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'''''Historical Sketch of the Catholic Church in New Mexico''''' was written by the catholic priest, and most reverend, James H. Defouri, pastor of the church of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Santa Fé, and secretary to [[w:Jean-Baptiste Lamy|Jean-Baptiste Lamy]], the first bishop, and later archbishop, of Santa Fé. It was published in 1887 by McCormick Brothers, San Francisco, CA. The book was dedicated to Archbishops Lamy and [[w:Jean-Baptiste Salpointe|Jean-Baptiste Salpointe]]. It was written in response to a request in 1884 from the Catholic [[w:Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples|Congregation ''de Propaganda Fide'']] in Rome, which desired a succinct history of New Mexico from a religious point of view.
== Quotes ==
=== Ch. I First Attempt to Found a Mission. ===
* '''It is customary for a certain class of men to assert at all times and places, that this continent is indebted entirely to the Saxon or Anglo-Saxon race for its population, its civilization and its progress. ...The world forgets too often that it was a child of the Latin race, a stanch Catholic, a pious hero, who conceived the idea of the Western continent, and it was a Spanish Sovereign, a stout Catholic, [[w:Isabella I of Castile|Isabella]] surnamed "the Catholic" who placed at his disposal the means necessary to pursue his researches in the pathless and unknown Western Ocean.'''
* Soon after the death of [[w:Moctezuma II|Montezuma]], the last of the [[w:Inca Empire|Incas]], the Spaniards were attracted towards what is now New Mexico, by the wonderful tales they heard from the Indians, of its great riches in gold and silver.
* When [[w:Hernán Cortés|Cortez]] conquered Mexico in 1521, he came across traditions among the [[w:Aztec|Aztecs]], who had founded the city of Mexico in 1325—'''traditions which still exist among the Pueblos of New Mexico''', as well remarks Hon. W. G. Ritch ex-Secretary of New Mexico, in his "Chronological Annals of New Mexico," that they '''came originally from Salt Lakes, ''Lagunas Saladas'', far to the north, and that Montezuma, mounted upon an eagle, subsequently led them from [[w:Pecos, New Mexico|Pecos]], where he was born,''' or at least where he dwelt, '''to the city of Mexico. They called what is now New Mexico, the "Seven Cities," relating in glowing terms the wealth and greatness, as well as the beauty of that country.'''
** Reference: Hon. W. G. Ritch ex-Secretary of New Mexico, "Chronological Annals of New Mexico, Etc." in ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=O0ROAAAAYAAJ The Legislative Blue-book of the Territory of New Mexico]'' printer C.W. Green (1887)
* '''Among these Seven Cities was one, pre-eminent even in those remote times, called Tiguex or Tegua, now Santa Fé.''' That it was renowned at the time of the founding of the [[w:Aztec Empire|Aztec Confederacy]] in 1426, is very plain from the taxes it had to pay toward the general government, an account of which I have read but cannot now find. It belonged to the Province of the Tarnos (or Tanos) which contained forty-thousand inhabitants. Tiguex played a prominent part at the time of the expedition of [[w:Francisco Vázquez de Coronado|Caronado]] in 1541.
* More than one writer doubts the identity of Tiguex with Santa Fé. But so far nothing has been brought forward, but mere assertions. On the other hand many others are of the opinion which I follow. I regret the loss of the "List of taxes imposed upon the various pueblos," as it was a document of real value which would go far towards proving my opinion.
** Footnote to the quote above
* '''The land of the "[[w:Seven Cities of Gold (myth)|Seven Cities]]" was called also by the name of ''Cibola''.''' Under this name, the origin of which is uncertain, it was known by the Spaniards, ten years before the expedition of Caronado. '''[[w:William Watts Hart Davis|Davis]] says it means "The Buffalo," but searching Spanish lexicons he finds it translated "a quadruped, called the Mexican bull;" Mexico was then known as the country of the buffaloes.'''
** Footnote reference: William Watts Hart Davis, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=VTHqg59WEAgC The Spanish Conquest of New Mexico]''
* '''[[w:Marcos de Niza|Marcos]] and his little army''' set out from Culiacan, Friday, 7th of March, 1539. He '''went no further than Cibola'''; deterred as he was by the dangers surrounding him, for be had been threatened by the Indians, if he proceeded on his journey. '''He planted a cross and took possession of the country,''' "In the name of [[w:Antonio de Mendoza|Mendoza]], for his Majesty the Emperor," '''and called the country, ''El Nuevo Reyno de San Francisco''—The new kingdom of [[Francis of Assisi|St. Francis]].'''
* A number of priests joined [[w:Francisco Vázquez de Coronado|Caronado]], and Castaneda, the historian of the expedition, was probably one of them. In any case, he was a man of education and accustomed to writing, and his narrative is far superior to most of the histores composed at that period. His book was translated into French by Ternaux Campans, in 1838.
* Soon Caronado quartered his troops at Cibola, and sent before him Hernando Alvarado, who with twenty men was to accompany some Indians who had come from Tiguex and Cicuye, to invite them to visit their pueblos. '''Alvarado treated the pueblo of Tiguex, in a very harsh manner, compelling them to leave their houses, and forbidding them to take anything with them; he sent word to Caronado to come there to make his winter quarters. This action of Alvarado, was the commencement of that terrible hatred of the Indiana for the Spaniards, which after centuries of suffering, culminated in the overthrow of the Spanish rule at Tiguex and of the whole of the territory.'''
* '''Many soldiers and even officers, unwilling to return to Mexico, deserted the service and remained at Tiguex, and formed the first white settlement in that renowned place. These events happened at the beginning of April 1543, a date to which we can well assign the foundation of Santa Fé as a Mission, although it was not called by that name until 1598, when we see it called so by [[w:Juan de Oñate|Juan de Onate]] in his''' ''Discurso de las jornadas'' que hizo el Capritan de su Magestad desa de la Nueva Esperna, a la provincia de la Nueva Mexico, September 9, 1598; ''a la ciudad de San Francisco de los Espanoles que al presente se Edifican''. ('''''Discourse of the journeys'' made by the Captain of His Majesty from New Spain to the Province of New Mexico, September 9, 1598, ''[to] the city of Saint Francis of the Spaniards, which they are now building''.''') '''It was then that the city took the name of Santa Fé.'''
* It is possible that in 1543 was built the celebrated church of San Miguel, which stands to-day, at least as far as the lower walls are concerned, for it was destroyed by the Indians in 1680.
** Footnote
=== Ch. II History or the Mission or Santa Fé 1543. ===
* '''The desertion of officers and soldiers became almost a stampede, and Caronado had not a hundred men to return to Mexico, which he reached only to find the Viceroy much displeased with the manner in which he had conducted the expedition. Soon afterwards he was deprived of his province''' [Kingdom of New Galicia, with seat of government at Xalisco or Tolona] '''and fell into disgrace.'''
* Caronado left with the deserters Fathers Juan de Padilla and Juan de la Cruz, with a Portuguese named Andres de Campo, to wait on them. Father Juan de la Cruz went on a mission to Cibola, and was killed by the Indians. Juan de Padilla remained for some time at Tiguex; soon he extended the sphere of his missions, and hearing of the good disposition of the Indians of Quivira, he went to visit them; but he was killed by Tejas Indians while on his knees at prayer. The Tejas did not wish him to go to Quivira, because they were at war with that pueblo.
* '''Father Juan de Padilla was afterwards buried in the church of the Pueblo of La Isleta. ...It is said that no matter how deep he is buried, he always rises in his coffin to the very surface of the ground. ...there is but little doubt that he died the death of a martyr.'''
* The Spanish deserters and new settlers, the first Catholic mission at Tiguex, and for all that, in the whole of New Mexico... were not long without priests. '''The [[w:Franciscan|Franciscan]] Order sent more Religious to search for the lost Spaniards and to convert the Indians.''' Among many others are named Fathers Augustine Ruiz, Francisco Lopez, and Juan de Santa Maria. '''They were accompanied by twelve soldiers who came with them as far as the [[w:Sandia Pueblo|pueblo of Sandia]], near [[w:Bernalillo, New Mexico|Bernalillo]].''' ...'''Father Juan de Santa Maria came to Tiguex'''... He succeeded so well that he set out for Mexico to call more priests, and to give an account of his mission; '''but he was killed by the Teguas Indians near a pueblo called San Pablo, in the neighborhood of El Paso. Father Lopez also was killed while at his devotions outside of the pueblo of Paruay, on the Rio Grande, and Father Ruiz remained alone''' mourning the loss of his companions. ...'''The governor of Paruay''', much affected by the death of Lopez, '''resolved to to save Ruiz by removing him to pueblos farther up on the river; but... He was killed a few days afterwards and his body thrown into the river, then in flood, as food for the fishes.''' Thus, the Teguas Indians completed their bloody and unholy work...
* Here is the time for saying, "Fear not little flock, for it is well known that the blood of martyrs is the seed of salvation." '''The work of saving souls was progressing everywhere, and priest suceeded priest in this arduous work.'''
* '''Old chroniclers tell us that by the year 1629''', there were baptized, thirty-four thousand six hundred and fifty Indians, and many others were in a state of conversion, and at that time '''there were already forty three churches in New Mexico, all built by the Indians, except San Miguel''', in Santa Fé... '''and Our Lady of Guadalupe''', also in Santa Fé, which may have been built by the Spaniards about 1598, as also other churches now forgotten.
* A sure fact is that in February 1614, the body of Lopez was disinterred and solemnly deposited in the church of the pueblo of Sandia, with great ceremonies.
* The Franciscan Order, alarmed at the return of the soldiers to Mexico, knowing well that their priests were without help in a heathen country, immediately appealed to men of good will to go out and rescue them. [[w:Antonio de Espejo|Antonio de Espejo]], a man of courage and faith, offered his services to the Franciscans ... and ...an army was fitted out which left San Bartolomeo, in Mexico, on the 10th of December, 1582.
* '''[[w:Antonio de Espejo|Espejo]] everywhere pacified the Indians; everywhere the numerous priests, who accompanied him, made conversions. He destroyed no property, and persuaded all of the Indians to stay in their houses and be friendly with the Spaniards.''' All over he built churches, erected crosses, and formed settlements of white people, alongside of the Indian settlements. ... He returned to Mexico in the beginning of July, 1584. He there wrote the relation of his journey for Conde de Caruna, the Viceroy who forwarded the same to the King of Spain and the lords of the council for the Indians. These documents, with many others before and after, were deposited in the royal library of Seville, and I understand that the government of Spain is about to publish the whole, with magnificent charts, under the name of ''Cartas de la Indias''.
* '''It would be out of my purpose to write in detail the successive expeditions of [[w:Umana and Leyba expedition|Humana]], who on account of his cruelty, had his army almost annihilated by the Quiviras; of [[w:Juan de Oñate|Juan de Onate]], who''' brought over three hundred families to settle them in the territory, and established most of them in the country about Santa Cruz and Santa Fé, but '''obtained permission to reduce "the natives to a state of obedience, which he interpreted by reducing them to slavery.''' All these facts were written by Padre Geronimo de Yarate Salmeron, a Franciscan who remained eight years in New Mexico...
* '''In a few years the Spaniards began to assume the prerogatives of masters; a rule of tyranny and slavery was established. Instead of letting the priests alone to see to the conversion of the Indians, fanatical Spaniards tried to convert them with the sword. In a short time they looked upon the Spaniards with intense hatred; low murmurs followed, and then open revolt. They were arrested and severely punished, but never resigned. Thus it went on for centuries; the Church suffered much in those times, and the conversion of the Indians was greatly retarded. Finally it culminated in the great Rebellion of 1680'''...
=== Ch. III [[w:Pueblo Revolt|The Great Revolt of 1680]]. ===
* '''In the year 1680, [[w:Popé|Popé]]''', a native of the pueblo of San Juan, a man of decided ability and great eloquence, '''visited all the pueblos of New Mexico and pictured to them the wrongs they were suffering, and roused them to a desire of throwing off the yoke.''' ...[[w:Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico|San Juan]], however, remained faithful to the Spaniards, and was on that account called ''San Juan de los Caballeros''—''The gentlemanly San Juaners''. '''Nicholas Bua, governor of San Juan, Popé's son-in-law, was put to death at the hand of Popé himself for fear he would betray him to the Spaniards.'''
* Popé visited Bua at night, and under the pretext of communicating to him important secrets, drew him out of the pueblo into a dark spot, and while speaking to him, plunged a knife in his heart. Bua did not expect such a treatment, and was unarmed. He fell with a faint cry, and was soon dispatched and buried secretly by the treacherous Popé.
** Footnote to the above quote
* All Christians, priests and seculars, women and children, fell under their blows, except a few of the handsomest maidens whom the warriors reserved for wives. [[w:Antonio de Otermin|General Otermin]], the governor, was unprepared and paralyzed with fear; the capital was besieged by an army, and '''Otermin with a few followers, unable to defend Santa Fé, resolved to leave it to its fate, and with all the Spaniards fled, and never rested till he reached El Paso''', where the Franciscans supported him and his followers for a whole winter. Some of the Spaniards settled in Socorro, desiring to return to Santa Fé in a short time.
* '''Santa Fé was given up to pillage.''' The churches were desecrated and partly pulled down. ...'''The Indians, putting on priestly vestments, were seen riding about the city, drinking from sacred vessels... In other pueblos and villages, the priests and Spaniards, not being aware of the rising, remained quietly in their houses, and were all massacred... then the churches were razed to the ground'''; the worship of the serpent, with its dances, including the indecent ''[[w:Kachina|cachina]]'', were prescribed anew to all good Indians, the ''[[w:Kiva|estufas]]'' were reopened, and they were ordered to abandon even the names of their baptism, and take new ones. '''It was decreed in solemn council that "God, the Father, and Mary, the Mother of the Spaniards were dead, and that the Indian gods alone remained."''' They made offerings of flour, feathers, corn, tobacco and other articles... After this, '''all those grim warriors repaired to the little Santa Fé river, and''' there, divesting themselves of their scant clothing, '''washed their whole bodies with ''amole'' or soap-weed, to "Wash off their baptism."'''
* On the 5th of November of the following year, '''Otermin, equipped by the Franciscans of El Paso, started with an army to reconquer New Mexico.''' All the old inhabitants of Santa Fé, eager to recover their property, went with him. '''They suffered greatly while crossing ''[[w:Jornada del Muerto|La Jornada del Muerto]]'', where for a distance of ninety miles, water is not to be found, except what collects in holes after a rain. ... It has been named the "Journey of Death," on account of the number of persons killed, either by [[w:Mescalero|Mescalero]] Apache Indians, by want of water, or by storms while crossing it.''' To-day the [[w:Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway|A.T.S.F. railroad]] passes through it, and water has been found in about its center. ... the priests, and in particular, Father Ayeta, of El Paso... baptized many at [[w:Pueblo of Isleta|La Isleta]] and Sandia, '''but when the army reached the Pueblo of Cienegilla, near Santa Fé''', Juan, a Tozuque Indian, advised them of a plot to destroy them. '''Afraid of remaining any longer in the country, they set out on their homeward journey''' and reached El Paso on the 11th of February, 1582.
* Several other attempts at conquest were made in 1685 by Domingo Jeronza Petrez de Cruzate, the newly appointed governor. ...he was governor until 1689, but never reached his capital.
* In 1692, a new expedition was entrusted to [[w:Diego de Vargas|Don Diego de Vargas Zapate Lujan]], by the Viceroy, Count Galvas. ...Diego de Vargas deserves more than a passing notice. It has been said that he was an avaricious and ambitious man. It is true that later on, when he had conquered all the Pueblos, and placed them under the Spanish rule, he seemed to incline to those vices, but he was a man of faith, feared by the Indians who remained his enemies, but kind and generous to those who acknowledged his rule. ...'''Vargas carried everywhere with him a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and wherever he stopped, a little sanctuary was built, and devotions were offered by the army.''' We may meet yet several of those places, called by the people ''los palacios'', among others one near Agua Fria, five miles west of Santa Fé. He entered the city by the road called ''El camino de Vargas'', and stood with his troops near the church of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Thence crossing the Rio Santa Fe at a place called yet—Puente de Vargas, he went to the very spot where now stands the Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary, and there he erected a ''palacio''. On the next day... '''Vargas with his small troop, attacked the Indians, who were centered on a waste which is now the beautiful plaza of Santa Fé; they had fortified themselves, and were reinforced by the neighboring pueblos, to the number of ten thousand.''' The battle raged with great ardor on both sides from four in the morning until nightfall, without apparent result. Then '''Vargas, in the name of his troops on their bended knees, before the statue of Mary, made the solemn vow, that should he take the city, every year that same statue should be brought in solemn procession''' from the principal church in the city to the spot on which they were camping, where he should build a sanctuary, and there be left for nine days, the people flocking to the chapel to thank Mary for this victory, attributed to her. On the dawn of day, the next morning, he attacked with impetuosity the fortified Indians, and drove them from the plaza; at eight o'clock they retired upon the ''loma'', north of the city where he attacked them, and by noon not an Indian was seen in the neighborhood.
* '''Faithful to his promise, Vargas built the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Rosary, and the fulfilment of the vow, commenced then, still continues''' every year on the Sunday after the Octave of Corpus Christi, '''by carrying what is most probably the identical statue possessed by Vargas, and called by the people ''Nuestra Senora de la Victoria'', "Our Lady of the Victory," in great pomp, with music and pious chanting''', from the Cathedral of St. Francis to the Chapel of the Rosary, '''and for nine days mass is chanted there, all the people making daily pilgrimages in thanksgiving for the favor received.'''
* '''Soon universal peace reigned in New Mexico. Vargas then repaired the churches''', and among the first the old church of San Miguel, but did not complete it, and it remained in that state until 1710, when the front tower was built by the Marquez de la Penuela... He built the Rosario, and no doubt, repaired the old ''Castrense'', for his own use. This church was on the spot occupied now by the great merchant houses of Spiegelberg and Don Felipe Delgado. The Cathedral of San Francisco was re-built somewhat later, I think about 1730, long after the removal of Vargas. The church of Guadalupe... being somewhat out of the city, seems to have suffered less than the other churches at the time of the Rebellion.
* The conquest of New Mexico terminated there... At that epoch, the authority of the Spaniards both ecclesiastical and civil, was acknowledged in all the pueblos.
=== Ch IV Los Pueblos. ===
* The Pueblos, then as now, were a distinct people... They lived in villages, cultivated the soil, and had trades and manufacture. The [[w:Navajo people|Navajoes]] and Apaches of to-day are as easily distinguished from the Pueblos as in the time of the earliest conquerors of New Mexico.
* '''Learned treatises have been written on the subject; some contending that the Pueblos are of Aztec, others that they are of [[w:Toltec|Toltec]] origin.''' ...Their traditions say that they came from the north. ...'''I think the opinion which says that they are the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, mixed with some [[w:Tartary|Tartars]], is not at all improbable.''' I lately saw a work in which the author tries to prove they were [[w:Phoenicia|Phonicians]] and not Jews.
* Classed by dialects, the pueblos of New Mexico, at the period of the arrival of the Spaniards, spoke four separate and distinct languages, called the Tegua, the Piro, the Queres and the Tagnos. This classification has passed away, and today all the Pueblos of New Mexico are divided, as to dialect, into five classes: 1, Sandia, Isleta, Picuris and Taos; 2, Cochiti, Santo Domingo, San Felipe, Santa Ana, Laguna and Acoma; 3, Jemes; 4, Zuni; 5, San Juan, Santa Clara, Nambe, San Ildefonso, Pojuaque and Tezuque.<br />Thus by language, these Indians are nearly all cut off from verbal communication, not only with Mexicans, but with Pueblos of a different dialect.
* I have visited several pueblos in New Mexico; everywhere you find a square, small or large, according to the size of the village; around the "plaza," the dwellings are erected close together, so as to present outwardly an unbroken line of wall to the height of two or three stories. Viewed from the inner square, it presents the appearance of a succession of terraces with doors and windows opening upon them. To go to the house of the governor of [[w:Tesuque, New Mexico|Tezuque]], for instance, you go up a ladder of about ten feet. There you meet a terrace about six feet wide, and the door of the sleeping apartment opens on that terrace, which has another ladder to go higher. To go to the lower apartments, you place the ladder and descend through a hole; these apartments have no windows, and this hole is the door and the chimney. This description, with slight variations, is applicable to all the pueblo villages...
* '''Time, decay and want of proper care, are rapidly carrying off forever many documents of great importance''', sole survivors of many more, which formed a part of the archives of Santa Fé. Papers of value... have disappeared; many others are in a perishing condition, and '''it is said that in 1846, [[w:Manuel Armijo|Governor Armijo]] used up a large quantity of them for cartridges; and alas! he was not the only one that did it.'''
* Under the Spanish governments the whole military, civil and ecclesiastical administration was admirably carried out, and the official reports are models of completeness and brevity.
* Many stories are told of what passes in their ''[[w:Kiva|Estuva]]'', but all this is exaggeration. However, it must be acknowledged that they have a number of superstitious practices, and in particular have among them many secret societies that no one outside of the pueblo can ever penetrate. They are good tillers of the ground, and some pueblos have great herds of cattle and horses; their principal manufacture consists of pottery. The vases and other article's they make are all of classic and Biblical shapes. These vases are extensively used through the territory.
=== Ch. V Governors of New Mexico. ===
* In the year 1600, Pedro de Peralta was governor, and probably the first who used that title. During that period, according to Shea's Catholic Missions, the country was nearly abandoned by the Spaniards. Still we find General Arguello as governor in 1640, and he defeated the first great insurrection of the Indians. In 1650, General Concha was governor, and he was called upon to quiet the second revolt of the pueblos. He administered the Territory till 1656, when he was relieved by Enrique de Abilu y Pacheco, of whom little is known. General Villanueva administered after him, and his administration which lasted to the year 1675, was disturbed by constant uprisings of the Indians who had found refuge with the Apaches in the Magdalena Mountains. In the year 1675, Juan Francisco Frecenia... had still greater difficulties to contend with than his predecessor. He left the government in the hands of Antonio de Otermin [who was] forced... to return to El Paso in 1680...
* '''From 1692 to 1694, and again in 1703, New Mexico was ruled by [[w:Diego de Vargas|General Don Diego de Vargas Zapatoz Lujan Ponce de Leon]], who signs himself''', Marquez de la naba de Brazinas, gobernado, capitan, restorador, conquistador, a sa Casta, reconquissador y poblador castellano, por sa Majestad, etc., etc. ('''Marquis of the root of Brazinas, governor, captain, general, restaurer, conqueror at his cost, reconquerer, Castilian and Castilian founder for His Majesty, etc. etc.''')
* Don Gaspar de Sandaval Zerda Silva y Mandoza succeeded Vargas in 1694; he was succeeded himself in 1697 by Don Pedro Rodriguez Cubero, who gave way for the second term of Vargas in 1703. '''From 1704 to 1710 the [[w:Duke of Albuquerque|Duke of Albuquerque]] governed the Territory'''; but during an absence of the Duke of Albuquerque in 1705 we find a governor ''ad interim'' in the General Francisco Cuerbo y Valdez. '''The Marquis de la Penuela''' was another governor ''ad interim'' in 1708, and succeeded the Duke of Albuquerque in 1710 to 1712. He '''was the first to use the word ''Nuevo Mexico''; all the documents so far give the name ''feminui la Nueva Mexico''.''' Juan Paez de Hurnado was governor for a short time in 1712, and was ''ad interim'' at different other periods. In 1712 Don Fernando de Alencaster Morena y Silva, etc, etc., the Viceroy of New Spain, administered the Territory and visited New Mexico, when he confirmed, as governor, the appointee of King Phillip himself. '''Juan Ignacio Flores Magallon'''; who governed five years, entering into office October 5, 1712. In 1721, he '''was tried at Santa Fé for malfeasance in office, and condemned to pay one hundred dollars costs, but no effects were found wherewith to satisfy the bill of costs, and as the document says: "The governor himself ''non est inventus''''' [not found]; '''supposed to be absent in the city of Mexico.'''
== External links ==
* ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=PQ0ZAAAAYAAJ Historical Sketch of the Catholic Church in New Mexico]''
[[Category:Histories]]