Father Vicente Fustér, O.F.M. was

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 ...

a 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 ...

. On November 24, 1771 he arrived at Loreto with fourteen of his colleagues. 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 Fustér 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 ...

to take the place of Father Tomás de la Peña. In July, 1774 Father Fustér was transferred as supernumerary to the

Mission San Gabriel Arcángel Mission San Gabriel Arcángel () is a Californian mission and historic landmark in San Gabriel, California. It was founded by the Spanish Empire on the Nativity of Mary September 8, 1771, as the fourth of what would become twenty-one Spanish mi ...

, registering his first baptisms at that station on December 28. Father Fustér replaced Father

Gregório Amúrrio Father Gregório Amúrrio, O.F.M. was a Catholic priest of the Franciscan Order, and a Spanish missionary in California during the 18th century. A member of the Franciscan Province of Cantabria, Spain, he was one of twenty Franciscans who set out ...

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 late 1779; after laboring there for over eight years, he accompanied Father Joseph Arroita to the recently established

Mission La Purísima Concepción Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality *Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * O ...

. The padre resided at La Purísima a mere two years, however, for he returned to San Juan Capistrano where he remained until his death on September 8, 1800. Father Fustér's remains were transferred to the "Great Stone Church" on September 9, 1806.

References

* , pp. 214–218. 1800 deaths Spanish Friars Minor History of Catholicism in the United States Priests of the Spanish missions in California Spanish Roman Catholic missionaries Burials at Spanish missions in California Year of birth missing Franciscan missionaries in New Spain {{US-reli-bio-stub