ARVIDE, MARTÍN de. - A Friar Minor, missionary and martyr in New Mexico: b. at Puerto de S. Sebastian (Spain), he was slain on 27 February 1632. Having taken his vows in the convent of S. Francesco in Messico (1612), he asked for and obtained permission to go to New Mexico. Assigned to the mission of Pecuris, he succeeded in bringing back the Jemez Indians, who had returned to a nomadic life. In 1632 he was sent among the Zipias Indians in Arizona. He set out accompanied by two soldiers, five Christian Indians, and a mestizo, Lorenzo, whom he had educated; but before arriving they were attacked at night by Indians who had secretly followed the party. Fra Martín was struck down with blows from clubs and left half dead, while Lorenzo, wishing to win the savages’ favor, killed his benefactor, cutting off his head and right hand.
ARVIDE, MARTÍN DE
BIBL.: A. de Vetancurt, Menologio Franciscano, Messico 1871; Z. Engelhardt, The Franciscans in New Mexico, in Franciscan Herald, 9 (Chicago 1921); M. Habig, The Franciscan Martyrs of North America, in The Franciscan Educational Conference, 18 (Washington 1936); id., Heroes of the Cross. An American Martyrology, 2ª ed., Nuova York 1943. Pancrazio
Cite this article
“ARVIDE, MARTÍN DE.” Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. II (1949), p. 68. Azione Romana digital edition, https://azioneromana.com/article/arvide-martin-de.