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Esteve Tapis (25 August 1754 – 3 November 1825) was aSpanishmissionary tothe Americas.
Tapis was born inSanta Coloma de Farners in theCatalanProvince of Girona, and entered thenovitiate of theOrder of Friars Minor atGirona on 22 January 1778.[1] He was sent toNew Spain in 1786, where he attended the Colegio San Francisco inMexico City to train for missionary work among theNative Americans. He then was assigned toAlta California, arriving in 1790, where he worked at the following missions:
When the President of theSpanish missions in California,Fermín Francisco de Lasuén, O.F.M, died in 1803, Tapis took over as acting President, a post to which he was subsequently elected three times, holding the office from 1803 to 1812. During his administration, Tapis directed the founding of Mission Santa Inés in 1804. In addition to his authority over the missions, he also served as the localRural Dean of theDiocese of Sonora which covered that region in that period, responsible for Church matters of any Catholic there.
Tapis retired as President in 1812 and was sent to assistFelipe Arroyo de la Cuesta at Mission San Juan Bautista in 1815, where he hoped to educate the boys of the indigenous population. Possessing a special talent for music, he created a system using colors for different types of music notes which made it easier for the students to follow, and his choir of Native American boys performed for many visitors, earning the Mission San Juan Bautista the nickname of the "Mission of Music." Two of his handwritten choir books are preserved at the San Juan Bautista Museum.
Much of Tapis' correspondence has survived. The largest work is his writings in defense of the missions and their methods against the Captain of thePresidio in Santa Barbara.
Tapis died at Mission San Juan Bautista in 1825 and is buried in the Mission sanctuary.
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| Preceded by | President-General of the Missions of Alta California 1803–1812 | Succeeded by |
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