Note 20 — THE EXPULSION OF THE JESUITS, 1768–1769

At a fiesta held in the Jesuit church at Manila, in 1623 the statues of canonized Jesuits were placed at the altar. “Their garments were richly embroidered with gold and silver thread in intricate designs, and were all covered with jewels—diamonds, pearls, rubies, emeralds, seed-pearls, and other precious stones—arranged in such a manner that their luster and varied colors gave them a most pleasing and beautiful appearance. On the image of St. Xavier were faithfully counted more than 15,000 precious stones and pearls, among them more than a thousand diamonds. On that of St. Ignatius there were more than 20,000 jewels, and of these over 800 were diamonds.” (Murillo Velarde, Hist. de Philipinas, fol. 41b, 42.) ↑