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[Illustration: Tumacacori]
_Tumacacori_
NATIONAL MONUMENT • ARIZONA
[Illustration: Mission door.]
_A typical frontier mission church which illustrates Spanish colonial
endeavor and commemorates the introduction of Christianity into what is
now southern Arizona._
To hold the far-flung frontiers of the Spanish Empire of 250 years ago
in South Central America and Mexico and to bring Christian civilization
to hundreds of native tribes, Spain sent soldiers and missionary priests
into the wilderness. Missions were founded among the settled tribes, and
presidios (military posts) were set up on the borders of the hostile
tribes. The frontier missions were both churches and centers of European
culture and civilization. By such means, the outlying provinces of
Spanish America were extended and secured.
The mission of San Jose de Tumacacori was a northern outpost of a
mission chain constructed by Franciscan priests in the late 1700’s, on
sites established by the Jesuits, in what was then the Province of
Sonora. As a reminder that Spain was active on the frontier in the
Southwest long before the United States became a nation, Tumacacori
remains today an inspiring symbol of the faith, courage, and vigor of
the early missionary priests and of the great loyalty and devotion of
the Indian converts.
Father Kino and His Work
One of the greatest missionaries was Father Eusebio Francisco Kino, a
Jesuit, who introduced European culture to this region. He founded his
first Sonora mission in 1687, and explored and mapped the Upper Pima
Indian country, now southern Arizona and northern Sonora, Mexico.
Wherever he went, he spread the Christian doctrine, gained friends among
the Indians, and established missions. He initiated ranching on this
frontier by introducing cattle and other livestock. To such beginnings
some of our thriving modern towns owe their existence.
[Illustration: _Mission church prior to stabilization_]