The arrival in the Philippines of the father-visitor, Diego Garcia, and how he began his visitation. Chapter LI.
When affairs were in the condition which we have described, the father-visitor, Diego Garcia, very opportunely arrived in the islands, with some companions, [3] on the seventeenth of June in the year one thousand five hundred and ninety-nine. His arrival was a source of much consolation and joy, on account of the reënforcement which he brought us, and was of much importance and advantage to the internal government of the Society in those parts, on account of the good order to which he reduced all our affairs, particularly in our ministries and in the methods of aiding those souls. Upon careful investigation he learned that, during those four years while our fathers had given instruction in the islands of Pintados, twelve thousand persons had been baptized, and that there were about forty thousand catechumens—not to mention many others who, although they were not on the list of catechumens, had also an inclination (or at least no repugnance) to receive the faith and the gospel. In accordance with this information, the father-visitor set about organizing the affairs [of the missions], and providing needed assistance, as we shall later see. Before entering upon this, however, I will relate, in order to show the mercies of God toward our fathers, a special instance of this which His Divine Majesty displayed toward them and the vessel which brought them from the port of Acapulco to the Filipinas. The pilots were confidently sailing over their accustomed course, heedless that in it there were shoals. One evening at the hour when the Salve is wont to be repeated, and while all were devoutly reciting it, a young man fortunately (or rather through the singular providence and mercy of God) descried shoals from the maintop and immediately began to shout a warning. With that the crew—although everyone was agitated and fearful lest, with the freshening of the wind, they would be driven upon the shoals—hastened, some to the sails, ropes, and rigging, others to the helm, and the pilot to direct the ship's course. Our fathers, meanwhile, repaired to their quarters and berths to invoke the most blessed Virgin, to call upon God, and to pray for the intercession of the saints—all of them especially invoking that of blessed Father Ignacio, [4] a relic of whom the father-visitor carried with him. Showing this to his companions while the rest were busied in the other occupations, he augmented the fervor with which they cried to heaven, and at the same time their confidence that by means of that holy relic our Lord would deliver them from their danger. And so He did; for, upon steering so as to direct the vessel to one side, to avoid the shoals, the vessel, in spite of their efforts, would not obey, but, turning in the other direction, doubled the shoals. If their attempt to steer had been successful, not only could they not have passed the shoals, but they would have drifted hopelessly upon them; but, as it was, the flagship was saved. Moreover, her lighted lantern (for evening had already arrived) guided the other ships, which followed behind her, through the channel, and in this manner all of them were saved.
Occurrences in Manila at this time. Chapter LII.
In the latter part of June in the year one thousand five hundred and ninety-nine, the father-visitor and his companions were resting from the hardships of their voyage, and preparing to begin anew their labors—the father on his tour of inspection, and the others in the fishery for souls—for which purpose they had gone into retreat to perform the exercises, [5] and to allow themselves more leisure for solitary prayer. At this time there occurred in Manila, as a result of the unusually dry season, a very violent earthquake, which injured many buildings. Among these it rent and laid open the vault of our church; and in the church of Santo Domingo it loosened and tore apart the woodwork (which was very beautiful, and handsomely wrought), and crushed in all the walls in such a manner that it was necessary to tear down the building. We also were obliged to demolish the vault of our church; for whereas that of Santo Domingo could be left standing for a few days, we were compelled to begin at once to tear down the vault of our church, which was the part most injured. The Spaniards came to our aid, with contributions amounting to more than a thousand pesos, to pay the workmen who were tearing down the church, and to aid in the expense of repairing it. The Indians assisted us with their labor, helping us to remove the obstructions, and to clear the building from the ruins and from the earth and stones which remained from them. More than a thousand Indians, without exaggeration, came to offer their services; men, women, and children; young men and girls, and old men; chiefs and common people—all busied themselves to such an extent that the place appeared like an anthill or a beehive. These were assisted by the inhabitants of all the neighboring villages, who, animated and encouraged by the religious of St. Dominic, St. Francis, and St. Augustine, and by the clergy who had them in their charge, aided us to roof the church temporarily with canes and palm-leaves (which is the usage there). Thus in four days was accomplished the work of twenty or thirty days; thus the church was made fit for service, and is being used thus until it can be properly roofed. The industry and good-will with which the Indians assisted us on our church were soon repaid to them by our fathers, when a general malady prevailed among them, causing the death of many persons. Then our fathers aided them, especially by hearing their confessions, and administering to them the communion and extreme unction, in the church itself; hardly ever during the day was it free from sick persons who had been carried thither on the shoulders of men that they might receive those holy sacraments. The devil, who slumbers not, seized the opportunity of this malady to sow the seeds of error among some wretched old women, his ministers—saying that at first the God of Castile had vanquished their anitos, but that the latter were now the conquerors, and were chastising the people for having abandoned them. To counteract this evil, among others, a solemn procession and mass were ordered, wherein our Lord was supplicated for the health of the people. Inasmuch as a sermon was necessary, its preparation was assigned to Father Diego Sanchez, at the instance of the canon, Pablo Ruiz de Talavera, who is the priest of the Indians in Manila; he chose this father on account of his devotion to the Society, and of the great affection of the Indians for him, caused by his eloquence and the many and signal services that he has rendered them. The father, discussing in his sermon the above-mentioned error, refuted it, and expelled it from their minds and hearts with that admirable force of expression and persuasion with which our Lord had equipped him; while He gave to the hearers grace and sensibility to perceive and be influenced by the truth, as since then has been evident on many, and notable occasions.
In that very time of the malady, admirable evidence appeared of the importance of the confraternity which, as we said above, that people had instituted for the purpose of exercising themselves in similar pious acts. Its members aided the sick with the utmost solicitude, striving to provide them with comforts and medicines; and when deaths occurred they kept watch over the corpses, and accompanied them to burial, to the great edification of all who saw them. As a natural result, the confraternity came to be much esteemed and valued, and many sought the intercession of influential persons in order to be admitted to its membership. It is proverbial among the Spaniards that its members can be recognized by their quiet and modest address, for which they are much respected. Not to mention other details, the devotion which they showed that year in the harvesting of their rice was certainly a source of great consolation; for they would not taste it until, after they had brought part of it as an offering to our Lord in His temple, that part had been blessed which they must immediately use. Their offering was a sort of grateful acknowledgment that God had delivered their grain-fields from the plague of locusts, and themselves from the sickness.
Care was taken to check offenses against our Lord, and to break up vile illicit relations—some secretly, and others by other gentle means—by which many Indian women were kept in bondage. These women, in their eagerness for worldly gain and kind treatment, were gratified by certain men, who maintained them in that mode of life without fear of God. Indeed, there were two women who had killed their husbands that they might gain greater freedom in this respect. Some, too, had lived during many years in this wretched state—one ten years, another twelve, another thirteen; and still another, twenty long years. Yet God, in His infinite patience, had been waiting for them all this time, and at the end received them into His most gentle mercy.
As in past years, our ordinary ministries were also exercised among the Spaniards; in particular, many general confessions were made, and friendly relations were established between certain prominent persons. Among these latter was one notable case concerning a prebendary of the cathedral of Manila—whom, for certain good reasons, I do not name; but his noble conduct on this occasion gives him sufficient fame. Knowing that another prebendary of the same church, an aged and venerable man, was offended at him, he secured an opportunity to meet him in the house of an auditor of Manila, and in the presence of several dignified persons; there, after having expressed himself in such gentle and conciliatory terms as to appease all angry feelings, he knelt at the feet of his elder, and, taking his hand, kissed it. Then they embraced each other; and thus began a very stable friendship between them, which I saw with my own eyes for many days—confirmed, months later, by their very intimate and fraternal intercourse.
The progress in eradicating idolatry from Taitai, and the piety and constancy of its Christians. Chapter LIII.
The pest, with its mortality, spread among all the Indians of that region, even to the villages of San Juan del Monte, Antipolo, and others. This kept our fathers busy night and day, caring not only for the welfare of souls, administering to them the holy sacraments with much fervor and concern, but for that of their bodies, aiding them with medicines and the necessary comforts—an important consideration with those people, in view of the value that they attach to kind treatment during illness and the pleasure that it gives them; indeed they often recover their health from very contentment at seeing that they are cherished and cared for. The confraternities of that village and of Manila gave no less useful aid, on this occasion, to the sick and the dead, their members taking turns in caring for the sick and attending funerals, which were usually accompanied by more than two hundred persons bearing lighted candles; these attentions were especially bestowed on the dead who had belonged to the confraternity, who were also honored by special funeral rites.
Superstition and idolatry have been so thoroughly uprooted that there is hardly a trace or evidence of them left; if any had remained from former years, it was due to carelessness rather than to evil intent, and an end was put to them this year, through the favor of our Lord. Even the little plates and other insignificant articles which they were wont to use in making sacrifices they brought to the fathers, to be broken and burned. An Indian owned, growing on his land, a very luxuriant clump of the great reeds which they call cauayan [i.e., bamboo], which we have already described. This man came to notify us that this clump had formerly been offered to an idol, for whose service its canes had been cut; and he himself condemned it to be burned to the very roots, in order that it might not sprout again, and himself be thus reminded of an object which had been used for so evil purposes; accordingly, yielding to his feeling of devotion, orders were given that it be burned. Others showed a little house that was dedicated to another idol, and requested that it should be burned to the ground, which was done. The first to show their abhorrence of idolatry (in Which they surpassed the others) were the people of San Juan del Monte, where formerly this practice had reigned, and where there were so many priestesses of the idols, that there was hardly a street which did not contain three, four, or even more. But they have now turned their false superstitions into true religion and Christian piety, repairing to the church so regularly that on certain week-days, while the bell is rung for mass, the church is entirely filled with those who come to hear. They are wont to complain that, as there are so few fathers, they are unable to attend, as often and as regularly as they desire, confession and communion—which they seek with loving eagerness, not once, but many times during the year, to their own edification and profit. As a result, the sweet odor of this Christianity and esteem for the labors of Ours, have, to the glory of our Lord, reached other villages, so affecting and edifying them that the vicar-general of the archbishop, as well as other priests and religious, and even secular magistrates, have sent to that village for a few months, to be restrained, reformed, and kept in safety, certain persons who were sorely tempted. It has pleased our Lord that by good example and suitable instruction these persons should be delivered from danger and their lives reformed; they have made general confessions, and given other satisfactory proofs of the change in their lives.