- Francisco Pareja
Francisco Pareja (died
January 25 ,1628 ) was a SpanishFranciscan missionary inFlorida , known for his work on theTimucua language .Life
Pareja wasprobably born at
Auñón in the Diocese of Toledo,Spain , though the date of his birth is unknown. He was sent to Florida with eleven other Franciscans, and arrived atSt. Augustine, Florida in 1593 or early in 1594. He worked as a missionary on the peninsula, notably atSan Juan del Puerto, Florida on the coast near the mouth of theSt. Johns River in what is now Jacksonville, where he worked with the localTimucua people. He later became guardian of the monastery of the Immaculate Conception, at St. Augustine. He is also styled "custos", and must have held the office before 1613, when the custody was elevated to the rank of a province under the patronage of St. Helena. Subsequently, he joined the province of the Holy Gospel in Mexico. He died in Mexico in 1628.Works
Pareja is noted for having published the first books in the language of a tribe within the present-day United States, the
Timucua Indians , and may for that purpose have gone to Mexico. His various works are:*"Catecismo en lengua castellana y timuquana" (Mexico, 1612);
*"Catecismo y breve exposición de la doctrina cristiana" (Mexico, 1612);
*"Confesionario en lengua castellana y timuquana" (Mexico, 1613);
*"Gramatica de la lengua timuquana de Florida" (Mexico, 1614);
*"Catecismo de la doctrina cristiana en lengua timuquana" (Mexico, 1617);
*"Catecismo y examen para los que comulgan, en lengua castellana y timuquana" (Mexico, 1627).References
*Barcia, "Ensayo Cronológico" (Madrid, 1723);
*Vetancurt , "Menologia" (Mexico, 1697);
*Torquemada, "Monarquia Indiana" (Madrid, 1723);
*Shea, "Catholic Church in Colonial Days" (New York, 1886);
*____, "Catholic Missions" (New York, 1854);
*Pilling, "North American Linguistics" (Washington, 1884);
*Sabin, "Dictionary of Books Relating to America", V (New York, 1884).External links
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11478b.htm "Catholic Encyclopedia" article]
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