Volume 25 — Chapter XVIII

Return of Archbishop Don Fray Hernando Guerrero from his exile in Mariveles; and the end of the relation commenced.

Stripped of all consolation, the archbishop, Don Hernando Guerrero, remained twenty-six days in the island of Mariveles, where he endured perforce privations, both because of his advanced age, and because of the dreariness of the island—which is very great, as it is nearly deserted, and contains only some few Indian huts. Those Indians have charge of scouting those seas, and of advising Manila of what they discover, by the greater or less number of fires which they light—in the manner that the Persians were wont to do, who gave advice by means of those fires, which they called angaros, as is mentioned by Bardayo in the first chapter of his Argenis. The climate [of Mariveles] is very unhealthful, and the location is not a pleasant one as the island is shut in on all sides by thick forests, and because of the continual beating of the sea. There lived the venerable shepherd, meditating on the ingratitude of his sheep, venting his feeling in gentle sighs, and relieving his afflicted breast with tears. Thus was he found by four prebendaries of the Manila cabildo who went to console him, and to propose to him certain matters in behalf of the governor, which we shall detail later.

The church at Manila remained during that time as a flock without a shepherd. All was confusion and disorder. The new provisor, the bishop of Camarines, had readily raised the interdicts and the suspension of religious functions. He ordered the bells to be chimed for the feast on Saturday, the eve of the festival of the Holy Ghost. The prelates of the orders, with the exception of him of the Society, thought that the provisor who had been intruded could not legitimately raise the interdict and the other censures. For no mention of this is made in the chapter Alma Mater: de Sententia Excomunic. in 6; and having held a conference in regard to this matter, with the university of Santo Tomás, which always maintained a firm attitude in defense of the immunity of the Church, they determined to close their churches, and to observe the orders imposed by their legitimate prelate. They did so until after the feast of Pentecost was over. The Audiencia summoned them to act in accordance with the cathedral, but they paid no attention to it until they had despatched a suitable person to the archbishop. The latter, fearful lest greater disturbances should originate, gave heed, as a true father, and sent an order for them to raise the interdict; and they did so on May 20.

The orders and the two universities held various meetings and consultations with the governor, when they saw that the troubles which had originated from the archbishop’s exile were increasing, because of the acts of jurisdiction enacted by the provisor who had been intruded, invalid procedures in the administration of the sacraments, and scandals which had been occasioned to these new fields of Christendom. This last was not the point least worthy of consideration, since that precedent did more damage than was realized, both in the new fields of Christendom, and in the report of this matter among the foreign nations who surround these islands on all sides, for they note our actions carefully. They rendered various signed opinions for this; and they also drew up another, counseling the archbishop to yield certain things in order to avoid greater troubles which were indispensably necessary to restore the peace of that church, which was exposed to greater disturbances; and that, to assure his right, he should make a protest regarding it. They despatched the aforesaid prebendaries with this commission, who, on their arrival, laid the determination of the cabildo, orders, and universities before the archbishop, as well as the decision of the Audiencia in regard to the recalling him from exile, if the archbishop would concede three points, to wit:

“That he would consider as lawful, and confirm, all the acts of jurisdiction performed by the bishop of Camarines.

That he would place in possession of their posts Don Andrés Arias Xirón as archdean, and also the chaplain of the royal hospital.

That he would not proceed in any ecclesiastical trial pertaining to the archiepiscopal government, without the advice of the counselor who would be assigned to him.”

The archbishop resented greatly the proposition of such points to him, and preferred to remain in exile, where he had greater quiet than in Manila; but considering the decision and advice of so erudite persons, which were sufficient to discharge his conscience, he agreed to all the points proposed—first having made a protest that he was doing this to relieve himself from molestation, and to obtain the peace of his church and repose for the consciences of his sheep, until the decision of the matter should come from the royal and supreme Council of the Indias, in whom it inhered.

But it does not seem to me fitting to neglect to mention in this place a testimony of what, it seems, Divine justice must have executed; so that we may conjecture from it how great an offense to the divine Majesty was the scandalous manner in which the exile of Archbishop Don Hernando Guerrero was carried out; so that we may know that if He displayed his temporal punishment in regard to what was pardonable and not guilty, how great will be the punishment which His Divine Majesty will mete out in His just tribunal to those men who were the cause and instrument of so sacrilegious and scandalous a desecration, unless they first hastened to atone for it by works of true penitence, in order to be deserving of His infinite mercy.

The many and horrifying earthquakes from which the city of Manila has suffered from its beginning until the present, have resulted in almost its destruction and depopulation—especially in those of 1645 and 1658, as we shall see later. But in the midst of these ruins, the houses which suffered most always preserved the principal walls, some even the first floor, and others more—although these were stripped of their covering, and, as it were, the skulls and shapeless skeleton which indicate the robust symmetry of that building’s corpse. Only in the area and place where this lamentable tragedy occurred (namely, the archiepiscopal palace of that time) has there remained not only no wall, nor a vestige of its building, but not even the foundations. Neither were any stones found there, which tell that there was a house of human habitation. There is seen naught but an open space, which forms a square for some splendid houses owned now by Sargento-mayor Don Domingo Bermudez, alcalde-in-ordinary, who inherited it from his father-in-law, Don Francisco de Moya y Torres, chief constable of the Holy Office of the Inquisition. Whenever I pass by that place, this memorial of the Divine punishment presents itself to me.

The common enemy of the human race was not content with the lamentable tragedies of which he made the Filipinas Islands the sad theater; on the contrary, fearful that the peace which all desired might be established between the governor and the archbishop, he commenced to arouse new contentions. Although they did not result in scandalous outbreaks, they were sufficient to make the archbishop, Don Hernando Guerrero, live in the midst of continual warfare, the matters of controversy threatening to assume very quickly an evil aspect. Not the least important of these was that which even until the present has not ceased to result in disastrous effects—namely, the founding of the royal chapel for the military forces of Manila, which was founded by Don Sebastián Hurtado de Corcuera. Thus did he separate from the parochial right of the cura of the Spaniards all the soldiers, who constitute the majority of the people in these islands, and especially in the city of Manila. For that purpose he created twelve collegiates in the college of San José (which is in charge of the fathers of the Society of Jesús), with the title of royal chaplains; they were clad in blue cloaks, with sleeves of violet velvet, on which were wrought the royal arms; and for their support [was given] the encomienda of Calamianes. Taking two reals from the pay of each soldier every month, which is a very considerable sum, he applied five hundred pesos of it as a means of sustenance for the chief chaplain, and sums at the rate of two hundred pesos for the other chaplains. It has a chief sacristan who looks after its adornment, and its administration is in charge of either the master-of-camp or the sargento-mayor. The soldiers are buried there, and they pay well for it when they die. It has the advocacy of our Lady of the Annunciation, and there they celebrate other feasts during the year, by vote of the camp of Manila—such as, chiefly, the advocacy of the Immaculate Conception and the most holy sacrament, besides others which the governors add for their devotion. There is a sermon in this chapel during Lent on Wednesday and Friday mornings; to which the governor and royal Audiencia go.

That caused very great detriment to the right of the cura of the Spaniards, because of the division which it made of the soldiers; and it became necessary for the archbishop to sally out in defense of that point. As the governor was so desirous of the said foundation, there were debates of great heat on both sides; for the archbishop was unwilling to grant permission for that foundation, which would cause so much harm to the parochial right. But, recognizing that the break would only widen, he agreed to concede the permission under certain limitations and obligations which he was able to impose, reserving the determination for his Holiness. Afterward, there being some difficulties in that permission, because it was opposed by the curas of the cathedral, as they said that the chief chaplains abused the permission, extending their functions more than was their right, they begged a declaration of that permission from Archbishop Don Hernando Guerrero. He gave it with the privilege that is observed today, and it is attested by the records which exist in the ecclesiastical archives, under date of January 5, 1640.

The archbishop tried to appoint a collector of the contributions for masses during that year of 1636; for one was lacking in the cathedral, from which arose certain troubles. The cabildo resisted him, refused to obey the act for the appointment of one, and denied that the archbishop had authority and jurisdiction for it. As an argument that he did not possess it, they declared that he had not presented the confirmation of his Holiness and the pallium, and the year in which he had taken oath to present it had passed. That caused the archbishop considerable anxiety, for the cabildo presented itself in the [Audiencia] session with a plea of fuerza, and the matter was declared against the archbishop. Various opinions were given in this matter by the universities and by erudite persons; and consequently, that suit lasted a long time, until, at the arrival of the ships from Nueva España, the pallium and the bulls of confirmation came to the archbishop. New disturbances were feared, in case the contrary should happen, and the method adopted for adjusting this matter was that the archbishop jointly with the cabildo should appoint the collector of the contributions for the masses, and that is still observed in the cathedral of Manila.

The archbishop had scarcely gotten out of that matter when he found himself involved in another of no less importance; for the governor, Don Sebastián Hurtado de Corcuera, wished to appoint a governor to the bishopric of Camarines, because of the death of its bishop, Don Fray Francisco Zamudio. That thrust gave the archbishop considerable anxiety, as he had experienced fully the despotic disposition of the governor. But he could do no less than oppose it, as it was a matter which concerned the ecclesiastical authority and the spiritual jurisdiction; and the archbishops have always made the appointment in the vacancies that have occurred in these islands, as it pertains to them by their right as metropolitans. The governor threw himself with all his might into what he had commenced, and gave the bishop to understand that that occasion for dispute would end worse than the past; and he continued to arrange matters in so high-handed a way, that the archbishop feared what the governor threatened. But God permitted that that controversy be settled by the interposition of zealous and influential persons, who mollified the governor; and it was settled that the archbishop should name three subjects, so that the governor might appoint one of them. For that purpose the archbishop called meetings of learned men, and, having made a protest, appointed in the first place Doctor Hernando Paez Guerrero; in the second, Master Don Juan de Velez, who died bishop-elect of Cebú; and in the third, Licentiate Manuel Reaelo [sic; sc. Rafaelo] Macedo. The same thing happened afterward through the death of Bishop Don Fray Diego de Aduarte, of the Order of Preachers, a man of singular virtue, the bishop of Nueva Segovia. In his government, Canon Alonso de Vargas entered to govern, with the same form of choice as the first. That form of appointing governors for the vacancies of the bishops was usurped many years in these islands—although there has been sufficient opposition from the bishops at such an innovation and corruption—until the provision suitable to so essential a matter was made in the royal and supreme Council of the Indias, and in our own times a decree was received from the queen mother, that the archbishops alone should appoint rulers for the bishoprics, but the cabildo of Manila [should do this] when the see is vacant.