Whose First Landing? America’s Forgotten Spanish Catholic Roots

Long before the English raised a cross at Cape Henry, Spanish explorers landed in Florida, planted the true Cross, and consecrated the land to Christ the King

Four hundred and eighteen years ago, more than 100 English settlers landed at Cape Henry, Virginia, planted a wooden cross, and offered thanks to God for safe passage across the Atlantic. President Donald J. Trump recently issued a formal proclamation declaring April 29, 2025, as a national day to honor this important achievement, calling it the “First Landing” and crediting it as the origin of America’s destiny and faith. You can read President Trump’s proclamation here.

But was it really the first?

Almost a full century earlier, in 1513, Juan Ponce de León, a Spanish explorer sailing under the Spanish Crown, landed on the east coast of Florida. It was during the Easter season—Pascua Florida (Feast of Flowers)—and the land was named accordingly. Ponce de León claimed the Florida expanse for Spain and for Christ.

While the English settlers in Jamestown suffered and endured to build the first permanent English colony, technically, they were not the first Europeans to arrive, nor the first Christians to plant a cross in the soil of what is now the United States. That distinction belongs to our Spanish cousins of the 16th century.

In 1565, Spanish Admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés founded St. Augustine, Florida, making it the oldest continuously inhabited European-established settlement in the continental U.S. Upon arrival, Spanish priests celebrated the first Catholic Mass on U.S. soil. A wooden cross was raised, and the land was consecrated to Christ the King.

These early missions, led by Franciscans and Jesuits, brought Christianity, education, and medical care across Florida and into present-day Georgia, Alabama, and the Gulf Coast. They also brought the language, faith, and cultural influence of Catholic Spain. So there are two narratives of America’s early spiritual roots:

• One begins at Cape Henry in 1607, with Anglican Englishmen consecrating the land to God and founding Jamestown.

• The other begins at La Florida in 1513, with Spanish Catholic explorers and missionaries dedicating the land to Christ and founding St. Augustine.

Both sought God, glory, and a future for their people. But one has been largely erased from national memory. Why? British colonial success, combined with the Anglo-Protestant dominance of early American institutions, ensured the English story took precedence. The Spanish Catholic legacy, though older, was sidelined.

Most Americans learn about Plymouth and Jamestown, not Ponce de León or St. Augustine—unless they’re Catholic, or fortunate enough to attend a school where this history is taught. I learned it through my family. And it matters.