Editing Franciscans (section)

===New World missions===
{{Main|Spanish missions in California|Spanish missions in New Mexico|Junipero Serra|Franciscan missions to the Maya|Franciscan Missions in the Sierra Gorda|Mexican secularization act of 1833}}
The work of the Franciscans in New Spain began in 1523, when three Flemish friars—Juan de Ayora, Pedro de Tecto, and Pedro de Gante—reached the central highlands. Their impact as missionaries was limited at first, since two of them died on [[Hernán Cortés|Cortés]]'s expedition to Central America in 1524, but Fray Pedro de Gante initiated the evangelization process and studied the [[Nahuatl language]] through his contacts with children of the Indian elite from the city of [[Tetzcoco (altepetl)|Tetzcoco]].<ref>Nájera, Guillermo Antonio Nájera, and William B. Taylor. "Franciscans", in ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures'', Oxford University Press, 2001.</ref> 

In May 1524, the [[Twelve Apostles of Mexico]] arrived, led by [[Martín de Valencia]]. There they built the [[Convent_of_San_Francisco,_Madero_Street,_Mexico_City|Convento Grande de San Francisco]],<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/978514|jstor = 978514|title = The Church of San Francisco in Mexico City|last1 = Chauvet|first1 = Fidel de J.|journal = The Americas|year = 1950|volume = 7|issue = 1|pages = 13–30|doi = 10.2307/978514| s2cid=144573605 }}</ref> which became Franciscan headquarters for [[New Spain]] for the next three hundred years.