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Mission Santa María Suamca

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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