Missions

In an article written for the Indian Sentinel of 1908, I have dealt at some length with the Navajo Indians in general, and with the condition of the Mission and School for these Indians here at Saint Michael’s, Arizona. This sketch and others which have appeared in various publications no doubt have made a number of the readers of the Franciscan Missions of the Southwest familiar with the work now in progress. When in 1897 the Franciscan Province of Saint John the Baptist of Cincinnati, Ohio, accepted the Mission for the Navajo Indians it undoubtedly realized the extent and difficulty …

Mission for the Navajo Indians Read More »

For twelve years they then lived, free from all Spanish control, proud in their freedom, yet, doubtless, constantly in dread, even as they were in Zuni and the other pueblos, of the coming of the Spaniards to wreak vengeance. In 1692 came Don Diego de Vargas, re-conqueror the second, and he and his two hundred soldiers gained the speedy submission of Acoma. But as before, it was merely a submission of words, for four years later the sturdy patriots revolted again, and when de Vargas came in anger to storm the rock, they jeered at him from above and defied …

Twelve Years free from Spanish Control Read More »

By 1617 a Mission was established and a church erected at San Ildefonso. The pueblo belongs to the Tigua nation, which in Benavides day comprised eight towns and numbering in all, so he says, about, 6000 souls. He rejoices in the fact that this people was the first to embrace the Christian faith, “a fact in which its inhabitants glory and which made them friends of the Spaniards.” The church at San Ildefonso was especially commended, in 1626, by Benavides, and he claims that it was the Franciscans who taught the San Ildefonsans how to irrigate their lands with the …

Tigua Nation first to Embrace Christian Faith Read More »

On other pages of this issue of “Franciscan Missions” will be found an article on the beauties and resources of the Pecos Valley, written by one who, from many years’ residence in this garden spot of the new state, is well acquainted with the country and its people, and it is not the object of this article to enlarge upon what has been said of Roswell and its surroundings, but to speak of the work the Fathers have been doing in this part of the Lord’s vineyard for the past eleven years. New Mexico can justly be styled the kingdom …

Parishes of Roswell New Mexico Read More »

Twenty-six miles southeast of our Mission at St. Michael’s is situated the flourishing city of Gallup with a population of about 3000. It is surrounded by a number of coal mines, and forms one of the main divisions of the Santa Fe Railroad. Situated between the Navajo and Zuni Indian Reservations, Gallup has numerous wholesale houses, which supply the Indian traders on the reservations. Gallup is in the Mexican village of Cebolleta, 110 miles away, to Gallup. For 18 years Father Juillard had labored zealously and successfully in this extensive and difficult parish. When he accepted the position of Assistant …

Parish and Missions of Gallup, New Mexico Read More »

In crossing the Navajo Reservation, years ago, I had passed over the mountain range the first day, and the second day I had been riding all blessed day over the barren, dry and dreary desert, when, upon reaching the high bluffs of the river, the beautiful San Juan Valley lay of a sudden before my astonished gaze. Instinctively the old Patriarch Lot, viewing the banks of the Jordan, came to my mind, of whom Scripture tells us: “And Lot lifting up his eyes saw all the country about the Jordan which was watered throughout before the Lord destroyed Sodom and …

Parish and Missions of Farmington, New Mexico Read More »

Beauty and utility crowd each other closely in the Pecos Valley of New Mexico, and Roswell, as the central feature of this remarkable section, is a splendid illustration of the development of the great American desert. It should be remembered that in a state which has a history running back for hundreds of years, the Pecos Valley is comparatively a newly settled section. Fenced off by a range of mountains, it did not attract the attention of the conquistadores, and the cross of the early Fathers was not raised over its peaceful slopes, simply because it was un-peopled save by …

Pecos Valley of New Mexico Read More »

The new Kingdom of St. Francis in our Southwest comprises at present 56,000 square miles, a territory as large as the State of Illinois. Our 8 parishes number 1200 Americans, living in 13 different towns and settlements; 800 Croatians in 4 mining camps; 11,000 Mexicans, in 64 towns, villages and ranchitos; 3 tribes of Pueblo Indians, living on 9 reservations, in 20 different villages and numbering 6,670 souls; the Jicarilla Apache Indians, numbering 878; and the Navajo Indians, numbering 23,000; a total of 8 parishes, 101 towns and villages and mines and settlements and two large reservations of nomadic Indian …

The New Kingdom of St. Francis Read More »