The 400th anniversary of the entrance into Chile of the Order of Friars Minor, the Franciscans, is appropriately being commemorated by our presence here tonight. I am honored to have been asked to state briefly for you some of the highlights of their activities in that land during the colonial era.

It is a relatively unpublicized story, but one worthy of retelling by those better equipped for the task than I am. Coming from the field of Mexican studies, where in a comparable period one finds rich and extensive resources portraying the important role played by the Franciscans in New Spain, I was immediately impressed on looking into the Chilean matter that there are relatively few materials readily available even to reconstruct the narrative of the Franciscans in Chile. To fill that gap would be a very worthy project. One conclusion which grew out of these brief researches is that the role which Franciscans played in colonial Chile, especially in the sixteenth century, was perhaps a major one, and should be more widely known. In the short time at my disposal here, I can but hint at the outlines, revealed in printed works locally accessible. I ask your indulgence for what undoubtedly may turn out on further investigation to be major omissions.