Francisco Garcés

Francisco Hermenegildo Tomás Garcés, O.F.M., (April 12, 1738 – July 18, 1781) was a Spanish Franciscan friar who served as a missionary and explorer in the colonial Viceroyalty of New Spain. He explored much of the southwestern region of North America, including present day Sonora and Baja California in Mexico, and the U.S. states of Arizona and California.

Garcés was murdered along with his companion friars during an uprising by the Native American population, and they have been declared martyrs for the faith by the Catholic Church. The cause for his canonization was opened by the Church.

History

Garcés was born April 12, 1738, in Morata de Jalón, Aragon, north-central Spain. He entered the Franciscan Order about 1758 and was ordained a priest in 1763 in Spain.

New Spain

Garcés travelled to New Spain (Mexico) and served at the Franciscan college of Santa Cruz in Querétaro. In 1768, when the King of Spain expelled the Jesuits from their extensive mission system in northwestern New Spain (within present-day Baja California, northwestern Mexico, and the southwestern United States), Garcés was among the Franciscan replacements. He was assigned to Mission San Xavier del Bac in the Sonoran Desert, near present-day Tucson, Arizona.

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Caravaca promotes cycling tourism in the city and surrounding countryside

Spanish News Today 18 Mar 2025
... Francisco García and councillors José Santiago Villa and Pepe Fernández, speaking at an event organized by the national group Pedal Spain at the church of San Sebastián.
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Paving works at Caravaca Castle to enhance accessibility and aesthetics

Spanish News Today 14 Mar 2025
  ...  . The project is overseen by the mayor of Caravaca, José Francisco García, alongside Mónica Sánchez, the Councillor for Urban Planning and Public Services ...   ...   ...   ...   ...   ...   ... .
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