Jesuits at Baja California Missions

Jesuits at Baja California Missions, 1697-1768. By David Kier ©2015

During the seventy years of their administration of the California missions, Jesuit priests founded, operated, and managed 17 missions.

Eight missions were moved after their founding, usually to better water supplies. Four of the missions that were moved over 15 miles from their founding site were San José de Comondú, Los Dolores, Pilar de la Paz, and Calamajué. Except for Comondú, these missions generally were called by a different name when moved.

First we will list the missions (including the founding date) with the Jesuits who were recorded being there. Some of those named were visiting or assisting from other missions. The Jesuits only closed three missions of the seventeen they established (Ligüí in 1721, then Santa Rosa and San José del Cabo, both in 1748). The remaining 14 were transferred to the Franciscan Order in April, 1768.

Loreto, Oct. 25, 1697

Juan Salvatierra 1697-1704, 1707-1717
Francisco Píccolo 1697-1699, 1718-1729
Juan Ugarte 1701
Pedro Ugarte 1704
Jaime Bravo 1705-1720, 1728-1744
Julián Mayorga 1707
Clemente Guillén 1718 & 1748
Jerónimo Minutuli 1719-1761
Juan Mugazábal 1720-1761
Gaspar Trujillo 1744-1748
Juan Armesto 1747-1752
Johann Bischoff 1753-1757
Francisco López 1755-1762
Lucas Ventura 1757-1768
Julián Salazar 1758 & 1763-1765
Ignacio Tirsch 1762-1763
Juan Villavieja 1765-1768
Francisco Franco 1767-1768

San Francisco Javier, Nov. 1, 1699

Francisco Píccolo 1699-1703
Juan Ugarte 1702, 1704-1730
Juan Basaldúa 1703-1704
Juan Mugazábal 1718-1719
Agustín Luyando1730-1738
Miguel Barco 1737-1768

San Juan Bautista (de Ligüí/Malibat), Nov. 1705

Pedro Ugarte 1705-1709
Francisco Peralta 1709-1711
Clemente Guillén 1714-1721

Santa Rosalía (de Mulegé), Nov. 1705

Juan Basaldúa 1705-1709
Francisco Píccolo 1709-1718
Nicolás Tamaral 1717
Sebastián Sistiaga 1718-1733
Francisco Osorio 1725
Juan Luyando 1727-1733
Everard Hellen 1731-1732
William Gordon 1733-1734
Pedro Nascimbén 1735-1754
Benno Ducrue 1755
Joaquín Trujillo 1756-1757
Francisco Escalante 1757-1759, 1760-1768
Julián Salazar 1759-1760

San José de Comondú, 1708

Julián Mayorga 1708-1736
Franz Wagner 1737-1744
José Rondero 1745-1751
Gaspar Trujillo 1748
Franz Inama 1751-1768

La Purísima, Jan. 1, 1720

Nicolás Tamaral 1720-1730
Francisco Osorio 1725-1726
Sigismundo Taraval 1730-1732
Jacobo Druet 1733-1753
Benno Ducrue 1753-1754
Franz Inama 1755-1757
Johann Bischoff 1758-1766
Juan Diez 1766-1768

Pilar de la Paz, Nov. 3, 1720

Jaime Bravo 1720-1728
William Gordon 1728-1733
(vacant 1734-1736)
Bernhard Zumziel 1737-1750
(mission moved to Todos Santos in 1748)
Johann Bischoff 1751-1752, 1767-1768
Karl Neumayer 1752-1764
Francisco Franco 1764-1766

Guadalupe, Dec. 12, 1720

Everard Hellen 1720-1735
Ignacio Nápoli 1724
Francisco Osorio 1726
Joseph Gasteiger 1735-1754
Benno Ducrue 1755-1768

Los Dolores, Aug. 2, 1721

Clemente Guillén 1721-1747
(mission moved to La Pasión in 1741)
Lambert Hostell 1741-1743 & 1746-1768

Santiago, 1724

Ignacio Nápoli 1724-1726
Lorenzo Carranco 1726-1734
(vacant 1734-1736)
Anton Tempis 1736-1746
Karl Neumayer 1746-1747
Sigismundo Taraval 1747-1750
Bernhard Zumziel 1750-1751
Johann Bischoff 1752-1753
Francisco Badillo 1753-1759
Francisco Escalante 1759
Julián Salazar 1760-1763
Ignacio Trisch 1763-1768

San Ignacio, Jan. 20, 1728

Juan Luyando 1728-1733
Sebastián Sistiaga 1728-1747
Sigusmundo Taraval 1732-1733
Fernando Consag 1733-1759
Georg Retz 1751
José Rotea 1759-1768

San José del Cabo, Apr. 8, 1730

Nicolás Tamaral 1730-1734
(vacant 1734-1736)
Sigismundo Taraval 1736-1738, 1741-1746
Miguel Barco 1737
Lambert Hostell 1738-1740
Karl Neumayer 1747 & 1750-1751
(mission closed and becomes visita of Santiago 1748-1768)

Santa Rosa (Todos Santos), Aug. 1733

Sigusmundo Taraval 1733-1734
(vacant 1734-1736)
Bernhard Zumziel 1737-1748
(mission replaced by moved Pilar de la Paz in 1748)

San Luis Gonzaga, July 14, 1737

Lambert Hostell 1737-1738 & 1741-1745
Clemente Guillén 1739-1740
Johann Bischoff 1746-1750
Jakob Baegert 1751-1768

Santa Gertrudis, July 15, 1752

Georg Retz 1752-1768

San Francisco de Borja, Sept. 1, 1762

Wenceslaus Linck 1762-1768
Victoriano Arnés 1764-1766
Juan Diez 1765-1766

Calamajué/Santa María, Oct. 16, 1766

Victoriano Arnés 1766-1768
Juan Diez 1766
(mission moved and renamed in 1767)

Next, we will list the 62 Jesuits by the year they arrived in California (Baja California) followed by the year they left (or died in) California. Some variation exists in the years among the reference sources.

1683 San Bruno colony: Jean Baptiste Copart to 1685, Matías Goñi to 1685, Eusebio Kino to 1685
1697: Juan Salvatierra to 1717, Francisco Pícolo to 1729
1700: Juan Ugarte to 1730
1702: Juan Basaldúa to 1709, Jerónimo Minutuli to 1703
1704: Juan Mugazábal to 1761, Pedro Ugarte to 1707
1705: Jaime Bravo to 1744
1707: Julián Mayorga to 1736
1709: Francisco Peralta to 1711
1713: Benedetto Ghisi to 1713
1714: Clemente Guillén to 1748
1717: Nicolás Tamaral to 1734
1718: Sebastián Sistiaga to 1747
1720: Everard Hellen to 1735
1721: Ignacio Nápoli to 1726, & 1736
1725: Francisco Osorio to 1727
1726: Lorenzo Carranco to 1734
1727: Juan Luyando to 1734
1728: William Gordon to 1738
1729: José Echeverría* to 1730
1730: Agustín Luyando to 1738, Sigismundo Taraval to 1750
1732: Jacobo Druet to 1753
1733: Fernando Consag to 1759
1735: Joseph Gasteiger to 1754, Pedro Nascimbén to 1754
1736: Antonio Tempis to 1746
1737: Miguel Barco to 1768, Fentanés Bartolomé to 1740, Andrés García* to 1737, Lambert Hostell to 1768, Franz Wagner to 1744, Bernhard Zumziel to 1751
1742: Lucas Alvarez* to 1742
1744: Gaspar Trujillo to 1748
1745: Johann Balthasar* to 1746, José Rondero to 1751
1746: Johann Bischoff to 1768, Karl Neumayer to 1764
1747: Juan Armesto to 1753
1750: Benno Ducrue to 1768, Franz Inama to 1768
1751: Jakob Baegert to 1768, Georg Retz to 1768
1752: Francisco Badillo to 1762
1755: Francisco López to 1764, Joaquín Trujillo to 1757
1757: Lucas Ventura to 1768, Francisco Escalante to 1768
1758: José Rotea to 1768, Julián Salazar to 1765
1761: Ignacio Lizazoáin* to 1762
1762: Wenceslaus Link to 1768, Ignacio Tirsch to 1768
1764: Victoriano Arnés to 1768, Francisco Franco to 1768
1765: Juan Díez to 1768, Juan Villavieja to 1768

(* Visitador General only, not also a resident priest in Baja California)

References:

‘The History of (Lower) California’ by Francisco Clavigero, 1786
‘Black Robes in Lower California’ by Peter Dunne, 1952
‘Jesuit Relations, Baja California, 1716-1762’ by Ernest Burrus, 1984
‘Antigua California’ by Harry Crosby, 1994