We all know the story: 1621. Plymouth Rock. Pilgrims. Turkey. But did you know the first Thanksgiving in America was actually a Catholic Mass?
St. Augustine, Florida (1565)
56 years before the Mayflower, Spanish explorer Pedro Menéndez de Avilés landed in Florida. He founded the nation's oldest city (St. Augustine). Fr. Francisco López offered a Mass of Thanksgiving. Afterward, the Spaniards and the Timucua Indians shared a feast of bean soup and salted pork.
The Squanto Plot Twist
The Pilgrims would have starved without Squanto (Tisquantum). He taught them how to plant corn. But how did he speak English? Years earlier, Squanto was captured by British slavers. He was rescued by Spanish Franciscan friars who bought his freedom, catechized him, and baptized him. He eventually made his way to London and then back to America. So, the "savage" who saved the Puritans was actually a Catholic.
Pass the gravy. And the truth. Read more American Catholic history on the MyPrayerTower app.