Note 11 — Ecclesiastical System in the Philippines

This bishopric was founded by a bull of Clement VIII, dated August 14, 1595. Four thousand pesos’ salary was assigned to the bishopric annually, payable from the royal treasury of Méjico, as there were no tithes in Filipinas because the Indians did not pay them, and the Spaniards cared but little for the cultivation of the lands. A salary of one hundred and eighty pesos was assigned to the cura of the cathedral, and ninety-two to the sacristan. Two honorary chaplains were also created, to assist in the pontifical celebration; and they were assigned salaries of one hundred pesos apiece. The bishop resided in Nueva Cáceres, in the province of Camarines, which was founded by the governor Francisco de Sande; but no other trace of that city has remained than the Indian village called Naga, which is the capital of the province and where the see is also located. It has a cathedral and episcopal palace of stone, and a conciliar seminary for the secular clergy of the country. Its jurisdiction extends throughout the provinces of Camarines (Norte and Sur), Tayabas, and Albay; the politico-military commandancy of Masbate and Ticao; the islands of Burias and Catanduanes; and the villages of Baler and Casiguran in Nueva Ecija, and Polillo and Binongonan de Lampon in Laguna. In this vast territory, the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Nueva Cáceres includes the following provinces, curacies, and villages.11