The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898: Volume 32, 1640

Chapter LXXVII
The personal habits of Don Fray Diego de Soria and other matters in regard to him up to his death

[After reaching his bishopric, Don Fray Diego made a visitation of it. Striving so far as possible to relieve the Indians of burdens and of other labor, he made these visitations with as little baggage as possible. He immediately paid those whom it was necessary to cause to carry loads, and put the Indians to no expense whatsoever, even in matters in which he might justly have done so. He constantly wished to give them much, and not to ask even for the little which was his due. He delighted in labor, and rejoiced particularly when there were many to be confirmed. He observed the discipline and the rules of prayer of this province. He rose at dawn and prayed until six, when he said mass and gave devout thanks. If there was any business to be done, he gave audience or attended to necessary matters. When he was not obliged to attend to any of these occupations, he read and meditated upon holy books and upon the sacred scripture and its expositors. He did not generally write, but read and meditated, and received the Lord. Thus he was occupied up to the time for saying prayers at the sixth and the ninth hour; and then he ate some eggs and fish, as if he were still in the convent of the order. After his meal, he conversed with his companion upon some useful subject; and, after resting awhile, returned to the exercise of prayer until the time of saying vespers. Then, if necessary, he gave audience, or engaged in works of piety; and then he returned to his sacred reading and contemplation. He never had any other entertainment or amusement, however lawful, nor did he go out to refresh himself in the garden, or in the chase, or in fishing, taking pleasure in none of these things. He made a personal visitation of his bishopric every year, and confirmed many Christians, sending word beforehand, that the ministers might prepare those who were to receive this holy sacrament. He gave much to his church and to his convent of Manila, in spite of the poverty of his bishopric, but gave very little help to a poor brother of his. In the province of Pangasinan he gave great alms, and sent a large sum of money to buy rice to be kept on deposit, as it were, in the cities, and to be distributed in times of famine. He spent but little upon the persons of his household, directing them to eat as he did, twice a day, eggs and fish, and to be clothed plainly as suited ecclesiastical persons. He lived in such poverty that he sometimes lacked tunics to make a change. He was given to ejaculatory prayer. At the festival of Pentecost in the year 1608, a dove lighted on his head, which he was unable to drive away, the Lord thus showing him honor. In the following year, at the celebration of this festival in Abulug the dove came and sat upon the shoulder of the bishop. When the fever with which his last illness began came upon him, he knew that his death was approaching. So far as he could, he followed the constitutions of the order even in his sickness. After twenty-seven days of sickness, and twenty-seven years of labor in these regions, his works were at an end, and he went to receive the reward of them. In his last illness he gave to the college of Sancto Thomas, at Manila, his library and three thousand pesos.]

Chapter LXXVIII
Father Fray Francisco Minaio and his death

[At this time the death of father Fray Francisco Minaio was much regretted in the province. He was a native of Arevalo in Castilla la Vieja. He assumed the habit and professed in Palencia, and was sent to finish his studies in arts and theology to the convent of Sancta Cruz at Segovia. He came to the province, very near its beginning, with the bishop Don Fray Miguel de Benavides. He was assigned to the province of Nueva Segovia, which was practically all heathen. He labored much and with good results, and was stationed at the utmost borders of the province, in the village of Pilitan. He learned the language well, and was very devoted and compassionate to the Indians. He labored most affectionately with the poor and sick, and cared for the latter with his own hands. He and his associate, father Fray Luis Flores, went about through all that region, searching for, and burning the huts where superstitious sacrifices were offered to the devil, who was consulted as an oracle in these places. These huts were generally hidden among the mountains and crags in the midst of bushes. The servants of God traveled over the rough paths, and all the rest that they could take was in finding one of these huts and in burning it. The devils were greatly angered by these insults; and the Indians heard, in their fields, the complaints of the devil because they believed in these men with white teeth. But they were obliged to confess their weakness to the Indians, who in this way were converted to the true faith. Father Fray Francisco, not contented with work in these villages, began upon the conversion of the idolatrous tribes of the great and spacious plains in the neighborhood of Pilitan, which are known as Zimbuey. So diligent was he that churches were built on those plains, and practically all were baptized and became good Christians.] At one time when the father went to visit them he found one of the principal chiefs of that country, named Guiab, lying sick. He talked with him about matters of the faith and his salvation; and Guiab, although he did not listen to them with displeasure, was still unwilling to embrace them. Since his sickness was not at that time severe, father Fray Francisco left him, telling him that if his disease grew worse he should send for him. Father Fray Francisco returned to his village of Pilitan. The sickness of Guiab increased in severity; and the physicians who were there – perhaps the aforesaid sorceresses – told him that the cure for his disease consisted in killing a child and in bathing himself in its blood. He immediately sent for the child; but so great was the respect which they had for father Fray Francisco that, although they supposed that the life of Guiab was departing, they were unwilling to put this order into execution without first asking permission from the father, and sent for some one to ask it. The father heard the message, and, without letting the messengers return, went with them, fearing that even if he refused his permission they would go on and kill the child. At this same time Guiab heard, perhaps from the devil, that the father was coming. He sent other messengers to say that there was no necessity of the father’s taking the trouble to go to the village; that if he was not pleased that they should kill the child, they would not kill it. This message reached the father while he was still on the way, but he did not stop on that account, and kept on with all the rest. When he entered the house of Guiab he found it full of people; and immediately beheld there, weeping bitterly and hoarse with crying, the child who was designed for the inhuman remedy which should slay its soul. Full of pity, he told the sick man of the great error which he was committing, and the frightful sin against God which would result; the uselessness and unreasonableness of striving to obtain health for an old man by bathing him in the blood of a child; the indignation of the Spaniards if they should hear of this act; and the vengeance which they would take for this unjust and cruel murder, if not upon his person, at least upon his gold and treasure. Guiab admitted his error, and ordered the child to be given to father Fray Francisco. In the course of the father’s conversation, Guiab received instruction as to matters of the faith, which the father explained to him, taking as the principle and subject of what he said the control of God our Lord over the lives of men. The father took the child in his arms, and, on his way back with him, he found a man tied fast to a ladder. This was the father of the child, who was placed thus that he might not interfere with the killing under the influence of his natural paternal love. He had him untied, and left him in freedom and in great happiness with his son. The sickness of Guiab was mortal, and the father taught him thoroughly and baptized him. Following the directions of the new Christian in his will, father Fray Francisco divided his gold among his relatives, and gave liberty to many slaves whom he wrongfully held. To the child whom the religious had ransomed (at the price of six reals), he likewise gave baptism; and named him Feliz [i. e., “fortunate”], since he had been fortunate in being rescued from the gates of eternal damnation, where he was already standing, and placed by baptism in the beauty of grace and on the right path for glory. [It could but be that the devil should burn with infernal wrath against one who did so much against him; and that the Lord should reward him, as He rewards His servants in this world, with sufferings which result in their spiritual good. A bad man brought a false accusation against father Fray Francisco of most nefarious wickedness, and supported it with evidence so plausible that it seemed as if the father must be guilty. The author of this charge exchanged a religious letter which father Fray Francisco had written to his superior, for a forged one very contrary to father Fray Francisco’s real manner of writing. In this way father Fray Luis Gandullo, at that time vicar-provincial, was convinced of the truth of the charge. The innocent man took this so much to heart that one day, when he was saying mass before his Indians, he fainted and fell on the floor, as if he were dead. The Indians fled from the church, in fear that they should be charged with having caused the death of their minister. He was withdrawn from his ministry and placed in confinement; but in the course of the trial the truth was made clear, and father Fray Francisco was set free with honor. Some years afterward, he was appointed prior of the convent at Manila, and afterward, was very nearly elected provincial. He greatly augmented the devotion to our Lady of the Rosary, and adorned her image with rich vestments and jewels, and her chapel with a large retable and other ornaments. He was not forgetful of the necessities of the poor, and greatly increased the alms which were ordinarily given at the door of the convent. After he had finished his term as prior, he returned to Nueva Segovia. When he came back, the Indians, learning that their good father and teacher had returned, came fifty leguas to visit him. The Lord gave him a peaceful death, and he was buried in the church of our father Sancto Domingo at Nueva Segovia.]

[End of Book I]

Book Second of the History of the Province of the Holy Rosary

Chapter I
The sufferings of the religious in Japon in the persecution which arose against Christianity

[The church in Japon was like the primitive church as it was founded by our Lord, which from the beginning suffered persecutions. The first persecutions of the church were not so severe but that the disciples when persecuted in one city could flee to another; thus, by sinking its roots deep, it was able to endure the greater persecutions which followed in the days of the Neros and the Domitians. All the persecutions in Japon up to the year 1614 were like those in the infancy of the early church – tempered, and without much shedding of blood; and giving the ministers an opportunity, when they were expelled from one kingdom, to flee to another. That which arose in this year was like the universal persecution of the church. The emperor, seeing that it was impossible to cut off the trunk of Christianity in Japon, and that to martyr a few would only give the creed greater strength, decided (perhaps advised by the devil) that it would be better and easier to cut off only the roots – namely, the religious, by whose teachings Christianity in Japon had been brought into existence and was sustained. In the beginning of January in this year he sent out an edict to all his tonos that the priests and religious in their lands should be gathered together and sent to the port of Nangasaqui, to the governor Safioye, to be put on board ship and banished to Maccan or to Manila, so that not one should be left in Japon. After this the rosaries, images, and other sacred objects were to be taken from the Christians; and they were to be compelled to worship idols, the disobedient being tortured and put to death. Great care was to be taken that the bodies of the martyrs should not be permitted to fall into the hands of the Christians, who might venerate them. This decree was thoroughly carried out, and the Christians, deprived of ministers and sacraments, went out of the cities and fled – some to the mountains, others to caves, others to thick woods; and others set sail in little boats for other countries. It made the heart burn simply to hear the cruel destruction wrought by the emperor among the faithful. Some were hung alive by one foot to high trees; others were tied to stakes and exposed to the rigors of winter by night and by day; the ears and the noses of others were cut off. Others were branded on the brow with hot irons. Men and women were being put to shame by being exposed naked, and chaste women were threatened with being sent to the brothels. Some were put in sacks of straw, dragged about the streets and derided; and others were hung up in panniers and baskets. Others suffered confiscation of their goods, and were banished, all people being forbidden to give them food or lodging. These last were, for the most part, noble and rich persons who had been brought up in luxury.⁷ The religious, laying aside their habits, went in secret throughout Japon, animating and strengthening the persecuted Christians to suffer for the Lord. Among these religious there were three of our order.

In this extremity of persecution confraternities were formed, for the mutual support of their members. They took pledges to be faithful, and were likely to be of great use because the Japanese, being a people who think much of their honor, would be ashamed to lapse from such agreements and promises. They made many processions, and subjected themselves to severe disciplines. On the second of June, Safioye was visited by all the superiors of the religious orders, whom he received with courtesy and a great show of kindness. As soon as they had returned to their convents, he sent them word from the emperor that they should prepare all the members of their order to go to Macan or Manila in the following autumn; and an inspector was sent to see that the mandate was carried out. All the officials of the city of Nangasaqui were compelled to sign a paper to the effect that they would not conceal any religious or secular clergymen, or show them favor, or assist them to remain in Japon. It was pitiful to see the Japanese Christians as the time for the departure of the religious approached. On the fourteenth of October, our religious tore up the crosses which had been erected, and burned them, together with other things from the church, that they might not be profaned by the heathen. After partaking of the holy sacrament on the following day, they put out the lamps and left the altars. They put on board the ships the relics and the bodies of the saints, and most of the ecclesiastical ornaments and things from the sacristies, though of these they left some to the Christians who were to remain in hiding. They were able to take only a few of the bells. On the twenty-fifth, they were ordered to leave the city for the port of Facunda, till their ships should be ready. After they had set sail, certain priests returned in small boats. There were five secular priests out of seven. Six of the ten Franciscan priests remained, and seven out of the nine priests of our order. Of three Augustinian fathers, one remained. Of seventy priests of the Society, eighteen or twenty remained.⁸ More would have returned to land if it had not been for the failure of one of the boats agreed upon. The names of the fathers who remained are given in all cases, except in that of the Jesuits. After the departure of the clergy, the profanation of the churches was begun. The fathers disguised themselves as well as they could, and went out upon their mission. Many of them were obliged to remain in Nangasaqui and its vicinity, because the greater number of Christians were there. They traveled secretly, however, all over Japon. They labored chiefly at night, and suffered greatly, being obliged to travel much, and lacking food and sleep.]

Chapter II
Father Fray Francisco de San Joseph Blancas

[Though father Fray Francisco de San Joseph was not one of the first founders of this province, he came in the second shipload from España. Because of his great virtue he is worthy of an important place in this history. For this purpose it has pleased God that there should come to my hands from the bishop of Monopoli, Don Fray Juan Lopez, an accurate account of the first years of this father, which follows. Father Fray Francisco was born at Tarazona in Navarra. His parents were exceptionally pious. From his youth father Fray Francisco showed signs of exceptional devotion. He fled from the sight of women, and even declined to accompany his mother, excusing himself on the ground of his studies. At the age of thirteen he was sent to Alcala de Henares to continue his studies; and at the age of fifteen he assumed the habit, and showed the behavior of a man at that youthful age. An account is given of his sisters; and the testimony of persons of superior virtue to the sanctity of father Fray Francisco is cited.

In course of time he came to be reader of arts in the religious convent of Piedrahita, where he was made master of the students. He had even greater gifts as a preacher than as a teacher, having a fine voice, natural rhetoric and powers of action, a great gift of words, good memory, and skill in systematic arrangement. He was master of the hearts of all those who heard him. His first pulpit was that of San Antonino at Yepes, and later he was appointed as preacher to the convent of Alcala. While here he felt the impulse to go to the Philippinas, and, in spite of the efforts of the convent to retain him, he carried out his purpose. When he reached Manila, his superiors, desiring that the Spaniards of Manila might not be deprived of his great talents as a preacher, assigned him to the ministry of Bataan, which is near Manila. Here he learned the common language of the Indians, called Tagal, so rapidly that he was able to preach in it within three months, and taught others the language within six. He was constantly studying the exact signification of the words of the language and the method in which the Indians used them, so that he might become a consummate master of this tongue.]

It is their custom when they are rowing their boats, or when many are gathered together on any occasion, to sing in order to beguile and relieve their labors. As they had no others, they used their old profane and even pernicious songs. He composed many songs in their language, after their own manner of verse, but on sacred themes – for he had a particular gift for this – and introduced these among them, so that they might use them on such occasions. He hoped in this way to make them forget their old ballads, which were useless or noxious, without taking from them their pleasure – rather, indeed, to increase their delight by the devout sentiments of the new songs. He wrote many books of devotion for them; and since there was no printing in these islands, and no one who understood it or who made a trade of it, he planned to have the printing done by means of a Chinaman, a good Christian. This man, seeing that the books of father Fray Francisco were sure to be of great use, bestowed so much energy upon this undertaking that he finally succeeded with it. He was aided by some who told him what they knew, and thus in time learned everything that was necessary to do printing; and he printed these books.⁹ [The good father so delighted in seeing the fruit of his teaching among the Indians that when he was directed to come back to the city, to preach to the Spaniards, it was a severe penance for him. However, he did so, especially in Lent. He was very severe in rebuking vice, and it gave him pain to be obliged to preach to vicious Spaniards, as it seemed to him that he was toiling in sterile soil. He usually came down from the pulpit bathed in sweat, but continued to wear his heavy tunic and to observe the rules of the order rigorously. Although he had seemed to be of delicate constitution in España, his health was always very good, so that for more than twenty years during which he was in this province he did not even have a headache, except once, when he struck himself by accident. He spoke with intense energy, in a grave, sententious, and clear manner. He learned the Chinese language, in addition to the other two in which he preached; and he took as his especial charge the duty of teaching the many negroes and slaves in Manila. He was most humble, in spite of his great abilities. When he was vicar-provincial of Manila, he received a letter from the provincial, who was making a visitation in the province of Nueva Segovia. He asked father Fray Francisco, as vicar-provincial, to see if some of the religious in his district could not be spared for that needy region. Father Fray Francisco, thinking that he was himself the least necessary person in the district of Manila, took with him one father as his companion, and set out for Nueva Segovia. In the year 1614 he was sent to España as procurator of the province, but died on the voyage to Mexico. Just before and after his death his body gave signs by the beauty of its appearance of the sanctity and purity of his life. He printed a grammar of the Tagal language, and in that language he printed a memorial of the Christian life, a book on the four last things,¹⁰ another of preparation for the communion, a treatise on confession, a book on the mysteries of the rosary of our Lady, and another to teach the Tagal Indians the Spanish language. He also left behind him many devout and valuable compositions in the language of those Indians, particularly many sermons for Sundays and saints’ days, which were highly regarded because of their doctrine and their language, which is very elegant and pure. He had also made a collection of sermons in the Spanish language for a whole year, with the purpose of printing them. The letter of the dean and chapter of the holy church of Manila (dated May 12, 1614), given him as he was about to set out for España, corroborates Aduarte’s account of him, and is therefore printed by that writer in full.]