For Star subscribers: Father Eusebio Francisco Kino, a Jesuit missionary, explorer and cartographer, founded 21 missions in the Pimería Alta – what is now Northern Sonora and Southern Arizona.

Sixty-four miles through the Sonoran desert. That’s the trek you have to tackle if you walk from Cananea to the town of Magdalena de Kino, both located in Sonora, Mexico.

Many Indigenous people participate each October in the Camino de Kino, a pilgrimage that retraces one of his historic journeys, ending in Magdalena de Kino in Sonora, Mexico.

Born in Segno near Trent, Italy, Padre Kino became a Jesuit priest in 1677 and was sent to New Spain. His body is entombed in present-day Magdalena de Kino in Sonora, Mexico.

He died in 1711, aged 65, having fallen ill during a Mass to dedicate the church of St. Francis Xavier in present day Magdalena de Kino, in Sonora, Mexico, where his shrine is a national monument.

In July 2021, for example, a wave of shootings took place over the course of three days in Magdalena de Kino. The shootouts were reported to be part of the battle between the Chapitos and El Mayo.