Hernando de Villafañe's missionary cicle (1560-1634) and his relevance in the Society of Jesus' Mexican Province

Abstract

Hernando de Villafañe (León, Castilla la Vieja, 1560 - Sinaloa, 1634) was one of the Society of Jesus' main actors in the early years of the order's mission in Sina-loa (New Vizcaya). A review of the information regarding this protagonist, over whom there is no updated biography, allows us to contextualize the differents faces of a Jesuit whose fame as missionary has transcended to our days, becoming a referent not only of the Jesuits in Sinaloa but also of the Mexican Jesuit Province in the founding moments of an enduring missionary work among the Indians. Doing research on Villafañe con-tributes to enlarge the knowledge of the Jesuit missions, their function and internal or-ganization, and to understand the intricacies of a global institution.

Keywords

• Compañía de Jesús
• Sinaloa
• misión
• indios
• Provincia Mexicana