John Skerrett (Augustinian)
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John Skerrett (Augustinian), Irish
preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who Open-air preaching, preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach com ...
and
missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...
, c.1620–c.1688. John Skerrett was a member of one of the
Tribes of Galway The Tribes of Galway () were 14 merchant families who dominated the political, commercial and social life of the city of Galway in western Ireland between the mid-13th and late 19th centuries. They were the families of Athy, Blake, Bodkin, Brown ...
, a descendant of Richard Huskard. He studied for the clergy 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 ...
, and afterwards he was ordained as a member of the Augustinian order. He gained an excellent reputation as a preacher at
Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...
, where he also taught
moral theology Ethics involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior.''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy''"Ethics" A central aspect of ethics is "the good life", the life worth living or life that is simply satisfyin ...
. After about twenty years in Spain he was stationed at Orotava and
Puerto de la Cruz Puerto de la Cruz is a city and municipality in the northern part of the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. It was formerly known by its English translation, "Port of the Cross", although now it is known by its Spanish name in all langu ...
on
Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...
for four years, following which he returned to
Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
, sometime in the 1660s. While there he taught
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
and was
prior The term prior may refer to: * Prior (ecclesiastical), the head of a priory (monastery) * Prior convictions, the life history and previous convictions of a suspect or defendant in a criminal case * Prior probability, in Bayesian statistics * Prio ...
of the order's town convent. Skerrett is notable for been the first Augustinian missionary in the Americas, working mainly in
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
and the
West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
during the 1670s, as well as
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
and
Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
in the 1680s. The last documented reference to him is as the
Commissary A commissary is a government official charged with oversight or an ecclesiastical official who exercises in special circumstances the jurisdiction of a bishop. In many countries, the term is used as an administrative or police title. It often c ...
-General of the Augustinians in England in 1688.


See also

* John Skerrett (Mayor) of Galway 1491–1492. *
James Skerrett James Skerrett, fl. 1513–1532, Mayor of Galway. Skerrett was a descendant of Richard Huskard, and seems to have served two consecutive terms. He had served on the corporation as bailiff in 1513. Among the statues passed while he was Mayor was ...
, fl. 1513–1532, Mayor of Galway. *
Nicholas Skerrett Nicholas Skerrett (died 1583) was a Roman Catholic clergyman who was Archbishop of Tuam in Ireland from 1580 to 1583. A graduate of the Collegium Germanicum in Rome, he was appointed Archbishop of Tuam on 17 October 1580. On his arrival in Ire ...
, died 1583, Archbishop of Tuam * Michael Skerrett, died 1785, Archbishop of Tuam


References

* Obstinate' Skerrett, Missionary in Virginia, the West Indies and England, (c.1674–c.1688)" F.X. Martin, ''Journal of the
Galway Archaeological and Historical Society The Galway Archaeological and Historical Society was founded on 21 March 1900. It promotes historical preservation, as well as the study of the archaeology and history of the west of Ireland. As of January 2002, the Society had published 53 cons ...
'', Volume 35, 1975 17th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests People from County Galway Irish Roman Catholic missionaries Augustinian friars Roman Catholic missionaries in the United States Roman Catholic missionaries in Puerto Rico Roman Catholic missionaries in Cuba Irish expatriates in the Spanish Empire Irish expatriates in Spain {{Ireland-bio-stub