Father José Barona, 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 A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

of the

Franciscan Order 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 ...

, and a Spanish missionary in California during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Born in July, 1764 at Villanueva del Conde, in the archdiocese of Burgos, Old Castile, Father Barona entered the Order of St. Francis at the Villa de Velorado in the Province of

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populous municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of th ...

on July 18, 1783. He arrived at 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 ...

on August 24, 1795, and set out from there in 1798 to labor in 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 ...

. 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 ...

, Fray Barona performed 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 ...

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 ...

on August 4 of that same year. In early 1811 Father Barona was transferred to

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 ...

, registering his first baptism at that station on April 26. In 1826 Father Barona refused to take the oath of allegiance to the "bogus republic of Mexico" despite the fact that he (along with all of the other Spanish missionaries) had previously sworn to the

Independence of Mexico Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

; then

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

José María de Echeandía José María de Echeandía (?–1871) was the Mexican governor of Alta California from 1825 to 1831 and again from 1832 to 1833. He was the only governor of The Californias that lived in San Diego.José Bandini, in a note to Governor Echeandía ...

nevertheless recommended that Barona not be deported when the law of December 20, 1827 (requiring the expulsion of all Spaniards younger than sixty years of age) took effect in California.Engelhard 1922, p. 223: On June 7, 1829 Echeandía wrote on Barona's behalf, "''Fr. José Barona; age, sixty-six years; broken in health; decided to take the oath in 1826 as far as compatible with his religious profession and as long as he remained in the

Mexican Republic Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

''." José Barona remained at San Juan Capistrano, where he ministered to the natives until his death on August 4, 1831. Barona's remains were subsequently interred beneath the floor of the "Great Stone Church," where they rest beside the remains of Fathers Vicente Fustér and Vicente Pascual Oliva.

Notes

References

* , pp. 214–218. 1764 births 1831 deaths Roman Catholic missionaries in Mexico Spanish Friars Minor Priests of the Spanish missions in California Spanish Roman Catholic missionaries Franciscan missionaries in New Spain {{US-reli-bio-stub