Twelve Apostles of Mexico
The Twelve Apostles of Mexico refers to a group of twelve Franciscan missionaries who arrived in Mexico in 1524 with the aim of converting the indigenous Aztec population to Christianity. They were part of an ongoing effort by European missionaries during the Age of Exploration, following the initial conquest of the Aztecs by Hernan Cortes in 1519. Led by Fray Martín de Valencia, these missionaries sought to build on the work of earlier Franciscans who had begun learning the local language, which facilitated their interactions with the native people. The Twelve Apostles faced significant challenges, including linguistic diversity and the trauma caused by previous conquests.
In their missionary work, they not only taught Christianity but also integrated local customs and practices, which helped bridge indigenous beliefs with their religious teachings. Their efforts led to the large-scale conversion of many Aztecs and laid the groundwork for further missionary activities by other Catholic orders in the region. Notably, their experiences contributed to a pivotal decree by Pope Paul III, recognizing the intelligence and spiritual worth of the native people, which helped reduce practices of slavery. The legacy of the Twelve Apostles highlights the complexities and impacts of missionary work in colonial Mexico, as well as the cultural exchanges that occurred during this transformative period.
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Twelve Apostles of Mexico
The Twelve Apostles of Mexico were a dozen Franciscan missionaries who arrived in Mexico in 1524. They were sent by their religious order to convert the indigenous Aztec population to Christianity, a common practice when Europeans explored and colonized other lands. Building on the work of a small group of missionaries who arrived before them, the twelve men learned the Aztec language and taught the native people about the Christian faith. Their work prepared the way for many other missionaries who gained a large foothold for Christianity in the area. They also set the stage for rapid growth of the Catholic Church in Mexico.
Background
The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries are often referred to as the Age of Exploration because it was during this time that representatives from European countries sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to lands previously unknown to them. Spanish fleets landed in the Americas in various places including what is in modern times Mexico. In 1519 Hernan Cortes (1485–1547) led a force that overcame the native Aztec people. Cortes claimed the area for Spain, which led to an influx of more Spanish military personnel and others.
Among those who came were many Christian missionaries. Missionaries are people who go to an area for the purpose of spreading religion, usually the Christian faith. In doing so, they believe they are obeying an important instruction from Jesus Christ to spread the message known as the Christian gospel throughout the world.
The Franciscans are especially known for missionary work around the world. Franciscans are Roman Catholic Christians who follow the practices of St. Francis of Assisi (d. 1226), the son of an Italian merchant who gave up his life of wealth to live in poverty and care for others. He was joined by others who shared his view of life. These first Franciscan friars gave up all their earthly possessions and supported themselves by begging while they preached about Jesus.
In 1209, Pope Innocent III (1161–1216), head of the Church, formally approved three groups of Franciscans, known as orders: the Third Order of Saint Francis, the Order of Saint Clare, and the Order of Friars Minor. Followers of these orders take vows of poverty and chastity and devote themselves to a religious life. Like other Christian orders of the time, the Franciscans took seriously the biblical directive to spread the gospel message. Many were sent by the leaders of their orders to what was being called “the New World,” the lands in and around North, Central, and South America.
Overview
The Twelve Apostles—also known as the Franciscan Twelve—made up the second group of Franciscans sent to Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec culture in Mexico. They followed a smaller group of three Belgian Franciscans who spent their time in the area learning the Aztec language. This proved to be beneficial, as it facilitated communication between the new group of missionaries and the local population.
The larger group of Franciscans was led by Martin de Valencia, who was about fifty years of age when he was selected to head the group in 1523. The group set sail from the port of Sanlúcar de Barrameda in southern Spain in early 1524. After a four-month voyage, Fray Martin, as he was called, and the others arrived in Tenochtitlan in May and were greeted by Cortes. The other Franciscans were Francisco de Soto, Martin de Coruna, Juan Juarez, Antonio de Cuidad Rodrigo, Toribio de Benavente Motolinia, García de Cisneros, Luis de Fuensalida, Juan de Ribas, Francisco Jimenez, Andres de Cordoba, and Juan de Palos.
Although the work of the Twelve benefitted from the efforts of the earlier missionaries who began learning the local language, they still encountered difficulties. Multiple groups of native people spoke different languages and were spread across remote areas. The Spanish conquistadors who preceded them and conquered the area had killed and harmed many of the local people. The Twelve overcame some of the resulting trauma by incorporating local practices into the religious teachings they were sharing. Without compromising the message they were sharing, they added art, poetry, and other elements important to the local people to create a bridge between indigenous religious beliefs and the Christian faith.
The Franciscan Twelve taught the local people about Christianity and other subjects. They introduced them to the rites of the church including baptism, the Christian rite of initiation. They baptized countless people, sometimes in the unorthodox fashion of saying the prescribed words and tossing water by the bucket on the gathered crowd, instead of dunking or sprinkling them with water in the customary way.
The Franciscan missionaries converted large numbers of the Aztec people to Catholicism. They prepared the way for many other missionaries from different Catholic orders such as the Dominicans and Jesuits, who established schools, churches, convents and more to develop a strong Catholic presence in Mexico. Their experiences working with the local populations led to a 1537 decree by Pope Paul III (1468–1549) that proclaimed the native people were not savages as many people maintained but intelligent beings with souls. This helped bring an end to the practice of slavery in the area.
Fray Martin spent the rest of his life among the indigenous Mexicans, dying in Tlalmanalco, Mexico, on March 21, 1534, just shy of ten years after arriving. Several of the others became leaders of the Catholic Church in the area. These included Francisco de Soto, who became a religious leader known as a provincial, and Juan Juarez, who was the first Catholic bishop in the area that would become the United States.
Toribio de Benavente Motolinia became well-known for his writings about the Franciscans’ missionary challenges and the customs of the indigenous people they encountered. Much of what is known about the activities of the Twelve Apostles and other Franciscan missionaries in the area was recorded by Jerónimo de Mendieta, who was himself a missionary and historian from the order.
Bibliography
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