Pedro de Gante

Since Flanders, like Spain, belonged to the Habsburg Empire and he was a relative of King Charles V (he was thought to be a bastard son of Emperor Maximilian I[1]), he was allowed to travel to the colonies of New Spain as one of a group of Franciscan friars.

In Mexico he spent his life as a missionary, teaching the indigenous population in Christian catechism and dogma.

One of his most significant contributions to Mexico was the creation of the School of San Jose de los Naturales.

He was ranked 99th in a 2005 vote on the list of Greatest Belgians (De Grootste Belg).

Manuscripts Published Works Media related to Pedro de Gante at Wikimedia Commons