LOCAL LECTURE: MISSION NOMBRE DE DIOS

Friends of the Main Library present Autumn Wolter, Visitor Experience and Museum Facility Coordinator, who will give a lecture and visual presentation on the over 450-year history of the grounds at Mission Nombre de Dios, starting with the arrival of Pedro Menendez in 1565 and ending with their future plans. The Mission is continuing to grow and impact the lives of those who visit the grounds, so the Friends of the Main Library and Mission invite all who wish to find out more to join us November 8th at the Main Library in St. Augustine.

The Mission traces its origins to September 8, 1565, when Admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés landed with a band of settlers to found St. Augustine. Fr Francisco López de Mendoza Grajales, OFM, the chaplain of the expedition, celebrated the first Thanksgiving Mass on the grounds. The formal Franciscan mission was founded at the landing point in 1587, perhaps the first mission in what would become the continental United States. The Mission served nearby villages of the Mocama, a Timucua group, and was at the center of an important chiefdom in the late 16th and 17th century.  Today, Mission Nombre De Dios includes archaeological excavations, a historic cemetery, Marian Shrines to Our Lady of Perpetual Help and Our Lady of Guadalupe, a gift shop, a bell tower, fountains, the rustic altar, mission plaques and historical markers, monuments of the Seven Sorrows of Mary, and statues of Father López, St. Francis of Assisi, and St. Joseph.

Presentation will take place on Wednesday, November 8th from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Main Library, 1960 N. Ponce De Leon BLVD St. Augustine, FL 32084.  Reservation is NOT required.