Asistencias
Asistencias or visitas were smaller sub-missions of Catholic missions established during the 16th-19th centuries of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. They allowed the Catholic church and the Spanish crown to extend their reach into native populations at a modest cost.
Description[]
Asistencias were much smaller than the main missions with living quarters, workshops and crops in addition to a church. They were typically staffed with a small group of clergymen and a relatively small group of indigenous neophytes in order to maintain the complex.
Particularly strategic asistencias were later elevated to the status of a full mission. This typically included an expansion of existing facilities to support a larger clergy and indigenous neophyte population, improvement of basic infrastructure such as roads, and rechristening under a new Catholic saint.[1][2]
Examples[]
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Extant asistencias[]
- Visita de San Juan Bautista Londó was established in 1699 as an asistencia of Misión San José de Comondú.
- San Pedro y San Pablo Asistencia was established in 1786 as an asistencia of Mission San Francisco de Asís.
- San Antonio de Pala Asistencia was established in 1816 as an asistencia of Mission San Luis Rey de Francia.
Elevated to the status of mission[]
- Mission San Cosme y Damián de Tucsón was established in 1692 as an asistencia of Mission San Xavier del Bac before being elevated to the status of mission in 1768.
- Misión Santa Rosa de las Palmas was established in 1724 as an asistencia of Misión de Nuestra Señora del Pilar de La Paz Airapí before being elevated to the status of mission in 1733.
- Mission San Rafael Arcángel was established in 1817 as a medical asistencia of Mission San Francisco de Asís before being elevated to the status of mission in 1822.
References[]
- ^ "California Mission Life". Factcards.califa.org. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
- ^ "Mission Trail Today - Mission Asistencias and Estancias". U.S. Mission Trail. Retrieved 2015-06-17.
- Spanish missions in California
- Roman Catholic churches in California
- The Californias
- United States history stubs