Father Fermin Francisco de Lasuén (in the play, the brother of Sra. Lasuén) was a Franciscan Friar missionary, born in Cantabria, Spain, in 1736. In 1759, he volunteered to serve in the American missions, arriving in Mexico in 1761. In 1773, he moved north to Alta California, arriving in San Diego then moving to Monterrey in 1775. In 1776, he accompanied Father Junípero Serra, founder of the first nine of the California Missions, to San Luis Obispo. In 1785, when Father Serra died, Lasuén became the Father-President of the missions, and went on to found nine more missions:
- Mission Santa Barbara (1786)
- Mission La Purisima Concepción (1787)
- Mission Santa Cruz (1791)
- Mission Nuestra Señora de la Soledad (1791)
- Mission San José (1797)
- Mission San Juan Bautista (1797)
- Mission San Miguel Arcángel (1797)
- Mission San Fernando Rey de España (1797)
- Mission San Luis Rey de Francia (1798)
He died in 1803 at the Carmel Mission, where he is buried.
Resource:
Molloy, Betsy. “Biography of Father Fermin De Lasuen, for 4th Grade History Projects.” TripSavvy, Tripsavvy, 16 Jan. 2018, www.tripsavvy.com/father-fermin-francisco-de-lasuen-1474925.