First Mass1541
| Location | Oklahoma Panhandle |
|---|---|
| State/Territory | Oklahoma |
| County | Unknown |
| Modern Diocese | Archdiocese of Oklahoma City |
| Historical Diocese | Unorganized |
| Date | 1541 * |
| Priest | Fray Juan de Padilla |
| Religious Order | Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans) |
| Rite | Roman (Latin) Rite |
| Expedition | Coronado Expedition — see the full route, The Coronado Expedition (1540–1542) → |
| Confidence | disputed |
| Submitted by | @_catholicwest |
Documentation
Notes
Diocesan narrative very skinny, saying someone said Mass during Coronado expedition in 1542. However I think that's in error. Per Gilbert J. Garraghan, S.J., 'Catholic First Things in the United States', the Coronado Expedition did cross the western extremity of Oklahoma in 1541 en route to Kansas. Garraghan's Oklahoma section notes: 'Probably Fray de Padilla (1541), more probably De Soto's chaplains (1541)... said Mass within the limits of the state. No mention of Mass during the Spanish period occurs in the records.' The evidence for first Mass during Coronado's passage is speculative rather than documented. Marking as disputed pending verification of celebrant or a different contemporary record. He was in the area at the time, saying Mass in northern Texas in May and Kansas in June of 1541, not 1542. Further sources: Gilbert J. Garraghan, S.J., 'Catholic First Things in the United States,' Mid-America: An Historical Review, vol. 21 (1939) — https://archive.org/details/midamericahistor21unse/
← Back to the full map & timeline