HOW COOL IT IS THAT THE VERY FIRST THANKSGIVING WASN’T IN PLYMOUTH, MASSACHUSETTS BUT IN SAINT AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA AND WITH THE CELEBRATION OF THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS! AND IT WAS ON THE NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY!

Many Americans accept the Protestant version of what they say was the very first Thanksgiving on the land that would eventually become the USA, Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621. But, because of an antipathy towards the Spanish, who were Catholics, they canceled the real first Thanksgiving which was 56 years earlier. 

The first Thanksgiving in our nation’s history took place on September 8, 1565, in St. Augustine, FL. After Fr. Francisco López celebrated Mass, the Spanish settlers and the local Native American tribe came together to share a communal meal. (Of course, September 8th is the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Augustine is the name of Pope Leo’s religious order! But in the USA we call it Saint Ahgusteen, not Augusten!)

The Mass was celebrated on the feast day of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.The word “Eucharist” literally means “thanksgiving” in Greek. 

The meal After the Mass, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, the Spanish Admiral, invited the Seloy tribe, the native people who lived there, to a feast. The meal included hardtack, a type of cracker, and stew made from pork and garbanzo beans. 

The location The Mass took place at the Mission of Nombre de Dios, which was named by Menéndez. The mission is now the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche, the oldest shrine in the continental United States. 

The significance The Mass and feast were the first community act of religion and thanksgiving in the first permanent settlement in the land. 

The mission grounds commemorate the first Mass with a Rustic Altar and a statue of Father Lopez. The mission is open to the public.