Custodio Ximeno

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Custodio Ximeno (born May 1, 1734, in Valdelinares) was a Jesuit missionary in New Spain. He joined the Society of Jesus in 1752, studied theology in Zaragoza, and sailed to the Americas in 1760. In Mexico he finished his studies, was ordained, and was sent to Mission Los Santos Ángeles de Guevavi by Father Visitor Joseph Garrucho. In spring 1763 he arrived there with his close friend Francisco Xavier Villarroya. He suffered quartan fever in late 1764. In July 1767, soldiers ordered by Charles III expelled the Jesuits from Mexico. Ximeno and about fifty other Jesuits were escorted to a church in Mátape near Hermosillo, then taken to Guaymas, across the Gulf of Mexico, and on to Tepic and Guadalajara. Many died on the journey, but Ximeno survived to reach Cádiz in Spain.