But who can exaggerate the satisfaction and devotion wherewith they receive in their villages these servants of the Lord, when the latter go to visit them? This will be seen in an account of such a journey, made by Father Juan de San Lucar, who himself thus describes it: "I cannot express the satisfaction which was caused by our visits to all these villages. We reached the first one, called Ibatan, in the middle of the night. The people had already learned that we were to go to their village, and, in spite of the late hour, they did not weary of waiting; indeed, they were all waiting on the shore, where they had lighted fires. As soon as we arrived, the leading chiefs cast themselves into the water in order to take hold of our boat; and we could not prevent them from carrying us ashore on their shoulders. In the two weeks that we spent there, great was the fervor of their attendance at our church, as well as the concourse of men and boys on certain nights for the purpose of scourging themselves; at the same hour the women throughout the village performed the same exercises at their homes. Ten children and thirty adults were baptized, and to some holy communion was granted after they had been prepared by a sermon on that subject. All those who received the most blessed sacrament manifested great unworldliness and exemplary virtue. In this village there was an old woman, more than eighty years of age, blind, deaf, and so sick and crippled that she could not leave her bed. Upon several occasions we had passed much time with this poor woman trying to persuade her to receive holy baptism; but she had never shown any desire for it, and even stubbornly resisted. But the Lord took pity on her and enlightened her, at a time when I was most forgotten or distrusted. Her husband came to me as many as eight or ten times to ask me to go to baptize her telling me that he loved her very much, and it would cause him much grief if she should incur damnation; he was therefore anxious that she should be baptized, so that she might enjoy God; and he added that such was already her wish. But I did not believe him, for my visits to her house had so many times proved useless. I told him that I would baptize her on the condition that she would come to the church, thinking that what I required from him was impossible. On his returning with this answer, the poor woman, in her desire to receive holy baptism, was so aroused that she, although formerly she could not even move her limbs, recovered strength, with the help of our Lord, and came to the church. She listened to the instruction with pleasure and attention; and finally, as she was prepared for the sacrament, I granted her baptism. During all the time while I was administering this sacrament to her, she remained standing, to the wonderment of all the people. Great was their edification at seeing how heartily she had sought baptism, and how our Lord accomplishes more in one moment than we in many days. In the village of Paet our Lord moved the hearts of two women who were a cause of offense and stumbling on account of their dissolute lives. Protected by certain profligate men, these women, although they were slaves, had become so arrogant that they despised the other women; and all the village felt ashamed to have among them so evil a company. These women came with deep grief to make their confession, and remained thoroughly reformed, to the great satisfaction of all the people. There dwelt in this village a young girl, the daughter of a chief, whom we had urged to attend the catechisms and the sermons, hoping that if she were baptized others would follow; but the devil hindered our efforts, for she either hid herself or was concealed by her parents. This time I made more diligent endeavors; she came to the church and, having heard a few sermons, earnestly asked for baptism. I gave her a teacher for the doctrine, promising that I would baptize her when I returned to that place—although so great was her desire for the sacrament that the least delay seemed to her very long; accordingly, she applied herself so closely to study that within the space of two days she knew the prayers and the catechism. On examining her, great was my surprise that she should have learned so much in so short a time; accordingly, with great satisfaction on my part, I baptized her and two other adults.
In the village of Cauayan there lives an Indian woman of rank, already advanced in years, whom our Lord has inspired with zeal for winning souls and for the conversion of her people. She devotes herself to persuading, preparing, and catechizing the Indians for holy baptism; and whenever we visit that doctrina, she has a troop collected, and well instructed, for us to baptize. In this place I baptized twelve adults, and four or five younger persons. In all the other villages the people are very well disposed, and a great harvest will be continually gathered, with the help of our Lord."
In the measure of this fervor does our Lord correspondingly bestow upon them visits and spiritual consolations, most liberally accorded by His Divine Majesty to these His new faithful. Of these we have already given some general account, and now I will relate in detail one case, only, in the words of Father Francisco de Otaco, who wrote from Tinagon, before he departed thence to be superior in Dulac: "There came today from Catubig a Christian Indian, a youth of about sixteen years, to hear mass and make his confession; it was a long and toilsome journey. He showed much candor and goodness, and special affection for the things of Christianity, speaking of them with intelligence and appreciation. He related to me an incident that had befallen him, which had been the cause of that interest and intelligence. He was sick, and, fearing that the hour of death was already at hand, he charged a companion of his to place at the head of his bed, at the last hour, a cross and some lighted candles. His end approached, so near that all regarded him as one already dead, and his companion fulfilled the charge that had been given him. Then, he said, he became as one who dreams, although it seemed to him to be more than dreaming, and even quite different. There appeared at his right side a father of the Society, holding in his hand a rosary of our Lady: upon his head he bore a diadem of golden brightness and a halo of the same splendor encompassed his breast. The apparition, calling him by name in affectionate terms, said to him: 'Turn this way, my son, to the right side, which is that of the elect, and count these beads. Thou wert to die of this sickness; but, because thou art a Christian, our Lord has been pleased to give thee life and health; but it is only that thou mayest be a good Christian, always remembering our Lord, living in prayer and carefully guarding thyself from every sin—that is, from all that offends the sight of God.' Having in a long discourse given him other profitable counsels, the figure disappeared; and the sick man regained his consciousness, as if he had been resuscitated (for all thought him really dead), and with sudden energy began to speak. He asked for food, and soon felt much better, to the astonishment of all who were present. These, terrified at such a change, inquired from him its cause, and he related to them the above occurrence—attributing his recovery to the singular mercy of our Lord, and to the fact that he was a Christian; and he often related the affair with no little benefit to his hearers. Having heard him speak, for some time, so well and so affectionately concerning our Lord and the observance of His holy commandments, I praised his discourse and meritorious sentiments. He answered that it was no cause for surprise, since all those things had been taught him in the aforesaid vision, and had remained deeply impressed upon his mind."
The loss of some vessels, and in them of two of the fathers of the
Society. Chapter LXIV.
Among other calamities and troubles which our Lord has been pleased to send upon these islands in the form of loss of life, property, and ships, one was the destruction of two large ships (a flagship and an almiranta) which, in the previous year, six hundred, set out for Nueva España with cargoes of very rich merchandise. These vessels, after having sailed the seas for eight months, with violent storms, and encountered great dangers, and after having lost many men through hunger, pest, accidents, and the billows of the sea (which washed them from the vessel itself), were driven back and stranded—or rather dashed to pieces—on the shores of the Ladrones and the Catanduanes, where they were destroyed. But few persons were able to escape, who only served, like the servants of Job, to carry the news of the disaster—which, following upon many other losses and misfortunes of war, was keenly felt and bitterly lamented. In one of these vessels, named "San Geronimo," went Father Pero Lopez de la Parra, a professed member of our Society, who after this long voyage and another, even longer, of thirty-seven years in the religious life, finally came to port, as we believe, in the Fortunate Land, toward which he was making his main voyage with good works. In Nueva España he taught the arts and theology, and was one of the first founders [of missions] who went thither from the Society; and both there and here he exercised our ministries with good results. Although we know no details concerning his death, it is believed, from his having been one of the last to die, and from his great devotion to confession and the care of souls, that in that hour of peril he must have been of service to all with much charity, as he always acted thus during his life. By another disaster and misfortune in these islands, we lost another father and a brother, if we may call those lost who, to win souls and aid their brethren, die with them in a righteous war. Some heretic corsairs from the islands of Olanda and Gelanda went to those of Filipinas, bent on plunder, in the month of October of the year one thousand six hundred; they had robbed a Portuguese vessel in the North Sea, and in the South Sea, having passed the Strait of Magallanes, some fragatas from Piru. These corsairs entered among these islands, committing depredations and threatening even greater excesses. For this purpose their almiranta and their flagship (in which sailed, as commander, a corsair named Oliverio del Nort) were stationed at a place six leguas from Manila, where the ships from España, China, and Japon were obliged to enter, and where all the ships and vessels which leave that city must be inspected. Against the two Dutch ships went forth two others from Manila, carrying more than three hundred men, the flower of the militia of those islands, with much artillery and military supplies. In the flagship went Father Diego de Santiago and Brother Bartolome Calvo, at the request of General Antonio de Morga, auditor of the royal Audiencia, and other officers, who were wont to confess to the father, because he had a very affable manner, and could adapt himself to all persons. At the outset he heard the confessions of most of the men, and encouraged them, as well as he could, to make the attack and to fight valiantly. Finally, on the fourteenth day of December, they sighted the enemy; and crowding on sail, in their eagerness to overtake him, both flagships grappled together, so closely that one could cross unimpeded from one vessel to the other. They finally succeeded in seizing the enemy's colors and hoisting them on our flagship, our men confident of success, and already shouting "Victory!" But the ship, whether unsteady (for, carrying so many people on one side, it took in water through the port-holes of the lower tier of cannon), or laid open at the keel by the very weight of our guns (which were very large), or by the will of God, went to the bottom with all its crew—except a few men who seized the enemy's shallop and escaped in it, and some others who reached the shore by swimming. Among the latter was the commander, who with the enemy's two flags gained the shore. Our almiranta (which was a new galizabra), in charge of Admiral Juan de Arcega, grappled with the enemy's almiranta, captured it, and brought it to Manila, where justice was executed upon the corsairs who were in it. Among the dead and drowned—who numbered one hundred and nine Spaniards, the pick of the captains and soldiers of those islands; and one hundred and fifty negroes and Indians—perished Father Diego de Santiago. He died bravely, encouraging the men, and having heard the confessions of nearly all. Seeing, a short time beforehand, that the ship was about to go down, he intended to save himself by swimming; but he heard the voice of a captain, who said to him: "Father, hear me but a word, for it concerns my salvation." With much charity, he remained until the last moment, to hear the soldier's confession; and afterward neither the father nor his companion was seen. The father was twenty-nine years old, a member of the Society for fifteen years, and a shepherd of the Indians and Spaniards. Brother Bartolome Calvo was of the same age, attached to the Society in these parts for seven years. He possessed much virtue and died through obedience, a quality for which he ever professed much esteem.
Nine new members of the Society reach Manila, having been saved from a ship-wreck—through the intercession, as is devoutly believed, of our Blessed Father Ignatius. Chapter LXV.
In the month of May in the year one thousand six hundred and one, there arrived in the Filipinas Father Gregorio Lopez with a welcome reënforcement, of nine fathers of the Society. [14] Their arrival was most opportune for filling the places of the dead, and aiding the living who are ever clamoring for new companions to help them draw in the net of this spiritual fishery. It was an extraordinary consolation to hear of the mercies vouchsafed to them by our Lord through the intercession of our propitious Father Ignatius—especially when they reached the opposite coast of that island of Manila, near Catanduanes—as I shall here briefly relate, referring to the judicial investigation of this disaster, which was made with many and competent witnesses, and was brought to Rome for the honor and glory of God our Lord, and of his saints. In the latter part of April in that year, 1601, when the galleon from Nueva España [15] (in which came the ten fathers of our Society) reached the region of those islands, bad weather shut them in with heavy fogs and rains, so that, although in front and on both sides the land was not far away, it could hardly be descried or recognized as such. As soon as the weather cleared somewhat, they found themselves in a bay hemmed in by shoals and rocks, with a rugged shore, upon which the wind was driving them. In spite of their efforts they were unable to gain the open sea, for the force of the wind was driving them out of their course and upon the shoals. They then resolved to cast anchor, hoping in this way to gain some safety for the vessel, and thus they remained during an entire night in twenty-six brazas of water, exposed to great danger, and in fear of being lost. On the next morning, the auditor Don Antonio de Ribera (who went as commander and chief of the vessel), seeing the great danger to which they were exposed, and considering all human means weak and useless, hastened to entreat the Divine favor; and, recalling those which our Lord had recently bestowed upon certain persons through the mediation of our blessed Father Ignatius, resolved upon this occasion to implore his favor and assistance, and to beseech our Lord, through the merits of His servant, to give them at ten o'clock that day a propitious wind whereby the vessel might reach a place of safety. He added that he did not set that time as a limitation to the divine Majesty, but because such answer to their prayer would show that the mercy bestowed upon them had come through the intercession of the blessed Father Ignatius, to whom they made an offering of the vessel and its deliverance. This petition and its conditions he called those to witness who were then present in the stern-cabin.
The shallop was launched, to seek some refuge within the shelter of the shore where the ship might be anchored, and the men were ordered to give signals when they should find it. But while the shallop was reconnoitering the shore, the galleon began to drift from its moorings toward the shoals and the rocky coast, whither the force of the wind was bearing it. Accordingly a cannon was fired, to call back the crew of the shallop, so that it might accompany the vessel and lend to its crew what assistance it could. The shot was heard a long distance on land, but those in the shallop could not hear it, although they listened attentively and observed the fire and smoke; they continued, therefore, their search for a more suitable landing. Thereupon the men on the ship cut the anchor, and hoisted sail, aiming to get as far out into the sea as possible. At that moment a miracle occurred; the wind suddenly became favorable, shifting three or four points, so that they were able to steer the vessel to the only place which was secure and sheltered, where the shallop's crew had already found bottom and a place for anchorage. At the same time Captain Francisco Cadena—a Venetian, and an expert in nautical affairs—without knowing of the commander's petition, said with great surprise: "This is a great miracle; for just when we hoisted sail the wind shifted four points, so that we who thought ourselves lost may now hope to be saved." This unexpected shift in the wind was also observed by the chief pilot and other seamen.
The commander, Don Antonio de Ribera, beholding this change and good fortune, and recognizing God's mercy toward them at the very hour of ten which he had appointed, twice repeated with extraordinary tenderness and devotion what he had that morning sought from our Lord—through the intercession, as they piously believed, of our blessed Father Ignatius. Soon afterward he related the same incident, in his stern-cabin, to some Augustinian and Franciscan fathers, with many tears and great devotion; and those religious fathers, full of admiration, rendered thanks to the Lord that He had chosen thus to honor His servant Ignatius, by displaying in that hour of peril his great holiness and merits. On reaching shelter and casting anchor, the commander announced to all, publicly, what he had requested from our Lord through the mediation of our blessed Father Ignatius; at which those who had been about to cast themselves into the sea, to escape, if they could, by swimming, and had seen themselves at the point of death, realizing that they had been saved by such means, offered many thanks to the Lord and praises to His saint. Both religious and laymen asked that the image of our blessed Father Ignatius be brought, and thereupon they all, of every rank and age, began to adore it—falling on their knees, and kissing it with great devotion, while all the religious chanted the Te Deum laudamus. In memory of this event, all, with one voice, desired that this place be called the Puerto de San Ignacio, which name it now bears. Afterward, that our Lord might reveal more clearly the merits of His servant—while the ship was at anchor in the very place where they had so marvelously been aided, and while they were about to leap joyfully ashore—a violent hurricane suddenly arose, on Tuesday, the first of May, which toward midnight caused the galleon's single anchor to drag, so that it was carried toward the shoals and the perilous coast. At this, all feared the utmost danger, for peril seemed most certain amid the darkness of the night, and with so angry a tempest; but when they began to cry out and entreat the favor of our blessed Father Ignatius, then the vessel ceased to drift. Thus invoking him in every danger—as they frequently did, both religious and laymen—the Lord again bestowed upon them a special favor; for when the mainmast fell, which they were obliged to cut, its fall was not, as they feared, such as to sink the vessel, inasmuch as the yard and the topsail, falling upon the rocks, served as a support, and on that side held back the ship so that it could not drift to destruction. At the same time, as they were held by only one anchor, with so great risk of further dragging, or of the cable's being cut by the many submerged rocks, they urgently requested an image of the blessed Father Ignatius, and with great devotion and confidence, made it fast to the cable. It was wonderful to see how the cable was held in place during the rest of that night and a great part of the following day; and how, when they tried to improve the position of the ship by casting another anchor, they were able to raise the first one, which was very heavy, by working the capstan, although they found that the three cords of the cable were fretted, and only one remained entire—whereat they all were greatly astonished and proclaimed it a miracle.
Other devout practices which were augmented in Manila, and edifying events which occurred therein. Chapter LXV. [i.e., LXVI]