ZARCO, Giulio, Italian missionary, born in Naples in
1490: died in Jalisco, Mexico, in 1549. He was educated in Spain, entered the
Franciscan order, and was among the twelve friars that came to Mexico in 1524
with Martin do Valencia. He learned the Indian languages, and in 1525 was sent
to the province of Michoacan with another missionary and the king Catzonzi, whom
he had just baptized, and labored there with success, establishing schools for
the Indians, and building chapels, churches, hospitals, and a college for the
new converts, he became afterward provincial of Jalisco, and met with remarkable
success.
Zarco was very proficient in Indian dialects, and wrote
numerous hymns and prayers in Aztec. He also translated several passages of
scripture and composed in Tarasco "Doctrina Cristiana," which is preserved in
manuscript in the Vatican library at Rome, and mentioned with praise by several
authors, He wrote also "Arte de la lengua Tarasca," which is cited by Ramusio
and Ternaux Compans. The manuscript is lost, but an abridged copy of it is in
the National library of Paris.
Edited Appletons Encyclopedia, by John Looby Copyright © 2001 StanKlos.comTM
