Francisco Hidalgo

(1659?–1726). Francisco Hidalgo, a Spanish priest of the Franciscan order of Roman Catholicism, was a missionary to the American Indians in what are now northern Mexico and East Texas. His efforts helped lead to the long Spanish occupation of Texas.Hidalgo was born in Spain, probably in 1659. Nothing is known of his early life, though it is thought that he may have been orphaned at an early age. When Hidalgo was 15 years old, he entered the Franciscan order. After becoming a priest, he joined a group of Franciscans who traveled to the Spanish colonies in North America in 1683 to establish the college of Santa Cruz de Querétaro to train missionaries. The college, located in what is now central Mexico, was the first Spanish institution in the Americas dedicated to spreading Roman Catholicism. Hidalgo began preaching in neighboring villages, where his impassioned sermons against vice apparently met with considerable success.In 1688 Hidalgo began conducting missionary work in the northern...