Mission Santa María Suamca

Santa María Suamca (also Santa María del Pilar, Santa María de los Pimas, Santa María Búgota, Santa Cruz) was a Spanish mission in the Sonoran desert.[1]

History

Jesuit missionary Eusebio Kino founded Suamca in 1706 as a visita of Mission Nuestra Señora de los Dolores. It became an independent mission with the 1732 arrival of Ignacio Xavier Keller[1] At times, Mission San Lázaro and Mission San Luis Bacoancos were administered as visitas of Suamca.[2]

The missionaries abandoned Suamca in favor of Mission Nuestra Señora del Pilar y Santiago de Cocóspera, after an Apache raid on November 19, 1768 destroyed most of the buildings.[1][3] In 1787, Presidio Santa Cruz de Terrenate was relocated to Suamca, which was subsequently repopulated and called Santa Cruz after the presidio.[1]

Missionaries

Missionaries stationed at Santa María Suamca included:[1]

  • Ignacio Xavier Keller (1732–1759)
  • José Torres Perea (1741–1743)
  • Joaquín Félix Díaz (1733; 1760)
  • José Garrucho (1744–1748)
  • Miguel de la Vega (1749–1751)
  • Juan Nentvig (1753)
  • Francisco Hlava (1756)
  • Juan Labora (1757)
  • Diego Barrera (1760–1767)
  • Francisco Roche (1768)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Roca, Paul M. (1967). Paths of the Padres Through Sonora: An Illustrated History & Guide to Its Spanish Churches. Arizona Pioneers' Historical Society. pp. 78–81. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  2. ^ Tumacacori, Mailing Address: P. O. Box 8067; Us, AZ 85640 Phone: 520 377-5060 Contact. "Santa María Suamca - Tumacácori National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 13 January 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Caywood, Louis R. (1 January 1941). "The Spanish Missions of Northwestern New Spain Franciscan Period, 1768–1836". KIVA. doi:10.1080/00231940.1941.11758504. ISSN 0023-1940. Retrieved 13 January 2025.