First Mass1570
| Location | Ajacán Mission (exact site disputed) |
|---|---|
| State/Territory | Virginia |
| County | Elizabeth City County |
| Modern Diocese | Diocese of Richmond |
| Historical Diocese | Diocese of Santiago de Cuba |
| Date | 1570 † |
| Priest | Fr. Juan Bautista de Segura, S.J. |
| Religious Order | Society of Jesus (Jesuits) |
| Rite | Roman (Latin) Rite |
| Confidence | inferred |
| Submitted by | @_catholicwest |
Photos
Documentation
- Gilbert J. Garraghan, S.J., "Catholic First Things in the United States," Mid-America: An Historical Review, vol. 21 (1939)
- Wikipedia on Ajacán Mission
Notes
Per Gilbert J. Garraghan, S.J., "Catholic First Things in the United States" (Mid-America, 1939), Mass was offered at Father Juan Bautista de Segura's short-lived Jesuit mission in Virginia (the Ajacán Mission), 1570-1571, ending with the massacre of the mission party in February 1571. Supporting detail: Wikipedia's Ajacán Mission article confirms the Jesuits built a small chapel where Mass was celebrated after landing on the lower Chesapeake peninsula, September 10, 1570. Exact location is genuinely disputed among historians (proposed sites include the York River/Queen's Creek area, Diascund Creek in New Kent County, and the Occoquan/Aquia Creek area in Stafford County) — no single scholarly consensus exists, so county and modern diocese are left blank pending a decision on which site to use. Setting as inferred mass said on Virginia Peninsula.
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