The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 17 of 55 / 1609-1616 / Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of the Catholic Missions, as Related in Contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Close of the Nineteenth Century

by Unknown

Order of St. Francis

Very potent Sire:

Since I am ordered, in your Majesty’s name, to give a minute of the convents in this province of San Gregorio, of the discalced friars and religious in it, and the number of souls to whom they administer the holy sacraments and instruction, by virtue of that command I declare that this province has forty-eight convents with their visitas, where religious live; and four convents where they do not minister to Indians—namely, Sant Francisco of Manila, Sant Francisco del Monte, Sant Francisco of Caceres and Sant Diego of Cavite. Further it has six [sic] hospitals: the royal hospital of Manila; that for the natives; that of La Misericordia; that at Los Baños [“the baths”]; and that at Cavite. There are one hundred and one priests, counting well, sick, and old. There are thirty-eight lay-brethren, who serve and act as nurses at the hospitals, infirmaries, and convents generally. We have in charge as many as eighty thousand souls or so. In Maluco there is one convent where the native Indian Christians are instructed, both those living there and those who go thither from these regions. There is also a hospital where the soldiers are cured. From the aforesaid convents twelve religious have been taken since last year (when some came here), and religious of our order are requested in many other places.

In [the districts of] some of these convents there are few Indians, because they refuse to join the chief settlements; nor can those people be well instructed, as they are very remote, unless they have religious. Moreover, there are fifteen priests in Japon and six lay-brethren, busied in the conversion and in hospital work.

Fray Marcos de Lisboa,[1] vice-provincial.