The first bishop of Sonora

The first bishop of Sonora was published by the University of Arizona Press in 1976 as part of their ongoing effort to document the complex colonial history of the American Southwest and Northern Mexico. Authored by Albert Stagg, the work examines the life and tenure of Antonio de los Reyes, a pivotal figure who served as the inaugural bishop of the newly established diocese of Sonora in the late eighteenth century. The book serves as a scholarly deep dive into the ecclesiastical and political friction between Spanish colonial authorities and the mission systems in the frontier territories.

Stagg’s narrative is grounded in primary archival research, focusing on the bureaucratic challenges and geographic vastness that defined the bishopric’s early years. By detailing the interactions between the church hierarchy and local populations, the text provides a nuanced look at the administrative machinery of the Spanish Empire. Upon its release, it was received primarily within academic circles as a valuable contribution to borderlands history, recognized for its specialized focus on a relatively overlooked biographical subject within the broader context of colonial Mexican Catholicism.