Franciscan Spirituality and Mission in New Spain, 1524-1599 - Conflict Beneath the Sycamore Tree (Luke 19:1-10)

Franciscans in sixteenth-century New Spain were deeply ambivalent about their mission work. Fray Juan de Zumárraga, the first archbishop of Mexico, begged the king to find someone else to do his job so that he could go home. This discontent was widespread, grew stronger with time, and carried important consequences for the friars' interactions wit