BY ALBERT MANUCY,
JUNIOR HISTORICAL TECHNICIAN,
FORT MARION NATIONAL MONUMENT, FLORIDA.

It was a ceremonious landing on that day 375 years ago when Don Pedro Menéndez de Avilés set foot on Florida soil at Saint Augustine. Chaplain Mendoza said the first mass of record in this country, Avilés read his patent before the assembled company of soldiers and Indians, and then, as the explorer Pence de León had done nearby in 1513, he claimed the sunny land for Spain. That was September 8, 1565.

With ecclesiastical pomp and ceremony, La Fiesta Grande was celebrated this September at the outworks of old Castillo de San Marcos, now Fort Marion National Monument, in commemoration of that first mass and of the birth of America's oldest city. Combined was the observance of a day of prayer set aside by Presidential proclamation "for beseeching the Ruler of the Universe to bless our Republic, to make us reverently grateful for our heritage and firm in its defense, and to grant to this land and to the troubled world a righteous peace."

The baptism of María Ximénes is the first entry of the first page of the Saint Augustine Parish Records in the archives of the Catholic Cathedral of Saint Augustine, Florida. It is dated June 25, 1594. Parts of the script of Diego Scobar were re-inked in the above photograph to provide clearer reproduction.

Of special religious and historical interest during a three-day program, attended by a long list of Catholic dignitaries from throughout the nation, was the transcription and translation by the Service of what appears to be the oldest European original manuscript that is both native to and on deposit in any archives of this country. It is the earliest of the extant records for the Catholic Parish of Saint Augustine, a baptismal entry dated June 25, 1594. Earlier records appear to have been lost, due probably to such unfortunate incidents as Francis Drake's visit in 1586 when virtually the entire settlement was looted and burned. The 1594 baptismal sheet was originally about 8 x 10 inches in size. It is somewhat smaller today be cause of the ravages of insects, the passage of nearly three and a half centuries, and long handling. The transcription and translation of the entry follow:

Eh 25 dias del mes de junio de Ano de mil y quys
On the 25th day of the month of june of the Year one thousand five hundred

y noventa y quatro anos yo diego scobar de sambrana
and ninety-four I diego scobar de sambrana

Maria
Maria

cura y Vic.^o destas provincias de la florida, ciudad
curate and vicar of these provinces of florida, city

y fuerte de s^t. agustin, por El maestro, don fr [anto]²
and fort of st. augustine, for The maestro.³ fray [anto]

nio dias de salzedo opo de Cuba, y por ssercani [a]² destas,
nio dias de salzedo bishop of Cuba, and for the neighborhood of these

provincias, baptize puse olio y crisma, A maria
provinces, christened [and] anointed with holy oil and chrism,⁴ maria

hija lejitima de Sr Ximenes 'de la queba, y de ma
legitimate daughter of Senor Ximenes de la queba, and of ma

ria melendes su mujer, fueron sus padrinos, Adrian --
ria melendes his wife, her godparents were, Adrian --

de canizales y maria Ruiz su mujer todos Xzs
de canizales and maria Ruiz his wife all Christians⁵

desta ciudad En ffe de la qual lo firme de
of this city In witness whereof I signed

mi me; ff^o ut supra.
my name; according to that above.

diego scobar
diego scobar

de sambrana Vic^o [rubric]⁶
de sambrana Vicar [rubric]

With slight variations, virtually all the baptismal entries employ the same literary formula. In 1594 Saint Augustine was a tiny settlement of not more than 300 or so souls, but the records indicate that these few inhabitants were a prolific people. From June to November there were six infant baptisms: four girls, María, Agustina, Francisca, and Isabel; and two boys, Antonio and Mateo. As shown in the transcription, the young lady with the distinction of the first recorded baptism was María Ximénes, daughter of Señor Ximénes de la Queba and Señora María Menéndez.