The head of the Catholic missions in California between 1769 and 1812 was
known as the President-General and was appointed by his apostolic college in
Mexico City. After 1812 when Mexico became independent, he was appointed by the
Commissary General of the Indies, a Franciscan residing in Spain and technically
known as the Commissary Prefect (although President-General is the more common
term used). The character of the job changed as the missions became secularized
(1833) and the mission system collapsed. Following is a list of the Presidents-General in charge of
the Alta California missions:
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1812 - 1815: Padre José Francisco de Paula Señán
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Padre José Francisco de Paula Señán (1760-1823) was born in
Barcelona 31 March 1760. He started his instruction in 1774 and was
ordained in 1784. He was sent to Mexico City and about 1787 came to
Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo. He was elected President-General
in 1812 and again in 1820. He was well regarded by all. He passed away
24 August 1823.
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1815 - 1819: Padre Mariano Payeras
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 Padre Mariano Payeras (1769-1823) was born in Inca on the isle of
Mallorca in 1769. He arrived in California in 1796 and spent time at the
Carmel, Soledad, and San Antonio missions. He was assigned to Mission La
Purísima Concepción in the fall of 1804 and basically stayed there the
rest of his life. He was named President-General for internal mission
affairs in 1814 and Commissary Prefect (see intro above) in 1815. It was
under his direction that the inland asistencias at Pala and San
Bernardino were established. He passed away 28 April 1823 and was buried
at La Purísima. A tomb was unearthed 27 July 1936 during rebuilding of
that mission and identified as his. [Side note: Another tomb that
is identified as Padre Payeras' burial place also exists at Mission
Santa Bárbara. Apparently, some of the remains of Padre Payeras had
been moved by Rev. Father Francisco Sánchez to a vault at Santa
Bárbara for reasons presently unclear. Thus, Padre Payeras seems to be
buried in two different places.] |
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1820 - 1823: Padre José Francisco de Paula Señán
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See above for bio.
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1823 - 1824: Padre Vincente Francisco de Sarría
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I've found little written about Padre Vincente Francisco de Sarría.
There are specific items listed however. He appears in the Henry Lebbeus
Oak autograph collection at the Archival Center in Mission Hills. He is
noted via comments in several biographies. He apparently baptized John
Gilroy, the first foreigner to permanently settle in California. Gilroy
landed from the Isaac Todd in Monterey in 1814 and was baptized
Juan Antonio Maria 29 September 1814. He had a hand in the creation of
the Santa Ysabel Asistencia. 2 February 1819 he noted that "in the
place called Santa Isabel, toward the Sierra, they count a goodly number
of baptized souls...I asked the governor for permission to formally
erect a chapel there." Finally, he is credited with the "first
original contribution every offered by a resident of California in the
field of medicine": an 1830 paper on caesarian section.
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1824 - 1827: Padre Narcisco Durán
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Padre Narcisco Durán (1776-1846) was born 1776 in Catalonia. He came
to the New World in 1803, arrived in Monterey in 1806 and
was assigned to Mission San José. He spent 27 years there. He is noted
for his prólogo on mission music; compiled in 1813. He was
elected President-General in 1824 (and during later periods as well--see
below). In 1826 he refused to take the oath of allegiance to Mexico and
had troubles with public officials as a result, despite his good
standing within the church. In 1833 Padre Durán moved the mission
headquarters from San José to Santa Bárbara. He passed away there in
1846.
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1827 - 1830: Padre José Bernardo Sánchez
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I've found little written about Padre José Bernardo Sánchez. It's
clear that he was a force in the California mission system. He appears
in the Henry Lebbeus Oak autograph collection at the Archival Center in
Mission Hills. He is known to have traveled with Padre Mariano Payeras
to San Jacinto, a distant rancho of Mission San Luis Rey in September
1821. He also appears in an 1836 sketch at Mission San Gabriel. I have
no actual biographical information, however.
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1830 - 1833: Padre Narcisco Durán
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See above for bio.
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