Esteve Tapis (25 August 1754 – 3 November 1825) was a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

the Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.'' Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sin ...

Biography

Tapis was born in Santa Coloma de Farners in the Catalan

Province of Girona The Province of Girona ( ; ) is a Provinces of Spain, province in the northeastern part of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain. It is bordered on the northwest by the province of Lleida, on the southwest ...

, and entered the

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

of the

Order of Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (commonly called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; Post-nominal letters, postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a Mendicant orders, mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis ...

Girona Girona (; ) is the capital city of the Province of Girona in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 106,476 in 2024, but the p ...

on 22 January 1778. He was sent to

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

in 1786, where he attended the Colegio San Francisco in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

to train for missionary work among the Native Americans. He then was assigned to

Alta California Alta California (, ), also known as Nueva California () among other names, was a province of New Spain formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but was made a separat ...

, arriving in 1790, where he worked at the following missions: *

Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa () is a Spanish mission founded September 1, 1772 by Father Junípero Serra in San Luis Obispo, California. The mission was named after San Luis, obispo de Talosa (Saint Louis, bishop of Toulouse, France). Th ...

(1790–1793) *

Mission Santa Bárbara Mission Santa Barbara () is a Spanish mission in Santa Barbara, California, United States. Often referred to as the 'Queen of the Missions', it was founded by Padre Fermín Lasuén for the Franciscan order on December 4, 1786, the feast day of ...

(1793–1806) *

Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo Mission San Carlos Borromeo del Río Carmelo (English language, English: The Mission of Saint Charles Borromeo of the Carmel River), first built in 1797, is one of the Conservation and restoration of immovable cultural property, most authentica ...

(1806–1811) * Mission La Purísima Concepción (1812–1813) *

Mission Santa Inés Mission Santa Inés (sometimes spelled Santa Ynez) was a Spanish mission in present-day Solvang, California, United States, and named after St. Agnes of Rome. Founded on September 17, 1804, by Father Estévan Tapís of the Franciscan order, t ...

(1813–1814) * Mission San Juan Bautista (1815–1825) When the President of the

Spanish missions in California The Spanish missions in California () formed a List of Spanish missions in California, series of 21 religious outposts or missions established between 1769 and 1833 in what is now the U.S. state of California. The missions were established by ...

, Fermín Francisco de Lasuén, O.F.M, died in 1803, Tapis took over as acting President, a post to which he was subsequently elected three times, holding the office from 1803 to 1812. During his administration, Tapis directed the founding of Mission Santa Inés in 1804. In addition to his authority over the missions, he also served as the local

Rural Dean In the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion as well as some Lutheran denominations, a rural dean is a member of clergy who presides over a "rural deanery" (often referred to as a deanery); "ruridecanal" is the corresponding adjective ...

of the Diocese of Sonora which covered that region in that period, responsible for Church matters of any Catholic there. Tapis retired as President in 1812 and was sent to assist Felipe Arroyo de la Cuesta at Mission San Juan Bautista in 1815, where he hoped to educate the boys of the indigenous population. Possessing a special talent for music, he created a system using colors for different types of music notes which made it easier for the students to follow, and his choir of Native American boys performed for many visitors, earning the Mission San Juan Bautista the nickname of the "Mission of Music." Two of his handwritten choir books are preserved at the San Juan Bautista Museum. Much of Tapis' correspondence has survived. The largest work is his writings in defense of the missions and their methods against the Captain of the ''

Presidio A presidio (''jail, fortification'') was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire mainly between the 16th and 18th centuries in areas under their control or influence. The term is derived from the Latin word ''praesidium'' meaning ''pr ...

'' in Santa Barbara. Tapis died at Mission San Juan Bautista in 1825 and is buried in the Mission sanctuary.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tapis, Estevan 1754 births 1825 deaths People from Selva Spanish Friars Minor Roman Catholic priests from Catalonia 18th-century Spanish Roman Catholic priests 19th-century American Roman Catholic priests Franciscan missionaries in New Spain Priests of the Spanish missions in California Burials at Spanish missions in California Spanish Roman Catholic missionaries