Juan Juárez (died 1528) was a Spanish Franciscan friar and one of the

Twelve Apostles of Mexico The Twelve Apostles of Mexico, the Franciscan Twelve, or the Twelve Apostles of New Spain, were a group of twelve Franciscan missionaries who arrived in the newly-founded Viceroyalty of New Spain on May 13 or 14, 1524 and reached Mexico City on Ju ...

. He has been named as the first bishop within what would become the United States. He was one of the first Spanish missionaries to set foot in Florida.

Biography

Juárez was born in

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

sometime at the end of the 15th century. He became a member of the Province of St. Gabriel of the

Franciscans 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 orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest conte ...

and traveled to

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

in 1524. In 1526, he was appointed guardian of the convent of Huexotcingo. He returned to Spain the same year to acquire more missionaries. In 1527, he was appointed ''comisario'' over the friars who joined the mission. Prior to leaving Spain, he was nominated as Bishop of Florida and Rio de las Palmas — which stretched from the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

to the

Pánuco River The Pánuco River (, ), also known as the ''Río de Canoas'', is a river in Mexico fed by several tributaries including the Moctezuma River and emptying into the Gulf of Mexico. The river is approximately long and passes through or borders the ...

— by

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

through royal patronage, which was confirmed by the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

. Juárez died in 1528, following a failed attempt of the colonization of Florida. Whether or not he was bishop upon entering Florida has been questioned. Regarding Juárez's appointment as Bishop of Florida,

John Gilmary Shea John Dawson Gilmary Shea (July 22, 1824 – February 22, 1892) was a writer, editor, and historian of United States, American history in general and American Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic history specifically. He was also a leading auth ...

wrote: Edwin Ryan said that Juárez's appointment as bishop was based upon a source that was published in 1723, which he considered to be unreliable. It is agreed upon by historians that he did not receive episcopal consecration. Juárez was, nonetheless, mentioned as a bishop-elect in several documents.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Juárez, Juan 15th-century births Year of birth missing 1528 deaths Spanish Franciscans Franciscan missionaries 16th-century Spanish people Clergy from Valencia