The northern part of New Spain was a challenge for colonization due to the immensity of the territory and the extreme climate conditions, in which the missions played a fundamental role. The establishment of a mission not only implied the propagation of faith, but the transmission of a way of seeing the world in the midst of mountains and deserts.
Chihuahua has the greatest number of missionary vestiges in Mexico and also reflects the complexity of the colonization process of northern New Spain. Jesuits and Franciscans were in charge of evangelizing the region: the Jesuit order was in charge of the Tarahumara and Tepehua ethnic groups, while the Franciscan order was in charge of the Concho Indians and the groups settled to the east of the desert.
In the town of Bocoyna there is still a limestone temple built in honor of the Virgin of Guadalupe, named Misión de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Bocoyna (Mission of Our Lady of Guadalupe of Bocoyna). However, some inhabitants know it as Casa Cura (Priest House), since it was Jesuit Father Juan María Salvatierra who ordered its construction.
The northern part of New Spain was a challenge for colonization due to the immensity of the territory and the extreme climate conditions, in which the missions played a fundamental role. The establishment of a mission not only implied the propagation of faith, but the transmission of a way of seeing the world in the midst of mountains and deserts.
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Chihuahua has the greatest number of missionary vestiges in Mexico and also reflects the complexity of the colonization process of northern New Spain. Jesuits and Franciscans were in charge of evangelizing the region: the Jesuit order was in charge of the Tarahumara and Tepehua ethnic groups, while the Franciscan order was in charge of the Concho Indians and the groups settled to the east of the desert.
