First Mass1540
| Location | Sulphur Springs Valley (exact site disputed) |
|---|---|
| State/Territory | Arizona |
| County | Cochise |
| Modern Diocese | Diocese of Tucson |
| Historical Diocese | Unorganized |
| Date | 1540 † |
| Priest | Fray Juan de Padilla, Fray Juan de la Cruz, and Fray Marcos de Niza, O.F.M. |
| Religious Order | Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans) |
| Rite | Roman (Latin) Rite |
| Expedition | Coronado Expedition — see the full route, The Coronado Expedition (1540–1542) → |
| Confidence | inferred |
| Submitted by | @_catholicwest |
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Documentation
Notes
Per Gilbert J. Garraghan, S.J., "Catholic First Things in the United States" (Mid-America, 1939), the three Franciscans accompanying Coronado's 1540 expedition -Frs. Juan de Padilla, Juan de la Cruz, and Marcos de Niza- very probably said Mass during their crossing of Arizona; a separate, more disputed claim holds Fray Marcos de Niza alone may have been in Arizona as early as 1539.
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