March 15, 1711 • Father Kino Collapsed and Died

n the afternoon of this day, March 15, 1711, Eusebio Kino was taking part in the dedication of a chapel in Magdalena, (in today's Arizona). Suddenly he collapsed. By midnight, the Jesuit priest, who had seemed bigger than life, died. But his wide contributions to the Southwest region of what became the US still cause us to pause in wonder.

Kino became a priest after contracting a serious illness when he was eighteen. He vowed to serve the Lord if spared. Unlike many who make vows when frightened, but forget them upon recovery, he kept his word and joined the Jesuits. His heart was set on becoming a missionary to China. The sciences had proven the best avenue for breaking through Chinese reticence, and so Kino studied mathematics, geography, mapmaking, and astronomy. He even wrote a well-received book on comets.

However, he was not destined for China. His superiors ordered him to Mexico. After several years, they assigned him to conduct mission work in Sonora State, Mexico and in southern Arizona. A dedicated worker, he founded over twenty churches and many chapels among the Pima Indians. But that was just the tip of his work.

A man of great gusto, he not only introduced cattle to the Indians, but personally demonstrated feats of vaquero horsemanship to his ranch hands. Even into his sixties, he would ride thirty miles a day and sleep under a blanket with his saddle for a pillow.

Kino taught the Indians to raise sheep, goats and burros. He trained them in carpentry, backsmithing and European-style baking. Italian-born Kino also introduced the native farmers to crops of his homeland--apricots, citrus, figs, peaches, pears, pomegranates and wheat. All of these plants remain important to the economy of the region.

And Kino explored the Southwest, mapping it as he went. His map was standard for a hundred years. He was the first to show that Baja California was a peninsula, not an island. He was also the first European known to have visited the ancient Hohokam ruins at Casa Grande--the great red houses-- which he described. The missionary-explorer left a lively memoirs of these achievements.

Kino not only taught the Indians the religion of Europe, but he defended them against the Spanish who would have enslaved them to work in silver mines, and against the the fierce Apache warriors to the north. The work of such a man does not end with death.

Bibliography:

1. Bolognani, Boniface. Pioneer Padre; a biography of Eusebio Francisco Kino S.J., missionary, discoverer, scientist, 1645 - 1711. Sherbrooke, Quebec: Editions Paulines 1968.
2. Bolton, Herbert Eugene. The Padre on Horseback; a sketch of Eusebio Francisco Kino , S. J., apostle to the Pimas. San Francisco, The Sonora Press, 1932.
3. Burrus, Ernest J. Kino and Manje, explorers of Sonora and Arizona. Their vision of the future. A study of their expeditions and plans. With an appendix of thirty documents. A map of the area and a place finder by Ronald L. Ives. St. Louis, Missouri: St. Louis University, 1971.
4. "Father Kino, Missionary to Pimeria Alta." http://www.discoverseaz.com/History/Kino.html.
5. Huonder, A. "Eusebius Kino." The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton, 1914.
6. Polzer, Charles W. Kino, a Legacy: his life, his works, his missions, his monuments. Tucson, Ariz.: Jesuit Fathers of Southern Arizona, 1998.
7. Various internet articles.

Last updated May, 2007.