Saint
Roque González de Santa Cruz, born in
Asunción,
Paraguay on 17 November 1576 and died (assassinated) on 15 November 1628, was a
Jesuit priest of Spanish descent, missionary among the
Guarani people, in the
Reductions of Paraguay. He was the son of Don Bartolomé González de Villaverde and Doña María de Santa Cruz who were Spanish nobles. Roque González spoke
Guaraní fluently from an early age.
His arrival in the area only happened after his developing delicate relationships of trust with local indigenous leaders, some of whom feared that the priests were preparing the way for the arrival of masses of
Europeans in their land.
In 1613 he founded the
reduction of
San Ignacio Miní. In 1615 he founded Itapúa, which is now the city of
Posadas in the
Argentine province of Misiones. Then he had to move the reduction to the other side of the river, now the site of the city of
Encarnación. He also founded the reduction of Concepción de la Sierra Candelaria (1619), Candelaria (1627), San Javier,
Yapeyú (now in the province of
Corrientes), San Nicolás, Asunción del Iyuí and Caaró (now in
Brazil). In the region of Iyuí, he had difficulties with the local chieftain and sorcerer ('
cacique') Ñezú.
After establishing the first mission
reduction of Saint Nicolas (
Portuguese:
São Nicolau) and other missionary centers in the region, Roque González was struck down by
Chief Nheçu on 15 November 1628.
listen)), located on Honshu Island, is the highest mountain in Japan at 3,776.24 m (12,389 ft).[1] An active stratovolcano[5][6] that last erupted in 1707–08, Mount Fuji lies about 100 kilometres (60 mi) south-west of Tokyo, and can be seen from there on a clear day. Mount Fuji's exceptionally symmetrical cone, which is snow-capped several months a year, is a well-known symbol of Japan and it is frequently depicted in art and photographs, as well as visited by sightseers and climbers.
