Antonio de Olivares was a
SpanishThe Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
FranciscanMost 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....
(
MoguerMoguer is a municipality and small city located in the province of Huelva, Andalusia, Spain. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 18,381. Its surface area is , and its population density is ....
, 1630 -
QuerétaroQuerétaro officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Querétaro de Arteaga is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities and its capital city is Santiago de Querétaro....
,
MéxicoThe 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...
, 1722) known by officiate at the first Mass celebrated in
TexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, for contributing to the founding of San Antonio and for his exploration in this city.
Biography
Antonio de San Buenaventura y Olivares Born in
MoguerMoguer is a municipality and small city located in the province of Huelva, Andalusia, Spain. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 18,381. Its surface area is , and its population density is ....
,
AndalusiaAndalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
,
SpainSpain , 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...
in 1630 and studied at the Franciscan convent of San Francisco de Moguer.
In 1665, at the age of thirty-five years, involved a passenger on a religious expedition to the
AmericasThe Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
, along with 19 other religious. Once in
AmericasThe Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
, in the Convent of Querétaro, he received the training he needed to engage with the natives, in their work of evangelization. It was from this monastery from which they departed the various expeditions that take place in
TexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, since this was a strategically important place for the crown.
On January 1, 1699 Fray Antonio de Olivares founded in the valley of the Circumcision the missions of San Bernardo and San Francisco Solano in
TexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
In 1706 he was appointed guardian of the
College of Santa Cruz de QuerétaroThe 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...
, where he remained three years. In 1709, together with Fray
Isidro de EspinosaIsidro de Espinosa was a Spanish Franciscan missionary who participated in some expeditionary missions inTexas.- Biography :Isidro Félix de Espinosa was born in Querétaro, Mexico, on November 26, 1679. His parents were Isidro de Espinosa and Gertrudis de Miraelrio Tovar. Espinoza had nine brother,...
, explored the territory where now the city of San Antonio. The same year he traveled to Spain to convince the authorities of the importance that had to maintain and establish new missions to the bank of the
San Antonio RiverThe San Antonio River is a major waterway that originates in central Texas in a cluster of springs in north central San Antonio, approximately four miles north of downtown, and follows a roughly southeastern path through the state. It eventually feeds into the Guadalupe River about ten miles from...
.
Finally got the viceroyalty of New Spain's permission to found new missions. On May 1, 1718 Fray Antonio de Olivares founded the
Alamo Mission in San AntonioThe Alamo, originally known as Mission San Antonio de Valero, is a former Roman Catholic mission and fortress compound, site of the Battle of the Alamo in 1836, and now a museum, in San Antonio, Texas....
, in the present city of San Antonio, Texas, establishing four days after the prison and the village with 400 people.
Fray Antonio de Olivares was aided by Jereme Indian mission to build the bridge that connected the
Alamo Mission in San AntonioThe Alamo, originally known as Mission San Antonio de Valero, is a former Roman Catholic mission and fortress compound, site of the Battle of the Alamo in 1836, and now a museum, in San Antonio, Texas....
and San Antonio de Bejar, and the first ditch six miles long that built to irrigate 400 hectares " The Alamo".
The last years of life were spent founding the missions of San Jose and
San Miguel de Aguayo, TexasMission San José y San Miguel de Aguayo is a historic Catholic mission in San Antonio, Texas, USA. The mission was named in part for the Marquis de San Miguel de Aguayo, José de Azlor y Virto de Vera...
, next to the
San Antonio RiverThe San Antonio River is a major waterway that originates in central Texas in a cluster of springs in north central San Antonio, approximately four miles north of downtown, and follows a roughly southeastern path through the state. It eventually feeds into the Guadalupe River about ten miles from...
. He returned to the convent of Querétaro where he died in 1722.
Sources
- DIAZ DEL CASTILLO, Bernal: Historia verdadera de la conquista de nueva España. Madrid, 1975 (History of the Conquest of New Spain. Madrid, 1975).
- ROPERO REGIDOR, Diego. Franciscanos andaluces de la tierra de Huelva en Indias. Universidad de Sevilla, 1985 (Franciscans of the land of Huelva
Huelva is a city in southwestern Spain, the capital of the province of Huelva in the autonomous region of Andalusia. It is located along the Gulf of Cadiz coast, at the confluence of the Odiel and Tinto rivers. According to the 2010 census, the city has a population of 149,410 inhabitants. The...
, Andalusia in the Indies. Universidad de Sevilla, 1985)
- DOMINGUEZ, Maria Esther: San Antonio, Tejas, en la época colonial (1718–1821). Ediciones de Cultura Hispánica, 1989 (San Antonio, Texas, during the colonial period. Ediciones de Cultura Hispánica, 1989)
- ROPERO REGIDOR, Diego. Franciscanos de Moguer en América. Col. "Montemayor", Archivo Histórico Municipal; Fundación Municipal Cultura, Moguer, 2007(Moguer Franciscans in America. Col. "Montemayor", Municipal Archives, Municipal Cultural Foundation, Moguer, 2007).
External links
- Ayuntamiento de Moguer,(in Spanish)
- Querétanos ilustres (Querétaro illustrious) http://www.mx-qro.net/2010/01/panteon-de-los-queretanos-ilustres/ (In Spanish).