On the morning of 27 October 1683 at the San Miguel Fort2 in the Zenta Valley, the priests Pedro Ortiz de Zárate and Giovanni Antonio Solinas celebrated Mass and were with eighteen lay people, including some of the converted indigenous peoples, when they were suddenly surrounded and ambushed by almost one hundred and fifty of the natives. The natives, feigning a peaceful approach at the newly constructed chapel of Saint Mary, suddenly attacked and killed them. The group was slain with spears and axes, and their remains were dismembered and their heads severed. The mutilated corpses were discovered the following day by those eyewitnesses who narrated the incident.
The deaths of the twenty massacred came at a time when many tribes were waging war against each other and any missionary was often found in the middle of such conflicts since many of their apostolates often created greater problems for some tribes and only heightened existing tensions. For a little while, until the day of their martyrdom, the priests had been awaiting the return of their priestly companion Diego Ruiz, who was returning from Salta with a convoy of provisions for the group. In the meantime, they had taken the opportunity to make short missionary trips in the surrounding area while they were settled there. However, they had an unexpected visit of around five hundred Tobas and Mocovíes, fully armed and with their bodies totally painted as they used to do for a party or a war. Those people approached desiring better communication and harmony, however, the priests began to believe that the benevolence was faked and that they were more than likely going to die. As the indigenous assailants surrounded the chapel on that 26 October, the following morning would see them kill the entire group after the two priests celebrated Mass and continued their usual work of distributing food and other items as they preached. As the afternoon approached, they were preparing to teach catechism as they were slain with spears, axes, darts, and other weapons before they were beheaded. However, an alternative account also exists regarding their martyrdom. Around 20 October, Zárate and Solinas headed south with some of the converted and their return to the village took no more than three days at the most. On the way back, they noticed with surprise the very large presence of natives who were fully armed and fully painted, as if ready for a party or for war. While the missionaries were surprised about this, they were still accommodating to the natives, trading food and clothing and other gifts, not really noticing as the natives dispersed and surrounded the Saint Mary chapel. The group of five hundred that committed the massacre consisted of 150 from the Tobas and the rest consisted of five Mocoví leaders and their warriors, with no women or children in sight. The alternative account details that on the night of 26 October, at great personal risk, one of the Mocoví warned the two priests about the betrayal. While both men prepared for their deaths, they doubted as to whether or not the warning was sincere. As the missionaries rang the bells to call people to catechism class, they were already in the midst of teaching when the natives ambushed and attacked them. Also killed were eighteen people, consisting of two Spaniards, a black man, a mulatto, two girls, a native woman and eleven other natives. They were posthumously stripped naked and their heads cut off, with arrows thrust into their bodies.
Background
Pedro Ortiz de Zárate
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