Early Jesuit Missions in Tarahumara

Early Jesuit Missions in Tarahumara Synopsis

This study of the Jesuit mission system in northern Mexico is the third volume in a series focused on the Jesuit activities in Spanish North America. Building upon the second monograph, Pioneer Jesuits in Northern Mexico (1944), which explored the missions among the Acaxée, Xixime, and Tepehuán tribes in the Sierra Madre Occidental and plains of modern-day Coahuila, this volume takes the story further north into the Tarahumara region of present-day Chihuahua. This extension of the Jesuit mission system marks an important chapter in the northward expansion of Spain's colonial frontier.

The Jesuits' presence in Mexico was abruptly halted in 1767 when they were expelled by the King of Spain, and the order was officially suppressed by Pope Clement XIV in 1773. However, the Jesuits were restored by the papacy in 1814, and by the latter part of the century, they had returned to Mexico. They resumed their mission work, including efforts among the Tarahumara people, and their influence continues into the 1940s. This historical account offers valuable insight into the Jesuit mission efforts in northern Mexico and their lasting legacy in the region.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1948.