The Bosque-Larios Expedition

(April 30 - June 12, 1675) In the 16th century, northern Mexico was torn by strife as the Indian inhabitants resisted Spanish efforts to enslave them. A century later, wealthy humanitarian Antonio Balcarcel set out to invoke justice and help missionaries Christianize the land. In the spring of 1675, Balcarcel sent out an armed expedition under Fernando del Bosque to accompany Fray Juan de Larios on a mission north of the Rio Grande. Also in the party was Fray Dionisio de San Buenventura, an army chaplain. Entering Texas at a site near present Eagle Pass, the expedition marched almost to the present site of San Antonio. Three days after entering Texas, when they were in camp on the Nueces, about nine miles southwest of present Uvalde, they set up a portable altar. The expeditionaries gathered with some 1,172 Indians to hear Fray Larios chant the Mass. Later Fray Larios baptized 55 infants and instructed the adult Indians so that they might be baptized at a future time. The celebration at the Nueces on May 16, 1675, is known as the earliest recorded occasion of a high (sung) Mass in Texas. Missionary activity that began on that day eventually brought about the founding of the Texas mission system. (1975)

The Bosque-Larios Expedition is a historical marker in La Pryor, Zavala County, dedicated in 1975. It is one of 7 historical markers documented in Zavala County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 13 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 29.0709, -99.8423 near La Pryor. The nearest cataloged historic site is C.S.A. Camp Nueces (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Woodlawn, St Patrick, and Zavala County Courthouse.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5507000462. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.