Francisco Pareja

rdf:langString Francisco Pareja

rdf:langString Francisco Pareja (c. 1570 – January 25, 1628) was a Franciscan missionary in Spanish Florida, where he was primarily assigned to San Juan del Puerto. The Spaniard became a spokesman for the Franciscan community to the Spanish and colonial governments, was a leader among the missionaries, and served as custodio for the community in Florida. After the Franciscan organization was promoted to a provincia (province), Pareja was elected by his fellow missionaries as provincial in 1616. His primary historical importance was as a linguist: he developed the first writing system for the American Indian Timucua language. In 1612 he published the first book in an indigenous language of the United States, a catechism in Spanish and Timucua. From 1612 to 1627, he published eight other works in Spanish and Timucua, for the use of his teaching brothers; six of his works survive. He taught Timucuans to read and write within six months. The first church in what is now the United States was founded in St. Augustine, Fla., by Fray Francisco de Pareja in 1560, - but there were many Spanish churches in America a half century earlier yet.