Site of Early Spanish Missionary Efforts
On Pentecost Sunday, May 26, 1539, Hernando de Soto sailed into Tampa Bay and named it "Bahia Espiritu Santo" (Holy Spirit Bay). A decade later it is believed that the famed Dominican missionary, Father Luis de Cancer, was martyred nearby after spending 6 weeks in the area in an attempt to spread the Gospel among the native peoples. The stained glass window over the main doors pays tribute to Father de Cancer.Twenty years later, St. Augustine founder, Pedro Mendez de Aviles came here with a fleet of ships, leaving a captain, 30 soldiers and a Jesuit priest who erected a chapel with the intention of ministering to the native Tocabaga. The mission had to be abandoned within a few years because of hostility and distance.Nearly 400 years later, the present parish was established on this knoll overlooking Old Tampa Bay, close to the site of the ancient Spanish mission on Bahia Espiritu Santo.| HM Number | HMTQF |
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| Tags | |
| Year Placed | 2011 |
| Marker Condition | No reports yet |
| Date Added | Monday, October 27th, 2014 at 2:45am PDT -07:00 |
| UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 17R E 334289 N 3099584 |
|---|---|
| Decimal Degrees | 28.01116667, -82.68541667 |
| Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 28° 0.67', W 82° 41.125' |
| Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 28° 0' 40.20" N, 82° 41' 7.50" W |
| Driving Directions | Google Maps |
| Area Code(s) | 727 |
| Closest Postal Address | At or near 2405 Phillippe Dr, Safety Harbor FL 34695, US |
| Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
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