Explorer, historian and, above all, a missionary and defender of Native American rights. These words, written on the base of the monument dedicated in his honour, sum up the life of Father Eusebio Chini, born in Segno in the Val di Non in 1645.
The village of this great man’s birth has not forgotten its deserving son. In Segno’s main square, which is dedicated to the missionary, there is a statue of Padre Kino on horseback, commissioned along with two other copies in the cities of Tucson and Magdalena by the Mexican artist Julian Martinez.
Behind him is the Padre Kino museum, opened in 1996, which was much wanted by the residents of Segno to honour of their great forefather.
Father Eusebio Chini left Italy in 1681 bound for Mexico where he spent the rest of life, dedicating himself to his great cause: the evangelisation and social, civil and economic development of the people of Pimeria Alta. In the course of his mission he became above all a defender of the rights of native people against the power of the European conquistadors.
When he died in 1711 people began to worship this great man of faith.
After his diaries were found, belief in the greatness of this minor priest from Trentino grew further and his fame became global, with schools, universities and hospitals named after him.
In 1971, a new mausoleum was built for Father Kino in the city of Magdalena, at the behest of the then President of the USA, Lyndon Johnson. Today, he is in the process of being canonised.
