Padre Kino and the Trail to the Pacific

Father Kino’s greatest wish was to be sent from his Italian mountain home to China as a missionary—to follow in the footsteps of his hero St. Francis Xavier. Instead he was sent to Mexico where his great work was the mapping and exploration of Pimeria Alta (now Sonora, Mexico and sourthern Arizona, US). He became father and hero to the Pima nations, building twenty-nine missions. He was tirelessly in pursuit of the kingdom of God, battling the forces of nature and the Spanish colonists for the dignity of the Pima people. His life was devoted to God and to his fellow man—a life, as he described it, full of Heavenly Favors. This edition features the paintings of Sonora Mexico artist José Cirilo Ríos Ramos.