XIMÉNEZ, FRANCISCO. - Born at the end of the 15th century or the beginning of the 16th century in Villa de Luna (Aragon), he entered the Franciscan Order.

Not yet a priest, under the direction of Fr. Martín de Valencia, he set sail among the famous "12 Apostles" for Mexico, where he arrived on 13 May 1526. X. was the first priest ordained in Mexico by Bishop Julián Garcés, who in 1527 had taken possession of the first Mexican diocese, erected in 1526 at Tlaxcala. Known as a canonist, he signed, together with other Franciscans, a series of letters to Charles V; he was the first to learn the language of the Indians and composed a brief catechism, a grammar and a vocabulary in that language. He compiled the biography of the leader of the "12 Apostles": Vida del ven. p. Fr. Martín de Valencia. When Paul III erected the diocese of Antequera (today Oaxaca), Charles V presented X. as its first bishop. X., however, declined the dignity. His death is commonly assigned to 31 July 1537, but it is certain that he signed the common letter of the Franciscans of 15 May 1544.

Bibliography3 works

BIBL.: M. Cuevas, Hist. de la Iglesia en Mexico, 3rd ed., I, El Paso 1928, pp. 38, 165, 166, 167, 183, 301, 336; A. Lopez, Los doce primeros apóstoles de Mejico, in Biblioth. Hisp. Miss., II, Barcelona-Sarria 1933, pp. 201-26; Streit, II, p. 63.

Nicola Kowalsky

@incollection{ec12_ximenez_francisco, author = {Kowalsky, Nicola}, title = {Ximenez, francisco}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {XII}, pages = {1730}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1954}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/ximenez-francisco} }

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Ximénez, Francisco

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