First Mass

Some of the earliest documented Masses in what became the United States happened along the route of a single multi-stop expedition — explorers and missionaries moving through unfamiliar territory, saying Mass at each new camp. Where an expedition has three or more documented stops, its full route is mapped here.

• The Coronado Expedition (1540–1542)
  3 documented first Masses · 1540 – June 29, 1541
• The Vizcaíno Expedition (1602)
  2 documented first Masses · November 12, 1602 – December 17, 1602
• Blainville Expedition 1749
  2 documented first Masses · 1749 – August 13, 1749
• The Portolá Expedition (1769–1770)
  12 documented first Masses · July 16, 1769 – November 4, 1769
• The Blanchet–Demers Mission to Oregon Country (1838–1839)
  2 documented first Masses · December 16, 1838 – January 6, 1839
• Fr. De Smet's Journey West (1840)
  4 documented first Masses · July 5, 1840 – August 1840