Juan Juárez

Juan Juárez^[a] OFM (died 1528) was a Spanish Franciscan friar and one of the Twelve Apostles of Mexico. He has been named as the first bishop within what would become the United States;^[1] he was also one of the first Spanish missionaries to set foot in Florida.^[2]

Juan Juárez
Born	Valencia, Spain
Died	1528
Occupation	Friar
Known for	One of the Twelve Apostles of Mexico First bishop-elect in the territory of the United States

Juárez was born in Valencia sometime at the end of the 15th century.^[3] He became a member of the Province of St. Gabriel of the Franciscans^[4]and traveled to New Spain in 1524. In 1526, he was appointed guardian of the convent of Huexotcingo. He returned to Spain the same year to acquire more missionaries. In 1527, he was appointed comisario over the friars who joined the mission.^[5]

Prior to leaving Spain, he was nominated as Bishop of Florida and Rio de las Palmas — which stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pánuco River^[6] — by Charles V through royal patronage,^[3] which was confirmed by the Holy See.^[7][8] Juárez died in 1528 following a failed attempt of the colonization of Florida.^[9]

Whether or not he was bishop upon entering Florida has been questioned; regarding Juárez's appointment as Bishop of Florida, John Gilmary Shea wrote:

In the Spanish portion we find the silly fable of Friar Juan Xuarez having been Bishop of Florida given as a fact, and the assertion made that he and his companions were the first missionaries to set foot on our territory. That Xuarez was a bishop is contradicted by every contemporaneous document, by the silence of all the Spanish writers, and by intrinsic facts.^[6]

In addition, Edwin Ryan said that Juárez's appointment as bishop was based upon a source that was published in 1723, which he considered to be unreliable;^[10] it was also agreed upon by historians that he did not receive episcopal consecration.^[11] Juárez was, nonetheless, mentioned as bishop-elect in several documents.^[12]

Notes

1. Also spelled as Juan Xuarez.

References

1. "Consistory of December 27, 1527". The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church: Biographical Dictionary. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
2. New Catholic World. Vol. 15. Paulist Press. 1872. p. 587. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
3. Arias, David (2005). Spanish-Americans/Lives and Faces. p. 25. ISBN 9781412047173. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
4. Clarke 1872, p. 23.
5. Engelhardt 1919, p. 480.
6. Esperanza 1899, p. 142.
7. Clarke 1872, p. 26.
8. Murray, John (1877). A Popular History of the Catholic Church in the United States. D. & J. Sadlier. p. 71. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
9. Esperanza 1899, p. 144.
10. Engelhardt 1919, p. 479.
11. O'Daniel, Victor (1930). Dominicans in Early Florida. Vol. 13. p. 207. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
12. Esperanza 1899, pp. 143–144.

Bibliography

• Clarke, Richard (1872). "Right Rev. Juan Juarez, O.S.F.". Lives of the Deceased Bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States. Vol. 1. P. O'Shea. pp. 21–31. Retrieved 13 December 2021.

• Esperanza (July 1899). "Right Rev. Juan Xuarez, O. S. F.: FIRST BISHOP OF FLORIDA". The American Catholic Historical Researches. 16 (3): 142–144. JSTOR 44374096. Retrieved 13 December 2021.

• Engelhardt, Zephyrin (January 1919). "Florida's First Bishop". The Catholic Historical Review. 4 (4): 479–485. JSTOR 25011600. Retrieved 13 December 2021.