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Francesc Palou (in
Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...
) or Francisco Palóu (1723–1789) 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 Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...
missionary, administrator and historian on the Baja California Peninsula and in
Alta California Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as ('New 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 ...
. Palóu made significant contributions to the Alta California and Baja California mission systems. Along with his mentor,
Junípero Serra Junípero Serra y Ferrer (; ; ca, Juníper Serra i Ferrer; November 24, 1713August 28, 1784) was a Spanish Roman Catholic priest and missionary of the Franciscan Order. He is credited with establishing the Franciscan Missions in the Sierr ...
, Palóu worked to build numerous missions throughout Alta and Baja California, many structures of which still stand today. A member of the
Franciscan Order The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
, Palóu became "Presidente" of the
missions in Baja California Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...
, and later of missions of Alta California. Palóu's work in the Spanish mission system spans from his early twenties to his death at the age of 66. According to biographer Herbert E. Bolton, "Fray Palóu was a diligent student, devout Christian, loyal disciple, tireless traveler, zealous missionary, firm defender of the faith, resourceful pioneer, successful mission builder, able administrator, and fair minded historian of
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
". Palóu is particularly noted for his pious biography of Serra and for his multi-volume early history of
the Californias The Californias ( Spanish: ''Las Californias''), occasionally known as The Three Californias or Two Californias, are a region of North America spanning the United States and Mexico, consisting of the U.S. state of California and the Mexican s ...
.


Biography

Francesc Palou was born in Petra,
Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bale ...
, where he joined the
Franciscan Order The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
. Together with Juníper Serra, he traveled to
New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the A ...
in 1740 and served as a missionary in the
Sierra Gorda The Sierra Gorda () is an ecological region centered on the northern third of the Mexican state of Querétaro and extending into the neighboring states of Guanajuato, Hidalgo and San Luis Potosí. Within Querétaro, the ecosystem extends from ...
region of
Querétaro Querétaro (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Querétaro, links=no; Otomi: ''Hyodi Ndämxei''), is one of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities. Its cap ...
. When the
Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...
were expelled from Baja California in 1768, the Franciscans under Serra were sent to replace them. Palóu was assigned to the mission of San Javier. The following year, Serra went north to find the new mission province of Alta California, and Palóu succeeded him as head of the Baja California missions. When the Dominicans took over the peninsular Baja California missions in 1773, Palóu, being Franciscan, moved on to Upper California, marking the geographical boundary between the two orders' fields. He assisted in the exploration of the site of San Francisco and administered
Mission San Francisco de Asís Mission San Francisco de Asís ( es, Misión San Francisco de Asís), commonly known as Mission Dolores (as it was founded near the Dolores creek), is a Spanish Californian mission and the oldest surviving structure in San Francisco. Located i ...
. When Serra died, Palóu was briefly acting head of the Baja California missions, but soon returned to central Mexico.


Missionary travels

As a missionary of the
Spanish colonization of the Americas Spain began colonizing the Americas under the Crown of Castile and was spearheaded by the Spanish . The Americas were invaded and incorporated into the Spanish Empire, with the exception of Brazil, British America, and some small regions ...
, Palóu traveled and proselytized in the Spanish colonial empire. His extensive travels left him knowledgeable of world matters, and well-respected as a scholar. Coming from simple beginnings, Palóu was born in 1723 at Palma, on the Island of Majorca, and began religious work early in his life as he entered the
Franciscan Order The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
around the age of seventeen in 1739. After developing a mentor/student relationship with
Junípero Serra Junípero Serra y Ferrer (; ; ca, Juníper Serra i Ferrer; November 24, 1713August 28, 1784) was a Spanish Roman Catholic priest and missionary of the Franciscan Order. He is credited with establishing the Franciscan Missions in the Sierr ...
, they both eagerly joined the Spanish mission system in Alta California. They, along with several other missionaries, reached
Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...
, New Spain in 1749. Palóu worked in New Spain for many in missions such as Sierra Gorda. He was later recalled, along with Serra, to work in the San Saba region of Texas. However, the biggest part of Palóu's journey would not begin until 1767, when he and fourteen other Franciscan friars were sent north to extend their efforts and replace many of the Jesuit missionaries who had been previously expelled from Spain. Much of Palóu's life would be spent in
Alta California Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as ('New 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 ...
, and many of his notable endeavors occurred there as well.


Alta California missions

Palóu and the other friars reached Loreto in Lower California in the spring of 1768. Palou was given control of Mission San Francisco Javier. The following year, Junipero Serra left for Alta California to proceed with the further establishment of missions in that region. This left the office of "president" or superior of all missions in Lower California for Palóu to control until 1773. When the Lower Californian missions were turned over to the Dominican missionaries, Palóu was able to rejoin his brethren and mentor in Upper California. He first went to
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
, then continued onwards to Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo (in present-day Carmel), which Serra had been using as his headquarters. Palóu greatly assisted in the placement of friars and recorded historical data, the only surviving account of some aspects of the early California missions.


Expeditionary travel and later career

In 1774, Palóu accompanied Captain Rivera's expedition to the Bay of San Francisco, and on December 4 planted the cross on a hill he named "Lobos" (wolves), which sits in clear view of the
Golden Gate The Golden Gate is a strait on the west coast of North America that connects San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. It is defined by the headlands of the San Francisco Peninsula and the Marin Peninsula, and, since 1937, has been spanned by t ...
and
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...
. The name lives on as
Lobos Creek Lobos is the headquarters city of the Lobos Partido in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It was founded on 2 June 1802 by José Salgado. Background Located 100 km from Buenos Aires, Lobos is currently a fertile agricultural area known ma ...
, within the
Presidio of San Francisco The Presidio of San Francisco (originally, El Presidio Real de San Francisco or The Royal Fortress of Saint Francis) is a park and former U.S. Army post on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, and is part ...
. The Rivera expedition returned to the
Presidio of Monterey The Presidio of Monterey (POM), located in Monterey, California, is an active US Army installation with historic ties to the Spanish colonial era. Currently, it is the home of the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLI-FLC). ...
via the coastal route first explored by the Portolà expedition of 1769. At the north end of
Monterey Bay Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean located on the coast of the U.S. state of California, south of the San Francisco Bay Area and its major city at the south of the bay, San Jose. San Francisco itself is further north along the coast, by ...
, Rivera and Palóu inspected the area around today's Santa Cruz, described by friar
Juan Crespí Joan Crespí or Juan Crespí (1 March 1721 – 1 January 1782) was a Franciscan missionary and explorer of Las Californias. Biography A native of Majorca, Crespí entered the Franciscan order at the age of seventeen. He came to New Spain ...
(who accompanied Portolà) and recommended by Crespí as a future mission site. Palóu agreed, and on December 9 selected a location where
Mission Santa Cruz Mission Santa Cruz (''La Misión de la Exaltación de la Santa Cruz'', which translates as the Mission of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross), was the twelfth of twenty-one Spanish missions in California (today's U.S. state), established by the Fr ...
was later founded by
Fermín Lasuén Fermín or Fermin may refer to: * Fermin Fermin (also Firmin, from Latin ''Firminus''; Spanish ''Fermín'') was a legendary holy man and martyr, traditionally venerated as the co-patron saint of Navarre, Spain. His death may be associated with e ...
, in 1791. Palou returned to Lobos in 1776 with the De Anza expedition and, on June 28, offered up the first mass at the future site of
Mission Dolores Dolores, Spanish for "pain; grief", most commonly refers to: * Our Lady of Sorrows or La Virgen María de los Dolores * Dolores (given name) Dolores may also refer to: Film * ''Dolores'' (2017 film), an American documentary by Peter Bratt * ...
, which Palóu founded but a few weeks later. Palóu remained at the new mission until he was called to give his mentor and close friend, Junípero Serra, his last rites in 1784 at Mission San Carlos. With Serra's death, Palóu became the acting ''presidente'' of the Upper California missions until the formal appointment of Lasuén as successor to Serra. Palou remained at Mission San Carlos until failing health and old age led him to retire in 1785 to the missionary College of San Fernando de Mexico. He was elected guardian of the college and held this office until his death in Mexico, where he had completed his biography of Serra,Palóu's ''Life of Serra''
/ref> most of which he had written while still in California.


Legacy

Francisco Palóu played many key roles and offices vital to the establishment of several of the
missions in California The Spanish missions in California ( es, Misiones españolas en California) comprise a series of 21 religious outposts or missions established between 1769 and 1833 in what is now the U.S. state of California. Founded by Catholic priests of ...
and many of those in Mexico. He compiled a standard history of the California missions from 1767 to 1784 in his "''noticias''" as a four-volume set. He also wrote of his teacher, Junípero Serra. Both works provide key information about early California and the missionary system established there.


Works

* Palou, Francisco. 1926. ''Historical Memoirs of New California''. Edited by Herbert E. Bolton. 4 vols. University of California Press, Berkeley. * Palou, Francisco. 1955. ''Life of Fray Junípero Serra''. Edited by Maynard J. Geiger. Academy of American Franciscan History, Washington, D.C. * Palou, Francisco. 1994. ''Cartas desde la península de California (1768-1773)''. Edited by José Luis Soto Pérez. Editorial Porrúa, Mexico City. * Palou, Francisco. ''Noticias de la Nueva California'' (Volume II). Translated by Miguel Venegas. California: University Microfilms Inc., 1966.


References


External links


Francisco Palou Catholic Encyclopedia article


* Lauter, Paul and others, eds. The Heath Anthology of American Literature (Fourth Edition). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002.
Noticias De La Nueva California, online edition (Spanish) at HathiTrust Digital Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palou, Francisco 1723 births 1789 deaths People from Palma de Mallorca People of Alta California Spanish Franciscans History of Baja California Religious workers from California Priests of the Spanish missions in California Spanish Roman Catholic missionaries 18th-century Spanish people Roman Catholic missionaries in New Spain Franciscan missionaries Junípero Serra