Luís Jayme
Encyclopedia
Luís Jayme O.F.M. born Melchor Jayme, was a Spanish
-born Roman Catholic priest
of the Franciscan
Order. Born in the farm Son Baró in the village of Sant Joan
, Majorca, his earliest schooling was acquired from the local parish priest. At the age of fifteen Melchor was enrolled at the convent school of San Bernardino, where Fray Junípero Serra
had studied some years earlier.
Melchor Jayme was admitted to the Franciscan Order on September 27, 1760 in the Convento de Santa Maria de los Angeles de Jesus. Following a year of strict seclusion and rigorous discipline, Jayme solemnly promised to observe the rule of the Friars Minor for the rest of his earthly lifespan; he was known as Fray Luís from thereon. The friar conducted his theological studies at the Convento de San Francisco, and was ordained to the priesthood on December 22, 1764. Fray Luís was appointed "Lector of Philosophy" upon completion of his coursework (a position he occupied at San Francisco from 1765 to 1770). Jayme arrived in New Spain in early 1770 after a long and arduous trans-Atlantic voyage. There he began the special training course at the missionary College of San Fernando de Mexico
wherein "soldiers of the Cross" were conditioned to the privation, fatigue, mortification and penance encountered on the missionary frontier. Fray Luís set out for California along with nine other priests to begin a ten-year commitment ministering to the indigenuos population.
Jayme was assigned to Mission San Diego de Alcalá
, where his earliest efforts were devoted to mastering the complexities of the local native language. Once he had gained a facility with its vocabulary, he was able to compile a polyglot Christian catechism. The lack of a dependable water supply, coupled with the proximity of the military personnel at the presidio
, led to the priest asking for and being granted permission to relocate the mission from its original site, atop Presidio Hill, to the valley several miles east, where it is presently situated. Almost immediately there was a noticeable increase in the number of conversions which, by 1775, stood at 431. At approximately 1:30 a.m., on the moonlit morning of November 4, 1775 more than 600 warriors from the surrounding rancherías silently crept into the mission compound. After plundering the chapel, they set the other buildings ablaze. The commotion soon awakened the two missionaries, the Spanish guards, and the Christian neophytes. Rather than run to the stock hold for shelter, Fray Jayme resolutely walked toward the howling band of natives, uttering the traditional Franciscan greeting: "Amar á Dios, hijos!"—"Love God, my children!" The Indians seized him, stripped off his garments, shot some eighteen arrows into his torso, then pulverized his face with clubs and stones.
Jayme's mangled body was, at first, interred in the presidio chapel. When the new church at the mission was completed, the body was re-interred in the sanctuary. There it rested until November 12, 1813 when it was transferred once more. Today, the remains of Fray Luís Jayme lie in repose in a common vault between the main and side altar. He is considered to be the first Catholic martyr in Alta California
.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
-born Roman Catholic priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
of the Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
Order. Born in the farm Son Baró in the village of Sant Joan
Sant Joan
Sant Joan is a municipality on Majorca, Spain, situated in the center of the island in the comarca of Pla de Mallorca. The town Sant Joan, formerly known as Sant Joan de Sineu, was founded in 1300...
, Majorca, his earliest schooling was acquired from the local parish priest. At the age of fifteen Melchor was enrolled at the convent school of San Bernardino, where Fray Junípero Serra
Junípero Serra
Blessed Junípero Serra, O.F.M., , known as Fra Juníper Serra in Catalan, his mother tongue was a Majorcan Franciscan friar who founded the mission chain in Alta California of the Las Californias Province in New Spain—present day California, United States. Fr...
had studied some years earlier.
Melchor Jayme was admitted to the Franciscan Order on September 27, 1760 in the Convento de Santa Maria de los Angeles de Jesus. Following a year of strict seclusion and rigorous discipline, Jayme solemnly promised to observe the rule of the Friars Minor for the rest of his earthly lifespan; he was known as Fray Luís from thereon. The friar conducted his theological studies at the Convento de San Francisco, and was ordained to the priesthood on December 22, 1764. Fray Luís was appointed "Lector of Philosophy" upon completion of his coursework (a position he occupied at San Francisco from 1765 to 1770). Jayme arrived in New Spain in early 1770 after a long and arduous trans-Atlantic voyage. There he began the special training course at the missionary College of San Fernando de Mexico
College of San Fernando de Mexico
The College of San Fernando de Mexico was a Roman Catholic Franciscan missionary college, or seminary , founded in Mexico City by the Order of Friars Minor on October 15, 1734...
wherein "soldiers of the Cross" were conditioned to the privation, fatigue, mortification and penance encountered on the missionary frontier. Fray Luís set out for California along with nine other priests to begin a ten-year commitment ministering to the indigenuos population.
Mission San Diego de Alcalá
Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá, in San Diego, California, was the first Franciscan mission in the Las Californias Province of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. It was founded in 1769 by Spanish friar Junípero Serra in an area long inhabited by the Kumeyaay Indians...
, where his earliest efforts were devoted to mastering the complexities of the local native language. Once he had gained a facility with its vocabulary, he was able to compile a polyglot Christian catechism. The lack of a dependable water supply, coupled with the proximity of the military personnel at the presidio
Presidio of San Diego
El Presidio Reál de San Diego is an historical fort established on May 14, 1769, by Commandant Pedro Fages for Spain. It was the first permanent European settlement on the Pacific Coast of the United States. As the first of the presidios and Spanish missions in California, it was the base of...
, led to the priest asking for and being granted permission to relocate the mission from its original site, atop Presidio Hill, to the valley several miles east, where it is presently situated. Almost immediately there was a noticeable increase in the number of conversions which, by 1775, stood at 431. At approximately 1:30 a.m., on the moonlit morning of November 4, 1775 more than 600 warriors from the surrounding rancherías silently crept into the mission compound. After plundering the chapel, they set the other buildings ablaze. The commotion soon awakened the two missionaries, the Spanish guards, and the Christian neophytes. Rather than run to the stock hold for shelter, Fray Jayme resolutely walked toward the howling band of natives, uttering the traditional Franciscan greeting: "Amar á Dios, hijos!"—"Love God, my children!" The Indians seized him, stripped off his garments, shot some eighteen arrows into his torso, then pulverized his face with clubs and stones.
Jayme's mangled body was, at first, interred in the presidio chapel. When the new church at the mission was completed, the body was re-interred in the sanctuary. There it rested until November 12, 1813 when it was transferred once more. Today, the remains of Fray Luís Jayme lie in repose in a common vault between the main and side altar. He is considered to be the first Catholic martyr in Alta California
Alta California
Alta California was a province and territory in the Viceroyalty of New Spain and later a territory and department in independent Mexico. The territory was created in 1769 out of the northern part of the former province of Las Californias, and consisted of the modern American states of California,...
.