2017 - Surviving Secularization: A Mexican Franciscan in a Changing California, 1833–1851, Damian Bacich
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Subject
Mexican Franciscans in Alta California
Description
When the Mexican-born Franciscan priests arrived at several missions in Alta California in 1933, they were not prepared, however, for the situation they would encounter as a result of mission secularization. The missions were in decay having been stripped of both their resources and their native inhabitants. The priests found themselves marginalized in a society in which their Spanish predecessors had been heroes. They had to adapt to a hand-to-mouth existence living the lifestyle of migrant ministers, while wherever possible advocating for the Native rights. California historians were prone to portraying the priests' unorthodox lifestyles as the result of corruption and ignorance. The author takes a closer look at the life of one of these friars, José María Suárez del Real, helps contextualize their choices within the trying circumstances of years of upheaval and uncertainty.
Source
San Jose State University
Format
Language
English
Disciplines
Arts and Humanities | Education | History | History of Religion | Social and Behavioral Sciences
Original Format
Paper
Document Type
Article
Recommended Citation
"2017 - Surviving Secularization: A Mexican Franciscan in a Changing California, 1833–1851, Damian Bacich" (2019). Related Research and Documents. 14.
https://digitalcommons.csumb.edu/hornbeck_research_rel/14