Caption: Equestrian statue of Padre Kino on a street in Tucson, photo by Christopher J. Corbally, S.J.
On Thursday, November 19, 2026, Old Pueblo Archaeology Center’s “Third Thursday Food for Thought” program will feature the presentation “Padre Kino, Scientist” by astronomer Christopher J. Corbally, S.J., Ph.D. This free Zoom online presentation will be held 7:00-8:30 pm Mountain Standard Time.
There is a statue of the Jesuit missionary and explorer Padre Kino in Tucson. He is on horseback. The head of his horse is drooping. It has been a long and hot day of travel in the Sonoran desert. But Kino sits upright, and he has a “blue shell” clutched to his chest by his right hand. He clearly has had a brilliant idea. That idea connects his early expedition to Baja California, to where he has just met the O’Odham, in Tucson. That idea needed his travels and his science…