José Bernardo Sánchez (September 7, 1778 – January 15, 1833) 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 ...

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 ...

in colonial Mexico and

Alta California Alta California (, ), also known as Nueva California () among other names, was a province of New Spain formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but was made a separat ...

Early life

Born in Robledillo de Mohernando,

Old Castile Old Castile ( ) is a historic region of Spain, which had different definitions across the centuries. Its extension was formally defined in the 1833 territorial division of Spain as the sum of the following provinces: Santander (now Cantabria ...

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 ...

, Sánchez became a

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 ...

on October 9, 1794. In 1803 he joined the missionary College of San Fernando de Mexico in the

Viceroyalty of 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 ...

(colonial México).

California Missions

He traveled on to

Las Californias The Californias (), occasionally known as the Three Californias or the Two Californias, are a region of North America spanning the United States and Mexico, consisting of the U.S. state of California and the Mexican states of Baja California an ...

the next year, 1804, where he worked at the following missions: *

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 ...

(1804–1820) *

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 ...

(1820–1821) *

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 ...

(1821–1827) In 1806, as chaplain, Sánchez accompanied a military expedition against the Californian indigenous peoples. In 1821, with Mariano Payeras, he went with an exploring expedition into the interior of

to search for new mission sites. During the winter of 1826-1827, as head of the San Gabriel mission, Sánchez hosted the party of explorer

Jedediah Smith Jedediah Strong Smith (January 6, 1799 – May 27, 1831) was an American clerk, transcontinental pioneer, frontiersman, hunter, trapper, author, cartography, cartographer, mountain man and explorer of the Rocky Mountains, the Western Unit ...

, the first ever to travel overland to California from the United States. Most of the group stayed at San Gabriel while Smith traveled to San Diego to report to José María Echeandía, the governor.Smith, J. S., & Brooks, G. R. (1977). ''The Southwest expedition of Jedediah S. Smith: His personal account of the journey to California, 1826-1827'', p.99. Glendale, Calif: A. H. Clark Co. From 1827 to 1831, Sánchez reluctantly held the position of ''Presidente'' of the California mission chain and of '' Vicáreo Foraneo'' (archbishop) to the bishop. The 1913

Catholic Encyclopedia ''The'' ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'', also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedi ...

describes him as a "very pious and energetic missionary" who disliked holding the position of authority. His incessant appeals for relief were at last granted, but he survived only two years.

Opposed secularization

During his term he vigorously opposed the Mexican government's secularization scheme, which was strongly supported by Governor Echeandia. In a long series of critical notes he claimed that the plan would result in the destruction of the missions and the ruin of the neophytes. "''As far as it concerns me personally''," he wrote, "''...would that it might be tomorrow, so that I might retire between the four walls of a cell to weep over the time I wasted in behalf of these unfortunates''." It has been said that the sight of the inevitable ruin hastened his death. His remains were buried at the foot of the altar of San Gabriel Mission.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanchez, Jose Bernardo Priests of the Spanish missions in California 1778 births 1833 deaths People of the Californias People of Alta California Spanish Franciscans Spanish military chaplains Spanish Roman Catholic missionaries People from the Province of Guadalajara 19th century in Los Angeles Roman Catholic missionaries in Mexico Franciscan missionaries in New Spain 19th-century Spanish military personnel