Francisco de Avila (1573–1647) was a South American priest and early student of native customs.
In 1608 he wrote a treatise of the "Errors, False Gods, and Other Superstitions of the Indians of the Provinces of Huarochiri, Mama, and Chaclla", of which only the first six chapters are known to exist and have been translated into English.
In 1611 Avila wrote a report on the Indians of Huánuco in eastern Peru, of which the unpublished manuscript is extant.
These works contain apologetics on the destruction of fetishes and other objects of worship, for example by Pablo José Arriaga.
You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.This article about a Catholic clergyman is a stub.