Father Gregório Amúrrio, O.F.M. was a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

priest of the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

Order, and a Spanish missionary in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

during the 18th century. A member of the Franciscan Province of

Cantabria Cantabria (, ; ) is an autonomous community and Provinces of Spain, province in northern Spain with Santander, Cantabria, Santander as its capital city. It is called a , a Nationalities and regions of Spain, historic community, in its current ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, he was one of twenty Franciscans who set out from the missionary

College of San Fernando de Mexico The College of San Fernando de México was a Roman Catholic Franciscan missionary college, or seminary (''Colegio Apostólico''), founded in Spanish colonial Mexico City by the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor on October 15, 1734. The institutio ...

in October, 1770 to labor in the

Spanish missions in Baja California The Spanish missions in Baja California were a large number of religious outposts established by Catholic religious orders, the Jesuits, the Franciscans and the Dominicans, between 1683 and 1834. The missionary goal was to spread the Christian do ...

Biography

In the summer of 1773 the Franciscans surrendered all missions on the Baja Peninsula to the

Dominicans Dominicans () also known as Quisqueyans () are an ethnic group, ethno-nationality, national people, a people of shared ancestry and culture, who have ancestral roots in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican ethnic group was born out of a fusio ...

, after which Father Amúrrio along with five other friars volunteered to work the new missions in Upper California. Upon arrival in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

on August 30, Fray Amúrrio was assigned to

Mission San Diego de Alcalá Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá (, lit. The Mission of Saint Didacus of Acalá) was the second Franciscan founded mission in the Californias (after San Fernando de Velicata), a province of New Spain. Located in present-day San Diego, C ...

; the padre administered his first

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

that same day. In May, 1774 Father Amúrrio was transferred to the

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 ...

, registering his first baptism at that station on July 7. Father Presidente

Junípero Serra Saint Junípero Serra Ferrer (; ; November 24, 1713August 28, 1784), popularly known simply as Junipero Serra, was a Spanish Roman Catholic, Catholic priest and missionary of the Franciscan Order. He is credited with establishing the Francis ...

appointed Father Amúrrio to accompany Father

Fermín Lasuén Fermín or Fermin may refer to: * Fermin, Spanish saint * Fermin (name), Spanish name and surname * Fermin IV Fermin (also Firmin, from Latin ''Firminus''; Spanish ''Fermín'') was a holy man and martyr, traditionally venerated as the co- patron ...

in the founding of

Mission San Juan Capistrano Mission San Juan Capistrano () is a Spanish missions in California, Spanish mission in San Juan Capistrano, California, San Juan Capistrano, Orange County, California, Orange County, California. Founded November 1, 1776 in colonial ''The Califo ...

in October 1775. However, a native uprising in San Diego forced the priests to abandon the site and flee to the safety of the

San Diego Presidio El Presidio Real de San Diego (Royal Presidio of San Diego) is a historic fort in San Diego, California. It was established on May 14, 1769, by Gaspar de Portolá, leader of the first European land exploration of Alta California—at that time a ...

. On November 1, 1776 Father Presidente Serra founded the mission San Juan Capistrano with Friars Amúrrio and Pablo de Mugártegui in attendance. Father Amúrrio conducted his first baptism in San Juan on December 19, 1776. Ill health compelled Father Amúrrio to retire to the Missionary College in 1779.

References

* , pp. 212–213. Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Priests of the Spanish missions in California Spanish Roman Catholic missionaries Spanish Friars Minor Franciscan missionaries in New Spain {{RC-clergy-stub

Biography

See also

References