [3]
Mission San Xavier del Bac |  | 32.10723, -111.00797 | 1692 (1692) | Jesuits | 1692–1770, 1783–1837, 1859–present. The extant mission church was completed in 1797.  | [4][5]
Mission San Cayetano de Calabazas |  | 31.45252, -110.95945 | 1756 (1756) | Jesuits | It was founded as a visita of Mission Los Santos Ángeles de Guevavi (and some time after served Mission San José de Tumacácori). It later became a mission but was downgraded back to a visita of Mission Los Santos Ángeles de Guevavi in 1784. Abandoned in 1786.  | [6][7][8]
Mission San José de Tumacácori |  | 31.56861, -111.0509 | 1757 (1757) | Jesuits | Located west of the site of the visita San Cayetano del Tumacácori. Abandoned in 1828.  | [9][10]
Mission San Cosme y Damián de Tucsón |  | 32.2148, -110.98463 | 1768 (1768) | Franciscans | Established as a visita in 1692. Elevated to the status of mission in 1768. Abandoned in 1828. Non-extant.  | [11]
Mission Puerto de Purísima Concepción |  | 32.73053, -114.61557 | October 1780 (1780-10) | Franciscans | Located in California but administered as part of the Pimería Alta missions. Destroyed during a Quechan raid from July 17–19, 1781. Non-extant. A reconstruction of the mission was completed in 1923, which currently serves as a parish church.  |
Mission San Pedro y San Pablo de Bicuñer |  | 32.81636, -114.51511 | January 7, 1781 (1781-01-07) | Franciscans | Located in California but administered as part of the Pimería Alta missions. Destroyed during a Quechan raid from July 17–19, 1781. Non-extant.  | [12]

## See also

[edit]

On Spanish Missions in neighboring regions:

* Spanish missions in California
* Spanish missions in New Mexico
* Spanish missions in the Sonoran Desert (including Sonora and southern Arizona)

On general missionary history:

* Catholic Church and the Age of Discovery
* List of the oldest churches in Mexico

On colonial Spanish American history:

* Spanish colonization of the Americas
* California mission clash of cultures

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Awatovi Ruins (Arizona) (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2025-01-06.
2. ^ "Mission San Bartolome de Xongopavi; one of Arizona's forgotten missions | Arizona Historical Indexes". uamr.lib.arizona.edu. Retrieved 2025-01-06.
3. ^ Tumacacori, Mailing Address: P. O. Box 8067; Us, AZ 85640 Phone: 520 377-5060 Contact. "Los Santos Ángeles de Guevavi - Tumacácori National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2025-01-05.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
4. ^ "San Xavier Mission Organization site". Archived from the original on 2017-09-12. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
5. ^ "Mission San Xavier del Bac (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
6. ^ "Mission San Cayetano de Calabazas - Spanish Missions/Misiones Españolas (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
7. ^ Tumacacori, Mailing Address: P. O. Box 8067; Us, AZ 85640 Phone: 520 377-5060 Contact. "San Cayetano de Calabazas - Tumacácori National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2025-01-05.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
8. ^ Mattison, Ray (1946). "Early Spanish and Mexican Settlements in Arizona" (PDF). New Mexico Historical Review. 21 (4): 275 – via NPS History.
9. ^ "Mission San José de Tumacácori - Spanish Missions/Misiones Españolas (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
10. ^ Tumacacori, Mailing Address: P. O. Box 8067; Us, AZ 85640 Phone: 520 377-5060 Contact. "San José de Tumacácori - Tumacácori National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2025-01-05.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
11. ^ "Mission San Agustín del Tucson (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
12. ^ Parks, California State. "SITE OF MISSION SAN PEDRO Y SAN PABLO DE BICUNER". California State Parks. Retrieved 2025-01-05.

## External links

[edit]

* National Park Service, Kino Missions
* Arizona Education, Kino Missions

* v
* t
* e

Spanish missions of the Catholic Church in the Americas

North America|

* Mexico
* Baja California
* Sierra Gorda
* Sonoran Desert
* Yucatan
* Trinidad
* United States
* Ajacán
* Arizona
* California
* Florida
* List of missions in Spanish Florida
* Georgia
* Carolinas
* Louisiana
* New Mexico
* Texas

South America|

* Jesuit reduction
* Chiquitos
* Circular Mission
* Córdoba
* Itapúa
* Moxos
* Nahuel Huapi
* Río Bueno

Related topics|

* Cargo system
* Mission Indians
* Reductions
* Andes
* Jesuit

* v
* t
* e

Spanish Empire

Timeline–immersed

* Catholic Monarchs
* Conquest of the Americas, Asia and the Pacific
* Treaty of Tordesillas
* Italian Wars
* Habsburgs
* Golden Age
* War of the League of Cognac
* Encomiendas
* New Laws in favour of the indigenous
* Expulsion of the Moriscos
* Ottoman–Habsburg wars
* French Wars of Religion
* Bruneian–Spanish conflict
* Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604)
* Piracy in the Caribbean
* Eighty Years' War
* Spanish–Moro conflict
* Thirty Years' War
* Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659)
* Portuguese Restoration War
* War of the Spanish Succession
* Queen Anne's War
* Bourbons
* Bourbon Reforms
* War of Jenkins' Ear
* Treaty of Madrid (1750)
* Seven Years' War
* Nootka Convention
* Napoleonic invasion
* Third Treaty of San Ildefonso
* Independence of Spanish continental Americas
* Adams–Onís Treaty
* Liberal constitution
* Carlist Wars
* Spanish–American War
* German–Spanish Treaty (1899)
* Spanish Civil War
* Independence of Morocco
* Independence of Equatorial Guinea
* Western Sahara conflict

Territories

| Europe|

* Spain
* Crown of Castille
* Crown of Aragon
* Union with Portugal
* Gibraltar
* Southern Italy (Kingdoms of Naples, Sicily and Sardinia)
* Milan
* Union with Holy Roman Empire
* Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, northernmost France
* Franche-Comté
* Pyrénées-Orientales

|

Americas (Spanish America)|

| North America|

* New Spain (Coastal Alaska, Central United States (Spanish Louisiana), Western United States (Spanish Texas), Florida, Mexico, Central America (Captaincy General of Yucatan), Spanish Caribbean)

|

Central America|

* Captaincy General of Guatemala
* Spanish West Indies (Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico)
* Trinidad
* Jamaica
* Haiti
* Aruba
* Curazao
* Bonaire
* Belize

South America|

* New Granada (Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Venezuela, part of Guyana, a northernmost portion of Brazilian Amazon)
* Peru (Peru, Acre, Chile)
* Río de la Plata (Argentina, Paraguay, Charcas (Bolivia), Banda Oriental (Uruguay), Misiones Orientales, Malvinas)

Asia and Oceania (Spanish East Indies)|

* Philippines
* Micronesia (Caroline, Guam, Mariana, Micronesia, Palau)
* Northern Taiwan
* Tidore

Africa|

* Equatorial Guinea
* Northern Africa (Western Sahara, Spanish Morocco, Tripoli, Tunis, Peñón of Algiers, Oran, Béjaïa, Ifni and Cape Juby)

Antarctica|

* Terra Australis

Administration

| Organization|

* Ayuntamiento
* Cabildo
* Council of the Indies
* Germania
* Santa Hermandad

|

Law|

* Exequatur
* Laws of the Indies
* Papal bull
* Royal Decree of Graces
* School of Salamanca
* Trial of residence

Titles and positions|

* Alcalde
* Corregidor
* Municipal president
* Regidor
* Syndic
* Vecino

Administrative subdivisions

| Viceroyalties|

* Columbian
* New Spain
* New Granada
* Perú
* Río de la Plata

|

Captaincies General|

* Chile
* Cuba
* Guatemala
* Philippines
* Provincias Internas
* Puerto Rico
* Santo Domingo
* Venezuela
* Yucatán

Governorates|

* Castilla de Oro
* Cuba
* La Florida
* Louisiana
* New Andalusia (1501–1513)
* New Andalusia
* New Castile
* New Navarre
* New Spain
* Tierra Firme
* New Toledo
* New León
* Paraguay
* Río de la Plata
* Terra Australis

Audiencias|

* Bogotá
* Buenos Aires
* Caracas
* Charcas
* Concepción
* Cusco
* Guadalajara
* Guatemala
* Lima
* Manila
* Mexico
* Panamá
* Quito
* Santiago
* Santo Domingo

Economy

| Currencies|

* Dollar (Peso)
* Real
* Maravedí
* Escudo
* Columnario
* Doubloon

|

Trade|

* Manila galleon
* Spanish treasure fleet
* Casa de Contratación
* Spanish Road
* Guipuzcoan Company of Caracas
* Barcelona Trading Company
* Consulate of the Sea
* Camino Real de Tierra Adentro
* Commerce Consulate of Buenos Aires

Military

| Armies|

* Tercio
* Army of Flanders
* Free Company of Volunteers of Catalonia
* Indian auxiliaries
* Spanish Armada
* Ships of the line
* Royalists
* Legión
* Army of Africa

|

Strategists|

* Duke of Alba
* Antonio de Leyva
* Martín de Goiti
* Alfonso d'Avalos
* García de Toledo Osorio
* Duke of Savoy
* Álvaro de Bazán the Elder
* John of Austria
* Charles Bonaventure de Longueval
* Pedro de Zubiaur
* Ambrosio Spinola
* Blas de Lezo
* Bernardo de Gálvez

Mariners|

* Christopher Columbus
* Pinzón brothers
* Ferdinand Magellan
* Juan Sebastián Elcano
* Juan de la Cosa
* Juan Ponce de León
* Miguel López de Legazpi
* Pedro Menéndez de Avilés
* Sebastián de Ocampo
* Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca
* Alonso de Ojeda
* Vasco Núñez de Balboa
* Alonso de Salazar
* Andrés de Urdaneta
* Antonio de Ulloa
* Ruy López de Villalobos
* Diego Columbus
* Alonso de Ercilla
* Nicolás de Ovando
* Juan de Ayala
* Sebastián Vizcaíno
* Juan Fernández
* Luis Fajardo
* Felipe González de Ahedo
* Francisco de Camargo
* Alonso de Camargo

Conquistadors|

* Hernán Cortés
* Francisco Pizarro
* Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada
* Hernán Pérez de Quesada
* Francisco Vázquez de Coronado
* Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar
* Pedro de Valdivia
* Gaspar de Portolà
* Pere Fages i Beleta
* Joan Orpí
* Pedro de Alvarado
* Martín de Ursúa
* Diego de Almagro
* Pánfilo de Narváez
* Diego de Mazariegos
* Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera
* Pere d'Alberní i Teixidor
* García López de Cárdenas

Notable battles|

| Old World|

| Won|

* Comuneros
* Bicocca
* Rome (1527)
* Landriano
* Pavia
* Tunis
* Mühlberg
* St. Quentin
* Gravelines
* Malta
* Lepanto
* Antwerp
* Azores
* Mons
* Gembloux
* Ostend
* English Armada
* Cape Celidonia
* White Mountain
* Breda
* Nördlingen
* Valenciennes
* Ceuta
* Bitonto
* Bailén
* Vitoria
* Tetouan
* Alhucemas

|

Lost|

* Capo d'Orso
* Vienna (1529)
* Preveza
* Siege of Castelnuovo
* Algiers
* Ceresole
* Balearic Islands (1558)
* Djerba
* Tunis
* Spanish Armada
* Leiden
* Rocroi
* Downs
* Montes Claros
* Passaro
* Manila Bay
* Trafalgar
* Somosierra
* Annual
* Mactan

New World|

| Won|

* Tenochtitlan
* Cajamarca
* Cusco
* Bogotá savanna
* Penco
* Mataquito
* Guadalupe Island
* Recife
* San Juan (1595)
* Bahia
* Colonia del Sacramento
* Comuneros (Paraguay)
* Cartagena de Indias
* Cuerno Verde
* Túpac Amaru II
* Túpac Katari
* Pensacola
* Newfoundland
* San Juan (1797)

|

Lost|

* La Noche Triste
* Iguape
* Tucapel
* Guiana
* Curalaba
* Comuneros (New Granada)
* Trinidad (1797)
* Chacabuco
* Boyacá
* Carabobo
* Pichincha
* Ayacucho
* Guam
* Santiago de Cuba
* Asomante

Spanish conquests

* Canary Islands
* The Americas
* Aztec
* Maya
* Chiapas
* Yucatán
* Guatemala
* Petén
* El Salvador
* Honduras
* Nicaragua
* Chibchan Nations
* Colombia
* Chile
* Inca
* Philippines

Other civil topics

* Spanish missions in the Americas
* Architecture
* Mesoamerican Codices
* Cusco painting tradition
* Indochristian painting in New Spain
* Quito painting tradition
* Africanist
* Tapada limeña
* Academia Antártica
* Colonial universities in Hispanic America
* Colonial universities in the Philippines
* General Archive of the Indies
* Colonial Spanish Horse
* Mustang
* Castas
* Criollos in the colonial society
* Old inquisition
* Slavery in Spanish Empire
* Asiento
* Law of coartación (which allowed slaves to buy their freedom, and that of others)
* Great Potosí Mint Fraud of 1649

Cartography

| Cartographers|

* Juan de la Cruz Cano y Olmedilla
* Agustín Ibáñez y Bojons

|

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template