When the Saints Go Marching in.... but Where? Quiz

Answer: San Antonio

San Antonio, Texas is the second-most populous city in Texas and located just south-west of the capital city of Austin. It also sits on the Balcones Escarpment, part of the Balcones faultline. The Battle of the Alamo in 1836 resulted in Mexico claiming the Alamo mission. The Alamo was reclaimed by the Texans following their revolution-ending victory at San Jacinto a few weeks later.

Originally, the area was called Yanaguana by the Payaya people who lived there. In 1691, Spanish explorers arrived in the area on the feast day of Saint Anthony of Padua, and they renamed the site San Antonio in his honour.

Answer: St James

Santiago, sometimes known as Santiago de Chile, is a large city of seven million people located in a valley bowl surrounded by mountains (the main chain of the Andes to the east and the Chilean Coastal Range to the west). It was founded in 1541 by Spanish conqueror Pedro de Valdivia. Its full name was Santiago del Nuevo Extremo (Santiago of New Extremadura) in honor of St James, patron saint of Spain. In addition, the name Santiago is Sanctu Iacobu in Vulgar Latin. St James was a fisherman before he became one of Jesus' disciples.

In the 21st century, the city, bisected by the narrow Mapocho River, is a thriving city albeit having to overcome severe problems with air quality and rapid population rise in a geography hemmed in by the tall mountains.

Answer: St John's

St John's is situated on the eastern coast of the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland, Canada. Due to its location and port, the city played important roles in the French-Indian war, the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. The city has had more than its share of major fires, and almost been destroyed each time. The worst occurred in 1892 when most of the eastern side of the city was burnt.

The city was named for John the Baptist, by explorer John Cabot when he sailed into the bay in 1497.

Answer: Sao Paulo, Brazil

Sao Paulo is the economic hub of Brazil. Its population of over 21 million citizens in the Greater Sao Paulo area in 2019 (World Atlas) makes it not only the largest city by population in South America but also in the Southern and Western Hemispheres.

The area remained very poor and rural after the arrival of the Portuguese and Spanish in the mid 16th century. The discovery of gold in the 18th century boosted the local fortunes and economy. It wasn't until Brazil gained independence from Portugal in 1822, and Sao Paulo was named an Imperial City by Emperor Pedro I, that the city began to flourish and then develop into the economic powerhouse it has become in the latter part of the 20th and into the 21st centuries.

The city was named in honour of Saint Paul of Tarsus.

His many epistles, or letters, in the New Testament of the Bible are one cornerstone of the Christian religion.

Answer: False

Santa Fe is a city steeped in native American history. Its short title means "Holy Faith" but its full name as founded still remains: La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asís ("The Royal Town of the Holy Faith of Saint Francis of Assisi").

The city was founded in 1610 making it the oldest state capital in the USA (New Mexico became the 47th US state in 1912). It had a modest population of 84 000 in 2018 whereas, New Mexico's largest city, Albuquerque, had a population of over one million. The city site has been occupied by native Americans for several thousand years.

Dubbed one of the world's great art cities, due to its many art galleries with Native American and Spanish artworks, it is recognised by UNESCO's Creative Cities Network for this artistic contribution and its distinctive architecture.

Answer: Dominican Republic

Santo Domingo was founded in 1493 by Bartolomew Columbus as La Nueva Isabela after the queen of Spain. In 1498 it was renamed Santo Domingo after St Dominic of Osma, a twelfth century Castilian priest and founder of the Dominican Order.

This city has a number of firsts: It is the "oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the Americas"; it was the first seat of the Spanish colonial rule in the New World and had the first cathedral, castle, monastery, university and fortress in the Americas.

It lies on the Ozama River, the most important in the Dominican Republic, has a 2018 population of 2.9 million people and is the centre of most of Dominican Republic's activities.

Answer: San Francisco

San Francisco lies on the west coast of the United States and due to the proximity of the San Andreas fault nearby, and the resultant frequent earthquakes, San Francisco is the hilliest city in the U.S. The 1906 earthquake and fire destroyed almost three quarters of the city, although most of the buildings were bombed deliberately to create fire breaks as the water mains had been damaged and were not operational. The famous Golden Gate Bridge which spans the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco to Marin County was opened in 1937.

San Francisco was founded in 1786 by Spanish colonists who named the site 'Presidio of San Francisco', after Saint Francis of Assisi.

Answer: Capital of Missouri

In 1764, French settlers founded a settlement that was to become known as St Louis after King Louis IX, also commonly known as Saint Louis. He is the only King of France to be canonized by the Catholic Church.
The city proper had a population of only 302,000 in 2018 but its metropolitan population was 2.8 million at the same time. Blessed with great transport routes by road, rail and river, the city expanded, rapidly causing infra-structure problems which have largely been ameliorated in the early 21st century. Its most striking landmark is the Gateway Arch, at 630 feet tall, the worlds highest arch.

The capital city of Missouri is Jefferson City and the largest city in the state is Kansas City.

Answer: Santiago de Compostela

The Catholic Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela is said to be built on the site where the remains of the apostle Saint James (Santiago) were found. In 1985, the old section of the city was designated a World Heritage Area by UNESCO. Santiago de Compostela has a much milder climate than many other Spanish locations partially due to the nearby Galician Massif and the prevailing winds from the Atlantic Ocean. Winters are generally mild with snowfall being rare and summertime temperatures rarely exceed 30 C (86 F) but the region receives some of the highest rainfall in Spain (typically 155 cm or 61 inches annually).

Answer: San Juan

Settlement in the area that was to become San Juan, Puerto Rico, was initiated by Juan Ponce de Leon in 1508 on behalf of Spain. The Spanish language soon became dominant over the local Taino dialects and is still spoken today by over 95% of the Puerto Rican population. English is spoken by a much smaller percentage of the population and its introduction was through the USA gaining Puerto Rico in 1898 as a result of the Spanish-American war. Puerto Rico is the smallest and easternmost of the Greater Antilles islands and due to this location, often bears the brunt of Caribbean hurricanes.

The Category Five Hurricane Maria in April 2017 caused extremely extensive damage both from the very high winds and also the resultant flooding. The city was named in honour of St John the Baptist.