In October 1979, Argentina celebrated the centennial year of Julio A. Roca’s expedition to the desert. This volume is published to commemorate the role of the Salesian order in that event and in the subsequent Christianization of the Patagonian Indians. It consists of four interesting essays by members of the order.
The first essay, by Juan Esteban Beliza, is entitled “La expedición al desierto y el amanecer de las misiones salesianas patagónicas,” and it sets the stage by treating two converging themes: first, the historical background to the expedition; second, the missionary dreams of Italian-born Juan Bosco, who founded the Salesians in order to educate abandoned youth in his home country, but who later was driven toward a larger vision of evangelizing the Patagonian Indians.
The second essay, by Raúl A. Entraigas, is entitled “Los capellanes de la expedición al desierto,” and offers a detailed and colorful chronicle of the Salesian journey to Patagonia. Though based on only five published diaries, and lacking a map to guide the reader, this is nevertheless a fascinating account of frontier life.
The warm Roca-Salesian relationship turns to ice in the third essay, by Cayetano Bruno, “El presidente Julio A. Roca y monseñor Juan Cagliero.” Using rich archival sources, Bruno traces the fate of the Salesians against the background of anticlericalism under Roca.
The fourth essay, by Pascual R. Paesa, is entitled “Los indígenas patagónicos hacia 1879 y la acción misionera salesiana,” and begins with valuable first-hand descriptions of the Patagonian Indians in the late nineteenth century. Based on primary sources, this essay analyzes Salesian missions in Patagonia from 1879 to 1913.
Putting aside the obvious bias of the authors, and their anthropological innocence, this important volume sheds light on a little-known corner of Argentine history.
