The old and the new Peru

by Marie Robinson Wright

The prestige of both the Church and the army was at the zenith when Pizarro conquered Peru; and as soon as Spain took formal possession of the country, the Church established its authority throughout the land,—an authority that dominated all the affairs of the colony, secular as well as spiritual. The viceroy was, in reality, head of the government only by right of his office as vice-patron of the Church. The Sovereign of Spain, as patron of the Church,—an honor granted by Pope Julius IV.,—reserved the right to provide all ecclesiastical benefices; the building of churches, monasteries, and other places of worship was prohibited without royal licence; and papal briefs, resolutions of the generals of religious orders, or any other decision issued under ecclesiastical authority required the sanction of the Council of the Indies to give it value. The viceroy Toledo was the first to be appointed vice-patron of the Church, receiving the royal seal in 1574. The bishops of Peru were the chief authorities in their dioceses, the priests had full charge of the schools, and the missionaries represented the government in the reducciones. A historian of the viceroyalty estimates that the clergy, friars, and nuns formed more than the seventh part of the entire population of Lima.

THE CATHEDRAL, LIMA.

When Pizarro founded the capital of Peru, his first act was to fix the site of the metropolitan church, of which he, himself, laid the corner-stone. As materials were scarce at that time and there were few facilities for such a work, the building was very unpretentious, though five years were spent in its construction. The ceremony of dedication was performed in 1540 by Father Valverde, then bishop of Cuzco and all Peru. According to the chronicles of the period, “the Emperor Charles V. humbly besought His Holiness, Pope Paul III., to grant the title of ‘city’ to the town denominated ‘of the Kings,’ which had been erected in the provinces of Peru, and to establish in it a cathedral church.” The pope granted this request and made Lima a metropolitan see, Fray Geronimo Loayza being appointed the first archbishop of the colony. Within a short time it was found necessary to rebuild the Cathedral, and the work was begun under the most favorable auspices; but so many were the interruptions, changes of plans, and other causes of delay that not until 1625 was the edifice completed, the consecration being solemnized by Archbishop Ocampo, with such pomp and grandeur that the ceremony lasted from sunrise to sunset. As soon as the Spanish sovereign was informed of the completion and consecration of the Cathedral, he ordered that the bones of the Conqueror, Francisco Pizarro, should be disinterred and removed to the sacred edifice, where all that is mortal of the great discoverer of Peru is still preserved.

To the construction and adornment of the Cathedral of Lima, Archbishops Loayza, Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo, and Bartolomé Lobo Guerrero devoted their talents and their fortune with pious zeal; Archbishop Loayza made the church a gift of rich ornaments in silver, and a custodia, or tabernacle, of gold and silver, valued at several thousand dollars. The cost of construction of this magnificent edifice was estimated at half a million dollars gold, and the interior was a repository of such enormous riches that their reputed value passes credibility. The balustrades surrounding the altar,—which was itself a marvel of exquisite wood-carving,—as well as the pipes of the organ, were of silver, and the candlesticks, also of silver, were of remarkable size and weight. The wood-carving of the chancel was not excelled even by that of the famous Cathedral of Seville. The terrible earthquake of 1746 converted the great structure into a mountain of ruins, though the present edifice, which is built on the same site, is an imposing monument of architecture still, after the lapse of more than a century and a half, and notwithstanding the destructive effects of time and the elements. It overlooks the principal plaza of the city, occupying the eastern side of the square. The Cathedral has five naves, each with nine arches, or vaults, and along the sides are ten chapels, in one of which repose the remains of Pizarro. The main altar occupies the centre of the principal nave, and although not now so rich in gold and silver ornaments as formerly, it still represents a fortune, being of silver, as are also the magnificent candlesticks that adorn it. The wonderfully carved pulpit and chancel, of mahogany and cedar, have survived the numerous catastrophes through which the venerable edifice has passed, and show only the wear caused through their use by generations of worshippers.

When Archbishop Loayza, the first incumbent of the see of Lima, died, in 1575, his successor was not appointed until three years later, when Archbishop Toribio Mogrovejo was named for the exalted office. His extraordinary simplicity and piety were recognized even in a capital so gay and pleasure-loving as the City of the Kings, and his name became a synonym of goodness. Many incidents are related of his charitable acts, done without ostentation, and solely from brotherly love and Christian kindness. It is said that one night he was carrying on his back a man whom he had found wounded in the street, when the watchman called out in peremptory tones: “Who goes there?” “Toribio,” was the tranquil answer, the guardian of the law immediately recognizing the good samaritan. The story of his saintly life and his many works of benevolence reveals the spirit of self-sacrifice and devotion which characterizes the best type of Spanish priest. Buckle, in his history of the civilization of Europe, says, in reference to the long list of holy men who have made Spain famous throughout the centuries as the land of beatos: “No other European country has produced so many ardent and disinterested missionaries, zealous, self-denying martyrs, who have cheerfully sacrificed their lives in order to propagate truths which they thought necessary to be known.” Not only in the ranks of the humble missionaries, who penetrated the forests of the Amazon and made their way through the cañons and across the mountain passes of the Andes to find their flocks among the “idolaters,” but in the highest princes of the realm, descendants of kings and lords of proud domains, were to be found examples of Christian piety and unselfishness worthy of the reverence of posterity.

INTERIOR OF THE CATHEDRAL, LIMA.

CHURCH AND PLAZUELA OF SAN FRANCISCO, LIMA.