Mission of Nombre de Dios and Shrine of Nuestra Senora De La Leche
Website : Mission Website
Description : “The Mission of Nombre de Dios traces its origins to the founding of the City of St. Augustine, America’s oldest city, in 1565. On September 8, 1565, Pedro Menendez de Aviles landed and proclaimed this site for Spain and the Church. It was here that Menendez knelt to kiss a wooden cross presented to him by Father Francisco Lopez de Mendoza Grajales, chaplain of his expedition. It was on these grounds that Fr. Lopez would celebrate the first parish Mass and begin the work at America’s first Mission. It was at this sacred spot that the Spanish settlers would begin the devotion to Our Lady of La Leche that continues into the present” (source: Website).
Site of first Roman Catholic mass in what is now the US, and place where Martín de Argüelles, first white child to be born here, was christened in 1566. Enormous cross is a monument marking the spot, there is also a restored 16th century chapel, walking tour of the grounds, burial sites of many pioneers. All of St. Augustine, the oldest white city in the US, is worth seeing: the Bridge of Lions, Gonzalez Alvarez House (the oldest surviving white dwelling), Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse, Spanish Military Hospital Museum, Castillo de San Marcos and, south of town, Fort Matanzas. (The last is very much worth seeing though less uplifting, as it was the site of the slaughter (Matanzas means “massacre”) of French Huguenot Protestants by the Spaniards. There is a very compelling Huguenot Cemetery in St. Augustine just outside the old city gates. North of St Augustine is Fort Caroline in Jacksonville.
City : St. Augustine
State : Florida
Latitude : 29.90504
Longitude : -81.31612
Recent Comments