Venerable Servants of God Pedro de Corpa and Companions
Walk Where they Walked
Friar Pedro de Corpa was assigned to this prominent mission, which seems to have once been the traditional headquarters of the Guale chiefdom. After arriving from Spain in 1587, the friar spent some time in the Timucua missions around St. Augustine before being assigned to the rural north.
At the time of the 1597 Uprising, the Spanish–Guale alliance was most visible in Tolomato’s council house, where the Royal Spanish Coat of Arms was displayed for all to see. Friar Pedro would have been well acquainted with the mico mayor (head of the chiefdom), don Francisco, and his heir apparent, don Juanillo. The mission of Tolomato has not been located, but speculation places it at Harris Neck, Pine Harbor, or near Sutherland Bluff.
After the burning of the church, the friar’s residence, and the remaining buildings in 1597, the site was not permanently resettled, and the town never regained its political status.
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The monument to the Five Friars of Georgia, created by internationally renowned artist Timothy Schmalz, is located at Nativity of Our Lady Church (1000 North Way) in Darien.
Thought to have been located near Darien or Townsend, Georgia
The mission station at Asao was inaugurated in 1595 by Friar Francisco de Veráscola, who constructed a primitive chapel and village for baptized adult converts by the waters of the Altamaha Sound. The nearby town of Talaje was also served by the friar.
Asao and Talaje were found intact after the Uprising. In retaliation for the murders of the friars, the Spanish burned the villages to the ground on November 6, 1597. After a period of abandonment, the mission was rebuilt close to its original location, probably near the Altamaha River or on St. Simons Island. Ultimately destroyed in a pirate raid in 1661, the ruins of the Asao mission have not been located.
Modern archaeologists and documentary historians speculate that Talaje was located at what is now the Fort King George State Historic Site, near Darien, GA, where excavations have uncovered several overlapping Native structures dating to the Spanish period.
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Fort King George State Historic Site (302 McIntosh Road, Darien): Using old records and drawings, this 18th century frontier fortification on the Altamaha River has been reconstructed for public tours. Structures include a blockhouse, officers' quarters, barracks, a guardhouse, moat and palisades. A museum and film cover the Guale Indians, the Santo Domingo de Talaje mission, Fort King George, the Scots of Darien, and 19th century sawmilling when Darien became a major seaport. In addition to the many fort buildings, remains of three sawmills and tabby ruins are still visible. There is also a recreation of a Guale roundhouse on the grounds.
This historic site is highly recommended for anyone wanting to experience what village life might have been like for the native Guale and the missionaries.
Possibly located at the mouth of the Altamaha River, the southern tip of St. Simons Island, or at Fort King George
Friar Francisco de Ávila’s first missionary post in 1595 was Tulufina, but it is unclear when he came to Talapo. Neither village has been found by archaeologists, but Talapo is thought to have been located near Harris Neck, and Tulufina near Seven Mile Bend or Redbird Creek (Richmond Hill).
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The Martha-Mary Chapel (10550 Ford Avenue) in Richmond Hill was built by automobile magnate Henry Ford and his wife Clara in 1937 and named in honor of their mothers. (A wooden plaque with this name still proudly hangs to the right of the altar.) The chapel was used daily by students of the adjacent Ways Station school. On Sundays the chapel was used for community worship services, led by the people.
After Henry and Clara passed away, the Ford Foundation sold the majority of their land holdings to the International Paper Company and the chapel ceased to be used.
On September 16, 1951, Bishop Francis E. Hyland arranged for Mass to be offered each Sunday at the Courthouse in Ways Station; 20 people attended the first Mass. At the time, the community was known as the Mission of St. Joseph. A few years later, Bishop Hyland arranged for the Martha-Mary Chapel to become the property of the Diocese of Savannah. The newly renovated mission chapel of St. Anne, Mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary, was dedicated on June 13, 1955 with only five registered families and a few Catholic soldiers from Hinesville.
On November 1, 1987, Bishop Raymond W. Lessard raised the mission to the status of a parish.
Possibly located at Harris Neck (Talapo) and Richmond Hill or Redbird Creek (Tulufina)
The doctrina of Guale (Santa Catalina de Guale mission) was rediscovered by Dr. David Hurst Thomas in the 1980s. The archaeological digs exposed the footprints of the mission church, the friary, and a kitchen. Today, a stand of palm trees marks the outline of the original mission church and Mass is occasionally celebrated at the site. Threatened by lightning-induced wildfires in 2022, the palms were – perhaps miraculously! – left untouched by the flames.
Friars Miguel de Añon and Antonio de Badajoz were stationed at the Guale mission shortly before the 1597 Uprising and were martyred there on September 16 or 17. The mission was rebuilt in the early 1600s, but English slave raids beginning in 1670 initiated its decline. Though defended against a final attack in 1680, the island was eventually abandoned by the Spanish and Christian Guale.
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