Francis Bennon Ducrue was a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which 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.Tho ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, b. in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

, of

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

parents, 10 June 1721; d. there 30 March 1779.

Biography

Ducrue became a member of the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

in 1738, and ten years later was sent to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, where he worked until the expulsion of the order in 1767. At the time, Ducrue was the superior of all the California missions. He submitted to the decree of expulsion and cooperated with the royal commission in enforcing its provisions. The Jesuits withdrew, taking with them only their clothes and a few books; these were the belongings they carried away from California after seventy years of work in its missions. Ducrue returned to his native land.

Works

Ducrue wrote ''A Journey from California through the district of Mexico to Europe in the year 1767'' in Latin. The book was translated into

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

for the of

Christoph Gottlieb von Murr Christoph Gottlieb von Murr (6 August 1733 – 8 April 1811) was a polymathic German scholar, based in Nuremberg. He was a historian and magistrate. He edited and contributed to significant cultural and scientific journals. A notable naturalist vo ...

(vol. XII, p. 217-276), and was translated into

and published by

Auguste Carayon Auguste Carayon (31 March 1813 – 15 May 1874) was a French Jesuit author and bibliographer. He was born in Saumur, France in 1813; he joined the Society of Jesus in 1848, and was at various times librarian and procurator. Between 1864 and 1 ...

in his ''Documents Inédits'' (Paris, 1876). Murr also gives some specimens of the language of California, which were communicated to him by Ducrue.

References

;Attribution * 1721 births 1779 deaths 18th-century German Jesuits German Roman Catholic missionaries German male writers Jesuit missionaries Jesuit missionaries in New Spain German people of French descent {{RC-bio-stub