[XXX-55] See treaty with France of Apr. 11, 1859.
[XXX-56] Appointments of parish priests, and publications of papal bulls or briefs, and decrees of ecclesiastical councils must first obtain an exequatur from the president of the republic. Parish priests before assuming their offices must take the oath to support the constitution, and to do no act against the nation's independence or the public peace. Nic., Mem. Min. Fomento, 1869, 13-16; 1871, 9-10; Id., Mem. Min. Rel., 1871, 7-10, 25-8; Id., Gaceta, May 30, 1868; Oct. 29, Nov. 5, 1870.
[XXX-57] Anselmo Llorente y Lafuente was the first called to fill the position of bishop of San José de Costa Rica, April 10, 1851. He had not been long in office when he tried to collect tithes on coffee, but failed, and his course greatly displeased the people and lowered their regard for the church. The matter was finally settled by a concordat entered into at Rome, Oct. 2, 1852, and tithes were declared abolished. He died in 1872; and the government soon after proposed a successor, who was not approved of by the Roman curia. Finally, Oct. 11, 1879, the government nominated Bernard August Thiel, a native of Germany, and professor of the university of Costa Rica, for the office, and he was confirmed by the pope Feb. 27, 1880. During the vacancy the see was under the guardianship of the bishop of Abydos, in part. infid. Costa R., Col. Ley., v. 155-60; Marure, Bosq. Hist. Rev. Cent. Am., 208; Montúfar, Reseña Hist., ii. 247-9; Costa R., Mem. Min. Rel., 1851, 1-2, 10-12; 1854, 11-12; Id., Informe Sec. Rel., 1872, 19-20; 1873, 19; 1874, 12; 1880, 19-20; Molina, Bosq. Costa R., 63, 111-12; El Siglo, July 18, 1851.
[XXX-58] For the bishop $3,000, the ecclesiastical chapter $3,000, and the Colegio Tridentino $3,000. Montúfar, Reseña Hist., ii. 207; Costa R., Mem. Min. Rel., 1859, 11; Id., Gac. Gob., July 16, 23, 30, 1853; Hond., Gac. Ofic., Jan. 24, 1853, suppl.; Salv., Gac., Aug. 12, 1853; Guat., Gac., Sept. 16, Oct. 14, 1853; Astaburuaga, Cent. Am., 49-50.
[XXX-59] Costa R., Mem. Sec. Rel., 1884, 31.
[XXX-60] The clergy have, indeed, lost much of their influence. The mode of life of the majority of them cannot inspire respect. Letter from Costa R. by a British consul, quoted in Squier's Cent. Am., 468-9; Wappäus, Mex. und Cent. Am., 360. Laferrière, writing for 1873, gives a discreditable picture of the church, its priests and feasts. De Paris à Guatém., 56.
[XXX-61] There is a protestant church and cemetery in San José. The government cordially upholds the liberal laws on the subject of religion. Costa R., Mem. Sec. Rel., 1884, 32.
[XXX-62] His salary was also suspended. Costa R., Mem. Sec. Rel., 1885, 17.
[XXX-63] Of whom 39 received their offices during the colonial period, the last one being Friar Higinio Duran, of the order of Mercy and a native of Lima. He took possession in 1818, and died in Chepo on the 22d of Oct., 1823. This bishop was one of the signers of the declaration of independ. of the Isthmus in 1821. His successors were Manuel Vasquez, Juan J. Cabarcas Gonzalez, Juan F. del R. Manfiedo y Ballestas, Friar Eduardo Vasquez, who died in Rome, Jan. 2, 1870, Ignacio Antonio Parra, who took possession June 3, 1871. Hernaez, Extracto del Libro de la Comp. de Jesus, in Maldonado, Asuntos Polít de Pan., MS., 34-5; Pan., Col. Docs., MS., nos. 125-6; Pan. Docs.; Montúfar, Reseña Hist., iv. 344; Nic., Boletin Ofic., Nov. 1, 1862; Pan., Boletin Ofic., March 4, 1869; Id., Gaceta, June 6, 1871. Parra held the office only a few years, and was succeeded by Telésforo Paúl, who occupied it till Dec. 1884, when he repaired to Bogotá, his native city, to fill that archepiscopal see. The assembly of the state on the 22d of Dec., 1884, adopted a resolution recognizing his efforts to promote harmony, and appointed a committee to escort him as far as Barranquilla. La Estrella de Pan., Jan. 1, 1885; El Cronista (Pan.), Jan. 3, 1885.
[XXX-64] Bidwell's Isth. Pan., 242. The congress of Nueva Granada in 1837 fixed the bishop's salary at $4,000. N. Granada, Registro Ofic., 21.