Maynard J. Geiger, O.F.M., Ph.D. (August 24, 1901 – May 13, 1977) was an American Friar Minor and

Roman Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

, who was a major historian of the

Spanish missions in California The Spanish missions in California ( es, Misiones españolas en California) comprise a series of 21 religious outposts or missions established between 1769 and 1833 in what is now the U.S. state of California. Founded by Catholic priests o ...

founded by the

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

Order.

Life

He was born Joseph Geiger Jr. in

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster, ( ; pdc, Lengeschder) is a city in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. With a population at the 2020 census of 58,039, it ranks 11th in population among ...

, in 1901 to Joseph Geiger and Katherine Kray. Twelve years later the family moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

. After graduating from Loyola High School there in 1919, he entered the seminary of the Friars Minor of California. He was received into the

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

of the Order in 1923, and given the religious name of Maynard, keeping his birth name as a middle name. He received Holy Orders on June 9, 1929, at

Mission Santa Barbara Mission Santa Barbara ( es, link=no, Misión de Santa Bárbara) is a Spanish mission in Santa Barbara, California. Often referred to as the ‘Queen of the Missions,’ it was founded by Padre Fermín Lasuén for the Franciscan order on December ...

. Geiger wrote extensively on various aspects of the mission system, and is best known for his biography of

Junípero Serra Junípero Serra y Ferrer (; ; ca, Juníper Serra i Ferrer; November 24, 1713August 28, 1784) was a Spanish Roman Catholic priest and missionary of the Franciscan Order. He is credited with establishing the Franciscan Missions in the Sier ...

, the first "Father Presidente" of the

Alta California Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as ('New 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 ...

missions. He was a tireless apologist for the mission system and the evangelization of the native populations, choosing to highlight through his scholarship the achievements and dedication of the friars of California.

References

1901 births 1977 deaths Writers from Lancaster, Pennsylvania Writers from Los Angeles American Friars Minor Historians of Franciscan history History of Catholicism in the United States 20th-century American Roman Catholic priests Franciscan scholars American historians of religion Spanish missions in California Catholics from Pennsylvania Historians from Pennsylvania Historians from California {{US-reli-bio-stub

Life

See also

References