Catholic Florida Before Jamestown | How the Faith Came to America

About this sermon

The Catholic history of Florida began decades before Jamestown and more than half a century before the Mayflower. In this installment of How the Faith Came to the United States, Steve Cunningham explores Florida’s ancient Masses, missions, martyrs, shrines and forgotten Catholic civilization. Drawing extensively from Michael Gannon’s The Cross in the Sand and other historical sources, this presentation begins with Juan Ponce de León and the priests who accompanied Spanish expeditions to Florida. On September 8, 1565, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés landed at St. Augustine, where Father Francisco López de Mendoza Grajales offered Mass. A communal meal shared afterward is often remembered as America’s first Thanksgiving. From St. Augustine, Franciscan and Jesuit missionaries carried the Gospel throughout Spanish Florida. Mission communities eventually stretched toward Tallahassee, Pensacola, Georgia and the Carolinas. Thousands of Native American Catholics worshiped in churches bearing names such as Holy Faith, Saint Joseph, Saint Francis, Holy Cross, Saint Michael and Our Lady of the Rosary. The story also contains warfare, colonial rivalry and tremendous suffering. Missionaries and Native American converts died for the Faith, including the Georgia Martyrs and numerous victims associated with the destruction of the Apalachee missions. Colonel James Moore’s invasions from Carolina devastated a Catholic mission system that had taken generations to build. The final portion examines the Florida Martyrs’ cause and important Catholic landmarks, including Mission Nombre de Dios, the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche, the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine, St. Michael’s in Pensacola and other historic churches. Some quotations contain the language and judgments of their historical period. They are included as historical testimony and do not necessarily represent contemporary terminology. 00:00 “You are the resistance” 00:46 How the Faith Came to Florida 00:55 Michael Gannon’s The Cross in the Sand 01:27 America’s oldest continuous Christian foundation 02:25 Mission Nombre de Dios and St. Augustine 02:32 Pedro Menéndez lands in 1565 02:41 Mass in America’s first city 03:12 Priests accompany early Spanish expeditions 03:26 The Cross raised upon Florida’s shores 03:43 “The altar was older than the hearth” 04:50 Missions established for Native Americans 05:30 Catholic education before Plymouth Rock 05:46 Thousands of Native American Christians 06:17 Spanish and English colonial systems collide 06:25 James Moore destroys the Florida missions 07:36 Catholic life contracts to St. Augustine and Pensacola 07:52 Bishop Augustin Verot rebuilds the Church 09:13 The Rim of Christendom, 1513–1565 09:22 Juan Ponce de León reaches Florida 11:16 Early exploration of Pensacola 19:19 The expedition reaches Apalachee territory 25:39 The principal Apalachee settlement 45:03 Tristán de Luna lands at Pensacola Bay 54:29 Spain considers permanent colonization 56:50 Pedro Menéndez de Avilés 58:03 The royal contract for Florida 58:57 Menéndez sails from Cádiz 1:07:12 Landfall in Florida 1:08:27 The harbor named St. Augustine 1:12:00 America’s first permanent Catholic parish 1:12:51 Mass and America’s first Thanksgiving 1:13:51 The first mission at Nombre de Dios 1:15:27 Our Lady of La Leche 1:16:42 The capture of Fort Caroline 1:19:06 Menéndez requests Jesuit missionaries 1:20:53 Florida’s permanent Catholic settlements 1:28:24 The martyrdom of Father Pedro Martínez 1:29:12 The Jesuit mission near Miami 1:32:19 Missionaries killed while serving native peoples 1:37:04 Franciscan missionaries enter Florida 1:47:02 The Guale uprising and Georgia Martyrs 1:50:03 The martyrs returned to St. Augustine 1:54:37 Cause of the Five Georgia Martyrs 1:55:00 https://martyrsoflafloridamissions.org/ https://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/secrets-spanish-florida-synopsis/3626/ https://shop.pbs.org/WC2182.html 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 ✝️ SUPPORT THE MISSION 🙏 Donate https://sensusfidelium.com/donate-support/ 📬 Free Catholic Newsletter https://sensusfidelium.com/newsletter/ 📰 Read on Substack https://sensusfidelium.substack.com/ ──────────────────── 📺 WATCH & READ 📺 Sensus Fidelium App https://sensusfidelium.tv/ 📚 Sensus Fidelium Press https://sensusfideliumpress.com/ 👕 Official Merchandise https://sensusfidelium.com/merchandise/ ──────────────────── 🤝 PARTNER WITH US 📣 Advertise on Sensus Fidelium https://sensusfidelium.com/advertise-with-sensus-fidelium/ 🎤 Invite Steve Cunningham to Speak https://sensusfidelium.com/speaking/ ⛪ Parish Formation & Consultation https://sensusfidelium.com/for-parishes/ ──────────────────── 🌎 CATHOLIC COMMUNITY ✝️ Trusted Catholic Businesses https://sensusfidelium.com/catholic-businesses/ 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 #CatholicFlorida #CatholicHistory #AmericanCatholicHistory #SaintAugustine #FloridaMartyrs #GeorgiaMartyrs #NombreDeDios #OurLadyOfLaLeche #FirstThanksgiving

Topics

• Faith
• Christian Living