New Mexico’s Old Times and Old Timers
The Martyrdom of Padre Juan de Padilla
P
adre Juan de Padilla was one four Franciscans, and the only full-fledged priest, to accompany Francisco Vázquez de Coronado on his expedition into New Mexico in 1540. The padre was a native of Andalusia, Spain, but the year of his birth is not known nor is the date of his arrival in the New World. There is documentation showing that he was present in Mexico by 1529. After Coronado’s company spent the winter of 1541-42 near what is now the town of Bernalillo, New Mexico, the decision was made to return to Mexico. The purpose of the expedition had been to discover riches like those found by Cortez in Mexico and Pizzaro in Peru and no wealth had been found. Padre Padilla, however, decided that he would stay behind and do what he could to convert the natives to his Church. Remaining with him were Fray Juan de la Cruz and a Portuguese soldier
named Andres del Campo, along with two slaves. Padre Padilla, del Campo, and the slaves, set off for Quivara, believed to have been in central Kansas. While en route, the group encountered a force of unfriendly Indians, perhaps Pawnee or Kansa, and Padre Padilla told his companions to flee for safety while he knelt and prayed as he awaited arrival of the hostiles. Stories vary, but all agree that the priest was killed immediately. Del Campo, according to one version, was captured, but allowed to bury Padilla. Del Campo later escaped and after an arduous trek, he and the slaves returned to Mexico and reported the martyrdom of Padre Padilla. (Historian Miguel Encinias reported that the fate of de la Cruz is unknown.) There is some question about when the martyrdom occurred. One source says that Padilla’s party spent two years in Kansas
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By DON BULLIS . . . Don Bullis is the author of ten books on New Mexico. Go to www.DonBullis.biz for more info.
before he was killed, and thus he lived until 1544. Others believe that he was killed almost immediately upon his entry into Kansas in 1542. And that is not the only problem. Where, in fact, did it happen? Texans believe that Padre Padilla was actually in Texas when he was killed. According to The Handbook of Texas Online, “he had been revered by Texans as the first Christian martyr of Texas, and possibly of the United States.” A monument to Padilla was dedicated in Amarillo in 1936. According to Kansas Historical Collections, though, the incident of Padilla’s death occurred near the present-day Council Grove in east central Kansas. “I became convinced that there is no other reasonable hypothesis,” wrote Kansas hiscontinued on page 27