Father Esteve Tapis, O.F.M. (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 Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a 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.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

the Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

. Tapis was born in Santa Coloma de Farners in the Catalan Province of Girona, and entered the novitiate of the

Order of Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (also called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the teachi ...

Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in 2020. Girona is the capital ...

on 22 January 1778. He was sent to New Spain in 1786, where he attended the Colegio San Francisco in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

to train for missionary work among the Native Americans. He then was assigned to Alta California, arriving in 1790, where he worked at the following missions: *

Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa ( es, Misión San Luis Obispo de Tolosa) is a Spanish mission founded September 1, 1772 by Father Junípero Serra in San Luis Obispo, California. Named after Saint Louis of Anjou, the bishop of Toulouse, the ...

(1790–1793) * Mission Santa Bárbara (1793–1806) *

Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo Mission San Carlos Borromeo del Río Carmelo, or Misión de San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo, first built in 1797, is one of the most authentically restored Catholic mission churches in California. Located at the mouth of Carmel Valley, Californi ...

(1806–1811) *

Mission La Purísima Concepción 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 ...

(1812–1813) * Mission Santa Inés (1813–1814) * Mission San Juan Bautista (1815–1825) When the President of the

Spanish 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 ...

, 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 The Archdiocese of Hermosillo ( la, Archidioecesis Hermosillensis) is a Roman Catholic Diocese, Archdiocese located in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. Its area is 90,959 sq. miles, and its population (2004) 1,067,051. The bishop resides at Hermosill ...

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 Father 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 ( en, jail, fortification) was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire around between 16th and 18th centuries in areas in condition of their control or influence. The presidios of Spanish Philippines in particular, were cen ...

'' 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 People of Alta California Roman Catholic missionaries in New Spain Priests of the Spanish missions in California Burials at Spanish missions in California Spanish Roman Catholic missionaries