Misión San Cayetano de Tumacácori

This church was founded during the late-seventeenth century, when the Spanish Crown claimed this region as the northern border of its empire in North America. Throughout this period, the monarchs of Spain allowed missionaries to establish settlements in the modern-day US Southwest in order to evangelize the native peoples. It also helped the empire stake its claim over the territories, which were otherwise sparsely populated. Unlike the churches founded in Texas and New Mexico, this mission was founded by Jesuits. Franciscan friars eventually took over after the king, threatened by their wealth and power, expelled the Jesuits from all of Spain’s territories.