Was the first Catholic Thanksgiving Mass in Texas?

Florida, Texas and Kansas all claim to be the site of the first Thanksgiving Mass in America, celebrated by Spanish friars who were exploring the area.

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Many are familiar with the claim that St. Augustine, Florida, was the site of the first Thanksgiving Mass in what would become the United States of America.

That first Mass was celebrated on September 8, 1565.

Kansas is also the site of a Mass celebrated on June 29, 1541.

However, historians also claim that a Mass celebrated in Texas is technically the first Thanksgiving Mass.

Palo Duro Canyon

Doug McDonough explains in his article, “America’s first Thanksgiving celebrated in Palo Duro Canyon in 1541,” that “a 1936 monument in Amarillo’s Elmwood Park recognizes the martyrdom of Father Fray Juan de Padillo, who performed a Thanksgiving Mass in Palo Duro Canyon in 1541 while traveling with Francisco Vasquez de Coronado.”

The Mass occurred on the feast of the Ascension, according to local experts.

Based on an account of the expedition written by one of Coronado’s captains, an 18th-century Mexican historian, Mota Padilla, said those decisions were made on the day of the Feast of the Ascension, May 29, 1541. This feast, which included a Catholic Mass, can be considered America’s first Thanksgiving. Reports of the event indicate that the Mass was witnessed by Indians, who watched quietly in amazement.

Jerry Circelli for the North Texas Catholic further explains that while Coronado was searching for gold, “the friars were not driven to find gold, but to save souls. They had already brought many Native Americans to Christ at settlements along the way and were thankful that so many of these people had accepted Him.”

Coronado was disappointed at the expedition and returned, while the friars stayed with the Native Americans.

The Franciscans, led by Friar de Padilla, were successful in establishing a mission among the Native Americans they had befriended in the High Plains. After two years of ministering to the local inhabitants who were accepting Christ, Friar de Padilla ventured with do Campo and his Franciscan brothers a day’s journey to the east, where they hoped to expand their ministry.

Friar de Padilla would eventually be killed by Native Americans and is often referred to as the “proto-martyr” of the United States.