Luis Xavier Velarde

Luis Xavier Velarde was a Jesuit Spanish [missions in Mexico|missionary to Mexico].

Biography

Velarde was born in Valladolid, Spain on August 25, 1677, and entered the Society of Jesus on April 20, 1697. Around 1703, he traveled to Pimería Alta to begin missionary work. By 1708, Velarde was serving at Mission [La Purísima Concepción de Caborca]. Velarde became the resident priest at Mission [Nuestra Señora de Dolores de la Punta] in 1714, and took his final vows in Opodepe on March 25, 1715.
Anthropologist Thomas Sheridan describes Velarde as "tall, deaf, and prone to heat stroke... not much of an explorer."
In 1716, Velarde wrote a relacion about his experiences with the Upper Pima. He described their practice of raising scarlet macaws:
Velarde wrote that between 1725 and 1729,
Velarde died on December 2, 1737.