Juan Pérez, OFM, (died before 1513) 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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders in the Catholic Church. There are also friars outside of the Catholic Church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendi ...

of the OFM and a companion of

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

Life

At one time, Pérez held the office of ''contador'' (accountant) to the Queen of Spain, showing he was of noble family. Later, he entered the Franciscan Order, and Queen Isabella chose him for her

confessor In a number of Christian traditions, including Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Lutheranism and Anglicanism, a confessor is a priest who hears the confessions of penitents and pronounces absolution. History During the Diocletianic Persecut ...

. Finding court life distracting, he asked permission to retire to his

friary A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which may ...

. Soon after, he was elected

guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unit ...

of the friary in La Rábida, near Palos in

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

. Father Francisco Gonzaga,

Minister General Minister general is the term used for the head or superior general of the different branches of the Order of Friars Minor. It is a term exclusive to the order and comes directly from its founder, St. Francis of Assisi. Terminology Francis chose ...

of the Observant branch of the Order (1579–87), declared that La Rábida belonged to the Franciscan Custody of

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

, which, by decree of

Pope Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI (, , ; born Roderic Llançol i de Borja; epithet: ''Valentinus'' ("The Valencian"); – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death in 1503. Born into t ...

on 21 September 1500, was raised to the rank of a

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

. Here, Christopher Columbus, in 1484 or 1485, made the acquaintance of Pérez. Friar Antonio de Marchena, a

cosmographer The term cosmography has two distinct meanings: traditionally it has been the protoscience of mapping the general features of the cosmos, heaven and Earth; more recently, it has been used to describe the ongoing effort to determine the large-sca ...

of some note, also lived there, and in him the navigator discovered a man bent on the project of discovering a new world. The historian

Francisco López de Gómara Francisco López de Gómara (February 2, 1511 – c. 1564) was a Spanish historian who worked in Seville, particularly noted for his works in which he described the early 16th century expedition undertaken by Hernán Cortés in the Spanish conqu ...

in 1552 seems to have started the blunder, copied by almost every subsequent writer on the subject, of making the two names Perez and Marchena serve to describe one and the same person by speaking of the Father Guardian of La Rábida as Friar Juan Perez de Marchena. Christopher Columbus Explaining His Intended Voyage

Christopher Columbus Explaining His Intended Voyage

Both friars materially assisted Columbus, who acknowledges his obligation in one of his letters to the king and queen. He writes that everybody ridiculed him, save two friars who always remained faithful.

Martín Fernández de Navarrete Martín Fernández de Navarrete y Ximénez de Tejada (November 9, 1765 – October 8, 1844), was a Spanish nobleman, naval officer, and historian. Today he is principally remembered for his historical research concerning the expeditions and sci ...

, indeed, claims that Columbus in this passage spoke of Pérez, the Franciscan, and Diego de Deza, the Dominican.As the latter was

Bishop of Palencia The Diocese of Palencia () is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church located in the city of Palencia in the ecclesiastical province of Burgos, Spain.Santa Fe for a personal interview with her. As a result, Columbus was recalled, and with the assistance of

Cardinal Mendoza Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

and others, his demands were finally granted. When the navigator at last, on 3 August 1492, set sail in the '' Santa María'', Pérez blessed him and his fleet. Some writers assert that Pérez accompanied Columbus on the first voyage, but the silence of Columbus on this point renders the claim improbable. It appears certain, however, that Pérez joined his friend on the second voyage in 1493. The earliest and best writers also agree that when the second expedition reached

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ) is an island between Geography of Cuba, Cuba and Geography of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and the second-largest by List of C ...

, Pérez celebrated the first

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

in the New World at Point Conception on 8 December 1493, in a temporary structure; that this was the first church in America; and that Pérez preserved the

Blessed Sacrament The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by J ...

there.

References

;Attribution * The entry cites: ** GONZAGA, De Origine Seraphicœ Religionis Franciscanœ, II (Rome, 1587); ** LAS CASAS, Historia de las Indias (Madrid, 1875); ** DAZA, Cronica General (Valladolid, 1611); ** OLMO, Arbol Serafico (Barcelona, 1703); ** MELENDEZ, Tesoros Verdaderos de las Indies (Rome, 1681); ** HAROLD, Epitome Annalium Ordinis Minorum (Rome, 1662); ** COLL, Colón y La Rábida (Madrid, 1892); ** IRVING, Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus (New York, 1868); ** TARDUCCI, Life of Christopher Columbus, tr. BROWNSON (Detroit, 1891); ** CIVEZZA, Storia Universale, V (Rome, 1861); ** CLARKE, Old and New Lights on Columbus (New York, 1893) {{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Juan Conventual Friars Minor 15th-century Spanish Roman Catholic priests People from New Spain Franciscan missionaries Isabella I of Castile