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The Reverend Juan Crespí OFM | |
|---|---|
 Cenotaph of Saint Junípero Serra in the Mission San Carlos Borromeo, Carmel-by-the-Sea (1924); Fr. Juan Crespí, who predeceased Serra, stands at the head, praying over him. | |
| Born | (1721-03-01)1 March 1721 Palma de Mallorca, Spain |
| Died | 1 January 1782(1782-01-01) (aged 60) |
| Resting place | Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo |
| Occupation(s) | Roman Catholic priest, missionary, explorer |
Juan Crespí, OFM (Catalan:Joan Crespí; 1 March 1721 – 1 January 1782) was aFranciscan missionary and explorer ofLas Californias.[1]
A native ofMajorca, Crespí entered the Franciscan order at the age of seventeen.[2] He came toNew Spain in 1749, and accompanied explorersFrancisco Palóu andJunípero Serra. In 1767 he went to theBaja California Peninsula and was placed in charge of theMisión La Purísima Concepción de Cadegomó.
In 1769, Crespí joined theexpedition led byGaspar de Portolá andJunípero Serra (seeTimeline of the Portolá expedition). He traveled in the vanguard of the land expedition to San Diego, led by CaptainFernando Rivera y Moncada, where a presidio and mission were established. Crespí then continued north with Portolá and Rivera to identify the port of Monterey. Because he was the only one of the Franciscans to make the entire journey by land, Crespí became the first official diarist for themissions. He was one of three diarists to document the first exploration by Europeans of interior areas ofAlta California.
Crespí is credited with givingLos Angeles its name, after having namedthe region's primary riverEl Río de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula, meaning, in Spanish, "the River of Our Lady Queen of the Angels of Porciuncula".The town that later formed nearby took its name from this river.[3]
After reaching Monterey in October 1769, Crespí continued with the expedition that explored as far north as present-day San Francisco, and became one of the first Europeans to seeSan Francisco Bay. All told, the expedition traveled in the future state ofCalifornia through the present-day coastal counties ofSan Diego,Orange,Los Angeles,Ventura,Santa Barbara,San Luis Obispo,Monterey,Santa Cruz,San Mateo, andSan Francisco.
In 1772, Crespí accompanied CaptainPedro Fages on an exploration of areas to the east of San Francisco Bay. The Fages expedition members were the first Europeans to see theSacramento River and theSan Joaquin Valley.
In 1774, Crespí was chaplain of the expedition to the North Pacific conducted byJuan José Pérez Hernández. His diaries, first published in H. E. Bolton'sFray Juan Crespi (1927, repr. 1971), and published in the original Spanish with facing page translations asA Description of Distant Roads: Original Journals of the First Expedition into California, 1769-1770 (2001)[4] provided valuable records of these expeditions. One chapel he built, at theMisión San Francisco del Valle de Tilaco inLanda, is reported as still standing.[5]
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A Catholic boys' school,Crespi Carmelite High School inEncino, is named for him, as was a middle school in theWest Contra Costa Unified School District. The latter was renamedBetty Reid Soskin Middle School on her hundredth birthday on 22 September 2021.[6][7]
