Father Eusebio Kino - Phoenix, Arizona
Posted by: 
adenium
N 33° 26.888 W 112° 05.708
12S E 398215 N 3701504
A statue of Father Eusebio Kino presented to Arizona by the governor of Sonora, Mexico in 1967. Father Kino is best known for his exploration of the Sonora and Arizona, and for his work to Christianize the Native American population of those areas.
Waymark Code: WM8H0V
Location: Arizona, United States
Date Posted: 04/01/2010
Views: 37
Adapted from Wikipedia:
Father Kino was born Eusebio Francesco Chini. The name Kino was the German version of his last name) on August 10, 1645, in Segno in the Bishopric of Trent (Austrian Empire) now in present-day Italy. Kino was educated in Innsbruck, Austria. He joined the Jesuits on November 20, 1665 and was ordained a priest on June 12, 1677. He was ordered to establish a mission on the northern frontier of New Spain and he departed Spain in 1681 for that purpose.
Father Kino arrived in Sonora in 1687 to work with the Pima (Akimel O'odham) and established the first Catholic church in that province. Kino traveled across Northern Mexico and to California and Arizona. His many expeditions on horseback covered over 50,000 square miles, during which he mapped an area 200 miles long and 250 miles wide. Father Kino led the first ground expedition to Baja California, proving that previous assumptions that Baja was an island were incorrect.
Kino built missions extending from the interior of Sonora 150 miles northeast to San Xavier del Bac, still standing and functioning as a Catholic church near Tucson. He constructed 19 rancheras, which supplied cattle to new settlements. Father Kino remained among his missions until his death from fever on March 15, 1711 in the city now known as Magdalena de Kino, Sonora, Mexico. His remains can be viewed today.