By: Cassidy Delamarter, University Communications and Marketing
Photo by: Old Town Trolley Tours, St. Augustine
New details have emerged about the history of one of St. Augustine鈥檚 most popular tourist attractions. University of 黑洞社区 Spanish Professor David Arbes煤 tediously pieced together documents that were scattered around the world that helped connect the dots about the life of Francisco L贸pez de Mendoza Grajales, believed to be the first priest in the United States. An of him is located on the grounds of near Matanzas Bay.
As , 鈥淭he First Man to Plant the Holy Gospel in Florida鈥� chronicles Mendoza鈥檚 journey in helping establish the first permanent Christian mission in the United States and his role in what many scholars believe was the first Thanksgiving feast.
Mendoza, who we now know lived from 1527 to 1586, sailed across the Atlantic in 1565 alongside Pedro Men茅ndez de Avil茅s, who was tasked by the King of Spain to remove French settlers and establish a colony in Florida. After the three-month expedition, Men茅ndez founded America鈥檚 first city, St. Augustine, where Mendoza would play a crucial role.
鈥淗e brought Catholicism to America and gave the first Christian mass in the United States,鈥� Arbes煤 said. 鈥淎s important as Mendoza may have been for the early history of Florida, all we knew about his life were the first four years he spent in Florida 鈥� that鈥檚 it.鈥�
After finding Mendoza鈥檚 baptismal records that were recently made public by a church in Spain, Arbes煤 was able to pinpoint the year Mendoza was born and from there, piece together a timeline of what his life was like before and after he joined Men茅ndez鈥檚 expedition.
At 38 years old, Mendoza began the three-month expedition to Florida, where Arbes煤 believes he stayed for about seven years before moving back to his native community in Spain. After a couple of years, Mendoza moved to Nicaragua, according to Arbes煤 discovered in Oklahoma. There, Mendoza held several distinguished roles in the Le贸n Cathedral 鈥� a World Heritage Site 鈥� before eventually becoming Commissary of the Holy Inquisition as he continued to spread Catholicism in the Americas.
鈥淭hese records trace the priest鈥檚 lineage back to the Middle Ages and reveal a previously unknown side of his personality,鈥� Arbes煤 said. 鈥淭his new evidence allows researchers to revisit all the records on Mendoza鈥檚 life to clarify aspects, correct mistakes and ultimately understand the first parish priest in the continental United States.鈥�
Top: typical signature of Francisco L贸pez de Mendoza Grajales | Bottom: his signature during his final days
The biography reveals details of his life for the first time, including the name Francisco Grajales de Mendoza he used when he was younger, the fact he likely practiced cannibalism to survive the winter of 1565 to 1566 and the witness account of him fighting at knifepoint over a woman. But the most moving: Letters Arbes煤 found in the National Archives of Mexico that determined the exact date of Mendoza鈥檚 death.
鈥淗e wrote to the inquisitors of Mexico City that he had become so ill that he was 鈥榠n the last trance and end of my life鈥�,鈥� Arbes煤 said. 鈥淚t was a touching letter to read after studying his life for so long. To see him get to a point where he could not even sign his name, it was emotional.鈥�