Volume 20 — Affairs in the Franciscan Province

Sire:

This province was established and has been preserved with holy religious, sons of the provinces of the discalced in España; and at present about two-thirds [117] of these religious are from the said provinces. But little by little, religious of the cloth have come among them, clad as discalced religious only in order to gain admission to these regions. So many of them have gathered here that they are sufficient to form parties and divisions by themselves, aided by some of our discalced religious who join their party. What most encourages this is, that as our fathers-general, commissaries-general, and other superiors are those who govern us, they try to favor those of the provinces of the cloth with offices as superiors and commissaries, and with other privileges, whereby they are advantaged and plant the foot of superiority above others much more deserving and worthy than they; consequently they plant their feet upon all in order to attain their ends. In this way do they destroy the peace of one and all of us, so that I am fain to be able to express my grief to your sacred and royal Majesty.

This would be checked provided our said father superiors would observe and place in execution an order and royal command, which it is said that your Majesty gave long ago, ordering that the said fathers of the Observance should not come to these islands, but only the professed religious of the discalced branch. But this they do, thinking that they comply with your Majesty’s said order by clothing those said religious of the cloth in the shabby habit of the discalced religious, in order to pass over here—whereby your Majesty’s royal will is defrauded and your royal officials at your ports deceived.

Therefore I petition your Majesty, by the blood of Christ our Lord, to provide the remedy. That consists in one of two alternatives: namely, either that [118] your Majesty order that, since there are so many friars, no religious who has not made profession in the provinces of the discalced religious of España shall take passage henceforth for these islands and for Japon, and that religious who come to these islands and provinces must go from those provinces [of the discalced], and not from the provinces of the cloth, for the said fathers have so many and so extensive conversions in which to employ themselves; or that, on the contrary, no discalced religious may take passage, but that all be of the cloth. For in this manner the one class will decrease and the others will increase, and all will soon belong to the one class; and, by the help of God our Lord, there will be peace.

For that reason has arisen in this province the resentment that is just, and it is commended to our Lord with many fastings and disciplines. Will your [120] Majesty examine this matter with those royal eyes, so void of passion, and set it right, as I have here petitioned, for thus will it be expedient for the royal service of His Divine Majesty and that of your Majesty. May His Divine Majesty augment, keep, and preserve you, as we, all these your faithful vassals, desire—who (and I, the most wretched of them) prostrate ourselves before the royal feet of your Majesty, which we kiss a thousand times. Given in Sant Francisco in Manila, July 31, 1620, and by your royal Majesty’s most unworthy servant,

Fray Pedro de San Pablo, minister provincial.

We, the provincial and definitors of the province of Sant Gregorio of the Philipinas Islands, of the order of the discalced religious of our seraphic father St. Francis, the humble and loyal vassals of your Majesty, declare that, inasmuch as our Lord God took to Himself and allowed to die the first fathers and founders who had come hither, with great virtue and sanctity, from the provinces of the discalced religious of the kingdom of Castilla, those who were in this province set about appointing some heads from the religious reared in this country. Because of that, this holy province began to be divided into great factions some few years ago; and it has been so divided that it would break the heart of one who knew it [as it was] before. The sole cause of fomenting these factions is that the fathers of the Observance have passed to this province and these islands, in violation of a royal decree of your Majesty, and dwell among us wearing the habits of discalced religious, fomenting these factions and divisions, to the great loss and ruin of all good and reform. Those troubles are prevailing [121] in this province because the latter is directly governed by the father commissary-general of Nueva España, who is of the same observance and not a discalced religious. We are suffering great detriment at present, and many scandals have arisen, to the great loss of our credit and the welfare of these conversions. This is especially true of that of the kingdoms of Xapon, which the said father commissary-general of Nueva España has attempted to wrest from us with great violence, although that is greatly to the disservice of His Divine Majesty, and that of your Majesty. Such also would be the case if our holy order cannot be established in that and other fields of conversion—discalced, poor, and reformed, and with as great admiration as that with which it has been hitherto established and preserved amid all these nations.

The remedy for the avoidance of these evils lies in your Majesty again ordering that not any of the said fathers of the Observance shall come to these regions, as they are wont to come, feigning by their habits to be discalced religious; and in your assigning us a resident commissary-general, subject forever to a province of the discalced branch of Castilla, so that the said reform may be preserved, and that he may govern the province better, as having been reared in the said discalced branch, of which this province has more experience. If this be impossible, then we petition your Majesty to be pleased to order that we may be freed from obligation to the father commissary-general of Nueva España, and to allow this province to be immediately under the government of one of our fathers-general, a commissary-general of all the Yndias resident in your court, as thus it is advisable. [122]

This we humbly petition and supplicate from your Majesty. In case that be impossible, then we petition your Majesty to hand these conversions over to the said fathers of the Observance; for, being a unit and being harmonious, they will attend better to the ministry of souls. If the said fathers come to attend to these conversions, will your Majesty be pleased to give permission and equipment to all of us discalced religious who have come from Castilla to return to our province. Confiding in the accustomed largess and kindness of your Majesty, we shall say no more. May His Divine Majesty preserve and augment your Majesty, as we, these unworthy chaplains of your Majesty, petition and desire in our prayers and sacrifices, etc. Given in this convent of your Majesty of Nuestra Señora de los Angeles, of Manila, July 20, 1621.

[Notes at beginning: “The minister provincial and the definitors of the province of San Gregorio in Manila, of the Order of St. Francis.

“They mention the extortions committed on that province by some auditors of the Audiencia, which compelled them to receive father Fray Francisco Ximinez in your Majesty’s name, although in violation of a brief of his Holiness. It is petitioned that a remonstrance be sent to them, so that they may not exercise similar violence on any other occasion.”]

Sire:

We, the provincial and definitors of the province of Sant Gregorio of the Philipinas Islands of the order of the discalced religious of our seraphic Father St. Francis, your Majesty’s loyal vassals and humble chaplains, declare that this province has [124] been signally injured and aggrieved, with great detriment to its general credit and good name, and the opinion of all our order, and in particular that of the said province, by Licentiate Hieronimo del Gaspi Chabarria, Doctor Don Albaro de Mesa y Lugo, and Doctor Don Antonio Rodriguez de Villegas, auditors of your royal Audiencia of these islands, by reason of their having granted your royal aid to Fray Francisco Ximenez, an Observantine religious. The latter came to this province with a commission granted by the father commissary-general of our order in Nueva España, ordering us to receive him—although he ought not to be received, as it was in violation of the general rule of government in our order; and in violation of a brief of his Holiness, Gregory Thirteenth. Moreover, such action tends to the destruction of the discalced religious, and of the reform and common welfare of this province, and of the conversions in these new kingdoms of your Majesty—especially when the said auditors compel this province to receive him in your royal name, making an ill use of your name and of the royal authority, and insulting it—and he does that, who, under pretext of such name, practices injustices and extortions, and who does not observe the terms of laws and ordinances; and much more, when they are practiced against an order and province that your Majesty has always esteemed and esteems so highly. Thus, nominally by your royal authority, we have suffered great violence and scandals, and it is certain that had this occurred nearer to your Majesty’s pious eyes, a most signal and exemplary chastisement would have followed. But in these so remote regions, where redress arrives [125] late, it is usual, and almost necessary for us chaplains of your Majesty and the orders to suffer these extortions; and if they did not result in detriment to virtue and to the public welfare, by bearing them patiently we would not lose, but rather gain much.

Therefore we petition and supplicate your Majesty to examine this cause with your own eyes, and provide redress for the injuries received—annulling these acts of violence and rebuking your said auditors, so that it may serve them as a correction, and others as an example and warning; and so that the ministers of the gospel and the orders in these islands may not be annoyed or injured by the evil example furnished to the newly converted, whereby they would esteem the ecclesiastical estate and divine worship less. For such is not the will of your Majesty. In this respect, there is in these regions a great deficiency in all your officials; consequently the ecclesiastical class need to have your Majesty renew your decrees that give injunctions to your agents. By so doing your Majesty will render a great service to His Divine Majesty, favor to all of us, and good to these new plants. May God our Lord preserve your Majesty for years, as we desire, and augment your happy state, as we your least and unworthy chaplains desire, etc. Given in this convent of your Majesty, Nuestra Señora de los Angeles, Manila, in 1621.