Front - Self Sacrifice of Padre Fray Juan De Padilla - 1544; Back - Built to the glorious and perpetual memory of Father Fray Juan De Padilla, O.F.M. Franciscan Missionary, first martyr for Christianity in the United States and in Texas; Accompanied the Coronado Expedition to Palo Duro Canyon. Went with Francisco Vasquez de Coronado and his chosen party in search of La Gran Quivira; Returned soon and began his zealous labors for the civilizing and Christianizing of the Wichita and other Indian nations in the region of the Texas Panhandle; His martyrdom occurred in 1544; Erected jointly by the State of Texas and the Texas Knights of Columbus in 1936