Note 3 — LETTER TO CARLOS II

Felipe Fernández de Pardo was born on February 7, 1611, in Valladolid, of noble lineage. At the age of fifteen, he entered the Dominican order in that city. After being ordained, he spent several years as a teacher in colleges of his order, and then joined the Philippine mission, arriving in the islands in 1648. He was a teacher in Santo Thomas for several years, and then its rector; in 1660 was elected prior of the Manila convent, and afterward, provincial. In 1671, he became commissary of the Inquisition at Manila, and in 1677 archbishop of that diocese, although, as the bulls therefor did not arrive, he was not consecrated until October 28, 1681. He was a rigorous censor of public morals, and a strenuous advocate of his ecclesiastical privileges; consequently, he became embroiled with influential private persons, with the secular government, and with the religious orders. As a result, the Audiencia decreed (March, 1683) his banishment, sending him to Lingayén. The new governor, Cruzalaegui, secured Pardo’s reinstatement in his see, which occurred November 15, 1684; then followed more troubles and disputes, the archbishop seeking vengeance on his former enemies. He died on December 31, 1689. See sketch of his life in Reseña biográfica, i, pp. 473–486; and an outline of his official career in Montero y Vidal’s Hist. de Filipinas, i, pp. 365–376. ↑