2017 - Surviving Secularization: A Mexican Franciscan in a Changing California, 1833–1851, Damian Bacich

Title

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

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PDF

Language

English

Disciplines

Arts and Humanities | Education | History | History of Religion | Social and Behavioral Sciences

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Paper

Document Type

Article

2017 - Surviving Secularization: A Mexican Franciscan in a Changing California, 1833–1851, Damian Bacich
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