Third Thursday Food for Thought – “300 Years After His Death Father Kino’s Sonora and Arizona Missions Live On”

Mission church at Santa Ana Viejo, Sonora, Mexico, viewed from inside a nearby gazebo. Photo by Allen Dart.

Old Pueblo Archaeology Center’s Third Thursday Food for Thought dinner presentation will feature “300 Years After His Death Father Kino’s Sonora and Arizona Missions Live On” by Father Greg Adolf. This special presentation and dinner will be held on Thursday, December 20, 2018 in the Dining Hall and Petroglyph Auditorium of the Picture Rocks Redemptorist Renewal Center (PRRRC), 7101 W. Picture Rocks Rd., Tucson. Three hundred years after his death, Jesuit Padre Eusebio Francisco Kino’s impact on Arizona and Sonora continues to shape the culture and economy of two nations, as well as the Native American communities in this part of the world. Beginning in 1687, and continuing for the next 24 years until his death in 1711, Padre Kino established a string of missions and ranches across the area, while exploring and mapping an area of 50,000 square miles. In addition to founding almost two dozen missions and introducing Christianity to thousands of Native Americans, Padre Kino brought about major changes in the area’s agriculture, economics, and, of course, the culture. Padre Kino introduced European tools and agricultural methods, as well as many European fruits and grains to Arizona, including citrus trees and wheat. The Jesuit also became one of the first and largest cattle ranchers in northern Mexico and southern Arizona, and he trained many Native Americans to become the first cowboys in the area, another lasting legacy. Well-known folklorist James “Big Jim” Griffith says that every time we enjoy carne asada or quesadilla, we are paying tribute to the “Padre on Horseback”! Commemorated with heroic equestrian statues and place names across the Borderlands, Padre Kino emerges from the historical records as a man of immense vision, a dedicated “bridge builder” between peoples and cultures, and a defender of the Native Peoples.

A free tour of the Picture Rocks petroglyphs will be led by archaeologist Allen Dart at 5:00 pm, followed by dinner at 6:00 and the presentation from 7:15 to 8:30. Dinner is $16 per person, payable to Old Pueblo Archaeology Center by check or credit/debit card no later than 5:00 pm, Tuesday, Dec. 18, so that Old Pueblo can tell PRRRC on Dec. 19 how many guests will attend. Donations will be requested during the event to benefit Old Pueblo’s educational efforts. Call Old Pueblo at 520-798-1201 no later than 5 p.m. Dec. 18 to make reservations and pay for dinner. For more information click on below link to flyer.

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