The Destruction of Mission San Saba in the Province of Texas and the Martyrdom of the Fathers Alonso de Terreros, Joseph Santiesteban, painted in 1765, about six years after the event, on commission from Pedro Romero de Terreros, cousin of the martyred priest and sponsor of the mission. On March 16, 1758, two thousand Comanche, Bidai, Tejas and Tonkawa warriors attacked and burned this mission, which was located near the present town of Menard. Click on picture to see the details.
We do well and practice the virtues of justice and gratitude when we honor our fallen soldiers; the warriors who gave their lives on the field of battle to defend the nation. We do well to honor policemen when they are killed in the carrying out of their law enforcement duties. Similarly, we honor firemen who perish while trying to rescue the lives of others.
Foremost though among this noble group of people who lay their lives down for their friends (Cf. John 15:13) are our Catholic missionaries who paid the ultimate price to bring the Faith to others. In this post, we honor two Franciscan priests who were among the first to labor in the Lord’s vineyard in what is today the State of Texas, and died in the effort.
Fray José de Santiesteban,1719–1758, was pierced by bullets while remaining in the chapel to pray after ending Mass. The Indians found him, beat him, cut off his head and kicked his severed head about.
On March 16, 1758, Father Alonso Giraldo de Terreros, cousin of Don Pedro Romero de Terreros, Count of Regla, and his confrere, Father Jose de Santesteban, were killed during an attack of 2,000 Comanches and other Indian allies on the Mission of Santa Cruz de San Saba, in present day Menard County, Texas. The Indians destroyed the Mission.
A year before, the Mission was brand new, having been established in an effort to bring the Lipan Apaches into the Catholic fold. It had been funded in its entirety by the generosity of the Count of Regla, a Mexican silver mine magnate who married into established Spanish-Mexican nobility.
Fr. Alonso Giraldo de Terreros was born in Gartagena, Spain on July 29, 1699. He was pierced by bullets, arrows, spears and then scalped.
Fathers Terreros and Santesteban laid down their lives in this heroic effort to extend the Catholic Faith in the State of Texas.
A sacrifice like theirs is never in vain, even when, as in the case of the Mission Santa Cruz de San Saba, its fruits are not immediately seen. Writing his famous work Apologeticus in 197 A.D., Tertullian coined the phrase: “The blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church.” Thousands upon thousands have given this testimony of blood while taking the Gospel to the farthest corners of the earth.
Close up of the middle part of the painting.
Now in Heaven and at the feet of the Queen of the Apostles, may these heroic missionaries, Fathers Terreros and Santesteban, intercede for the Catholic Church in Texas and the United States.
Short Stories on Honor, Chivalry, and the World of Nobility—no. 330
