other religious of the orders of St. Dominic, St. Augustine, St. Francis, and of all the other orders, that in what pertains to, and is incumbent on them, they observe and obey this decree, acting in harmony with you, for all that shall be advisable. Given in San Lorenzo el Real, June first, one thousand five hundred and seventy-four.
I order you to examine the said decree, and its sections above-incorporated, and you shall observe and obey it, and cause it to be observed and obeyed in toto, as is contained and declared in it and in each one of its sections, as if it were given for those islands and directed to you. I charge the reverend father in Christ, the bishop of those islands, the venerable dean and cabildo of the cathedral church of the islands, all the curas, beneficiaries, sacristans, and other ecclesiastical persons, and the venerable and devout fathers provincial, guardians, priors, and other religious of the orders of St. Dominic, St. Augustine, St. Francis, and all the other orders, that in what pertains to, and is incumbent on them, they observe and obey it, acting in harmony with you in every way that may be advisable and necessary. Given in San Lorenzo, September thirteen, one thousand five hundred and eighty-nine.1
[The litigation between the prelate and the religious orders originated from the visitation of the village of Dilao (which belonged to the ministry of the Franciscan fathers), commenced by Archbishop Miguel Garcia Serrano, June 24, 1624,2 with the dictation by him of the following:]3
Act. In the village of Quiapo, which is near the city of Manila, on the twenty-second day of the month of June, one thousand six hundred and twenty-two, his Excellency, Don Fray Miguel García y Serrano, archbishop of these Philipinas Islands, member of his Majesty’s council, etc., declared that, inasmuch as the eleventh chapter of the twenty-fifth session of the holy council of Trent rules and orders that the religious who exercise the duties of curas of souls be immediately subject, in regard to such duties and in all that pertains to the administration of the sacraments, to the jurisdiction, visit, and correction of the bishop in whose diocese they minister; and that no one, even though he be admovibilis ad nutum, can exercise the said office of cura without having obtained beforehand the consent and examination of the bishop or his vicar, etc.,4 which is ordered to be strictly observed and obeyed, both by the bishops and the superiors of the religious, and by the religious themselves, by the twenty-second chapter following, notwithstanding any privileges, constitutions, rules, customs, rights, and others non obstantibus, etc.; besides which, his Holiness Gregory Fourteenth, by his brief which was obtained at the instance of his Majesty, under date of Roma, April 18, one thousand five hundred and ninety-one, charges and orders the archbishop of these islands to visit the missions and the religious in them.5
All of the above is ordered to be observed and obeyed in these islands by decrees of his Majesty, under date of June first, five hundred and eighty-five; December twenty-one, five hundred and ninety-five; and November fourteen, one thousand six hundred and three.6 In conformity with these decrees, his most illustrious Lordship, wishing to observe what his Holiness and his Majesty have ordered, as it is a matter very advisable and necessary for the service of God our Lord and that of his Majesty, and the welfare and increase of the conversion, teaching, and instruction of the natives of these islands, notified the very reverend fathers-provincial in Christ of the sacred orders of St. Dominic and St. Augustine, and the commissaries of that of St. Francis, of these islands, by means of an order signed by his most illustrious Lordship, which was given to them in the first part of April of this current year, so that, understanding it, the matter might be facilitated and observed on the part of the said orders, with the good-will and exactness that is proper, and which they have always had in obeying and observing the orders of the holy apostolic see, and those of his Majesty. And inasmuch as it is advisable that there be no more delay in the above, his most illustrious Lordship intends to go to visit the mission of the natives of the village of Dilao, outside the walls of the city of Manila, which is in charge of the Order of St. Francis, on the day of St. John the Baptist. He has advised the father guardian of the said convent thereof, in order that the Indians of the said convent may be assembled in the church at the hour of high mass, and so that all other necessary arrangements be made for making the said visit. His Lordship ordered the above to be set down as an act, together with the copy of the brief of his Holiness Gregory Fourteenth, and of his Majesty’s decrees, of which mention is made above; and he signed the same.
In the town of Quiapo, on the twenty-fourth day of the month of June, one thousand six hundred and twenty-two, the illustrious lord Don Fray Miguel Garcia Serrano, archbishop of the Philipinas, member of his Majesty’s council, etc., declared that he ordered—and he did so order—that that notification that his illustrious Lordship ordered to be made and that he made, to the superiors of the religious orders—namely, the order mentioned in the act of the twenty-second of this month, which was made on account of the visitation of Dilao—be filed with the [records of the] said visitation, which is to be begun on this said day, of the said mission and ministry of Dilao. Thus did he decree and order.
Very reverend fathers in Christ, the provincials of the holy orders of these Philipinas Islands: Being obliged to carry out the ordinance and mandate of the holy council of Trent and the decrees of his Majesty in regard to the examination and visitation which I have to make of the religious who are administering the missions of natives in my diocese, I deemed it advisable, in order to attain my object better, to inform your Paternities of it before beginning it—so that, understanding the matter, it might be facilitated and observed by your Paternities with the good-will and exactness that are proper, and which you have always displayed in obeying and observing the mandates of the holy apostolic see and those of his Majesty.
As your Paternities know, chapter 11 of the 25th session of the holy council of Trent, De regularibus et monialibus, rules and orders that the religious who exercise the duties of curas of souls be immediately subject as regards such duties, and in everything that pertains to the administration of sacraments, to the jurisdiction, visit, and correction of the bishop in whose diocese they administer; and that no one, though he be amovilibis ad nutum, may exercise the said duty of cura without first having obtained the consent of, and been examined by, the bishop or his vicar, etc. Both the bishops and the superiors of the religious, and the religious themselves, are strictly ordered to observe and fulfil the above, as ordered by article 22 following, notwithstanding any privileges, regulations, rules, customs, and rights, and others non obstantibus, etc.
This decree then, of the holy council of Trent, has two parts—one in which it is ordered that the said religious be immediately subject in regard to curas, and in all that pertains to the administration of sacraments, to the jurisdiction, visit, and correction of the bishops; and the other that, before being admitted to the said duty, they must obtain the consent of, and be examined by, the bishops or their vicars. There has never been any innovation in the first; for, although the second part had the innovation that appears in two briefs issued by his Holiness Pius V—one in general for all Christendom, which he conceded at the instance of the mendicant orders, under date of Roma, July 17, 1567, in the second year of his pontificate, whose beginning is, Etsi mendicantium ordines; and the other a special one for the Yndias, at the instance of his Majesty, under date of Roma, of March 26, of the same year—in those briefs there was no innovation in regard to the first part. On the contrary, in the brief of his Holiness Gregory XIV which his Majesty sent to these islands, and which was obtained at
Translated from Pastells’s
Thus in Pastells’s text (p. 690); but it is apparently a misprint for June 22, 1622, the date of Serrano’s act.
Throughout this document, the matter contained in brackets Delgado says (Hist. de Filipinas, p. 821) that the material used by the bird is a species of seaweed, called ñgoso, or another called lano—and not, as Colin and San Antonio would have it, the foam of the sea. See ut supra, pp. 727, 728, and 822. See also Retana’s note in his edition of Zúñiga’s Estadismo, ii, pp. 430*, 431*. is editorial comment by Rev. Pablo Pastells, S.J., who has published the present document in the appendix to the third volume of his edition of Colin’s
The passage of the council of Trent referred to above reads as follows: “In monasteries, whether the houses of men or of women, with which the care of the souls of secular persons is connected, all persons—excepting those who belong to their monasteries, or who are servants of those places—both secular and religious, who exercise that care after this manner, shall be immediately subject in those things which pertain to the said care and administration of sacraments, to the jurisdiction, visit, and correction of the bishop in whose diocese they are located. Neither shall any there, even those removable at will [
See the above bull in this series, Vol. IV, pp. 119–124.
See the last two decrees here mentioned, later in this document. The first decree—the original of which is preserved in the Archivo general de Indias, in “Cartas y expedientes del gobernador de Filipinas vistos en el Consejo; años 1567–1699; est. 67, caj. 6, leg. 10”—which we translate, as well as all the above document, from Pastells’s edition of Colin’s
“The King: Very reverend father in Christ, archbishop of the metropolitan church of the city of Mexico of Nueva España; reverend fathers in Christ, bishops of my council, venerable deans, dignidades, canons, and other persons, who are assembled in the provincial council which is held in the city of Mexico. You have already been informed by my decree—of which duplicates signed by my hand were sent out, directed to all the prelates of the churches of the Yndias—dated December six, of the year one thousand five hundred and eighty-three, that I ordered you all, and each of you in particular, that if you have clerics who are suitable and competent, you shall appoint them to benefices, curacies, and missions, in preference to the friars of the mendicant orders, who hold them at present—observing, in the said appointment, the order that is mentioned in the title of my patronship, as is more minutely set forth in the said decrees, the tenor of which, being precisely the same as that of the one sent to you, the above-mentioned archbishop, is as follows:
“The King: Very reverend father in Christ, archbishop of the metropolitan church of the city of Mexico of Nueva España, and member of our council: Already you know that, in accordance with the ordinances and established rules of the holy Catholic church, and with the ancient custom received and observed in Christendom, the jurisdiction of the holy sacraments in the curacies of the parishes of the churches belongs to the seculars, they being aided as assistants in preaching and confessing by the religious of the orders; and that if missions and curacies have been entrusted to religious of the mendicant orders in those regions by apostolic concession, it was because of the lack that was experienced of the said lay priests, and the convenience that was found in the said religious for busying themselves in the conversion, instruction, and teaching of the natives, with the example and profit that is required. Now granting that this was the object aimed at in that arrangement, and that the effect has been greatly in accordance with the efforts made for it, and that they have obtained so much fruit through their apostolic lives and holy perseverance, and that so great a multitude of souls have come to the knowledge of our Lord through His favor and aid by means of their teaching: still, inasmuch as it is advisable to bring back this matter to its beginning, and that, in so far as is possible, what pertains to the said curacies of parishes and missions be restored to the common and received use of the Church, so that there may be no defect in that of the Indians, I request and charge you that now and henceforth, if you have suitable and competent clergy, you appoint them to the said curacies, missions, and benefices, preferring them to the friars, and observing in the said appointments the order that is mentioned in the title of our patronship. As long as there are not all the seculars necessary for the said missions and benefices, you shall divide those which are left over, equally, among the orders in those provinces, so that there may be some of all the orders, to the end that each order may labor according to its obligation, striving to excel in so holy and apostolic an enterprise. And you shall watch above all, as a good shepherd, so that your subordinates live with great watchfulness, relieving our conscience and your own, so that the results that are desirable be obtained among those natives. Madrid, December six, 1583.
“Certain religious of the above-mentioned orders having come from those provinces and from others of the Yndias, and having related the many annoyances that have followed and that might follow from the observance and fulfilment of the said decree, I ordered some of the members of my council and other persons of great learning, prudence, and intelligence to assemble. They having examined the indults, briefs, and concessions of the supreme pontiffs, and the other papers that are filed in the secretary’s office of my Council of the Indias, in regard to this matter of the missions—as well as the informations, letters, relations, and opinions that have been given, sent, and brought from all parts but lately, and upon the occasion of this decree, both by the religious and by the prelates and clergy—have given me their opinion. Considering that it was proper, in order to come to a resolution and decision in a matter of so great moment and importance, and commencing with what is of greatest importance—namely, to commend it to God our Lord, whom you all, as is done here, are to entreat very urgently to guide and direct it as may be most to His service, the proper spiritual government of those kingdoms, the welfare of the souls of the inhabitants and natives therein, and the propagation of the holy gospel: I have determined to await a more detailed relation of what may appear from these new documents, and the general consensus of opinion in all classes, so that after examining them all (since we all must aid for one and the same purpose, and the result must be for the welfare of all, and particularly for mine, for the fulfilment of the great obligation under which our Lord, besides the many benefits which I continually receive from His blessed hand, has placed me by adding thereto so great kingdoms and seigniories, where so great a multitude of souls have come to His true knowledge, and where they will continue to come daily, by the help of His grace which illumines them, so that they may leave their blindness) the best conclusion may be reached. Accordingly, I request and charge you that, having assembled and congregated in that holy council, you discuss and confer over what pertains to this matter. You shall send me a very minute relation of the measures that you shall deem it advisable to take in each province and bishopric by itself, and for all in general, in regard to the execution of the said decree. You shall say what missions are in possession of the religious and those in charge of the seculars, and in what villages and vicinity these are, and all the other things concerning it that you think to be necessary for the sake of greater clearness; so that, having examined the said relations and the others that are awaited, and the papers that are here, and holding consultation with my Council of the Indias, as well as with the other persons whom I shall appoint for this purpose, I may take the most advisable measures. While that is being done and determined, you shall suspend (as I now for the time being do suspend), and I shall consider as suspended, the execution of the decree herein inserted.
“All, and each one by himself, if they are in your dioceses, shall leave the said missions freely and quietly to the said orders and religious, so that those who have held, hold, and shall hold them, may hold them as hitherto, without making any innovation, or changing the manner of filling those missions or appointing the religious to them.
“Each of you personally, in his own district, without entrusting it to any other person, shall visit the churches of the missions where the said religious shall be established, and inspect the most holy sacraments and the baptismal fonts in them, the buildings of the said churches, the alms given for them, and all the other things pertaining to such churches and the services of divine worship. You shall also visit and fraternally correct the religious established in the said missions, in regard to curacies, and shall take special care to consider the honor and good fame of such religious in irregular acts that may be hidden; and when more than this should be necessary or advisable you shall inform their prelates, so that these may punish them. If the latter do not inflict punishment, you shall do so, each one of you, in accordance with the ordinance of the holy council of Trent, after the period of time mentioned in it is passed. And inasmuch as it is not advisable that a matter that is so important as is the care of souls—and, further, those souls that are so new in the faith—be at the will of the religious who shall be established in the said missions, curacies, and benefices, they must understand, both superiors and members [of the orders] that they are to hold the office of cura
