The Kino Memorial - Tucson, Arizona
Posted by: BruceS
N 32° 13.374 W 110° 58.506
12S E 502346 N 3565143
Bronze bas-relief plaque honoring early missionary to the southwest located in Sunset Park in Tucson, Arizona.
Waymark Code: WMHJ0G
Location: Arizona, United States
Date Posted: 07/14/2013
Views: 8
From Smithsonian:
"A bas-relief plaque on a stele, with the top panel depicting Father Kino on the right walking through the desert with a Native American male in front of him. Father Kino is dressed in priest's robes, with a hat, cape, and sandals. He carries a crucifix in his proper right hand. In his proper left hand, he carries a book. The Native American is wearing a loincloth and sandals and carries a bow and arrow with a container of arrows strapped over his back. He wears a cross around his neck. Both figures are in profile. There is a cactus with a rattlesnake curled beneath it in the right corner behind Father Kino, and a roadrunner with a lizard in its mouth in the left corner in front of the Native American. In front of Father Kino on the desert floor is a gila monster. Beneath this panel is another panel with text. To the left of the text is a relief of a Native-American family of three grouped near desert vegetation. To the right of the text is a relief of the mission, San Xavier del Bac. In front of the mission, a Native American is plowing a field with two yoked cattle, and in the foreground a squaw with a papoose sit under a tree."
The plaque is inscribed:
Top:
Padre Eusebio Francisco Kino, S.J.
Earliest Pioneer Of Civilization In The Southwest
Heroic Missionary To The Pima Indians
Intrepid Explorer Founder Of San Xavier Del Bac.
Bottom:
Born Segno, Italy, 1645 - Educated At Jesuit Colleges
Entered Society Of Jesus, 1665 - His Petition
To Be Sent Upon A Distant & Dangerous Mission Granted, 1678 - Began Missionary Labors
In Lower California, April 1, 1683 - Among Pimas, March 13, 1687
During 24 Years In Pimeria Alta Made 50 Missionary And Exploring Exps. Inland
Founded Missions - Est. Ranches - Intro. Domestic Animals &
European Plants to AZ - Made World Famous Maps - Wrote Enduring Books
Died 1711, Aged 66 Years, At Magdelena, Sonora, Where His Body Now Rests