As your Lordship ordered, the Society of Jesus presents this paper, in which are recorded faithfully its ministers, the villages where they are stationed, the churches, tributes, and extent of its field. From it two things are apparent: the first, how necessary is a greater union and settlement of the Indians, in such form as your Highness may judge best; the second, that the need of help by a great number of new ministers is extreme. For where there are four priests, ten are regularly needed, because the indicated number of tributes corresponds to a very much greater number of souls, either now confessing or being catechised for baptism as is apparent from the report of a residence that accompanies this present.
Therefore I entreat your Highness to petition his Majesty the king, our sovereign, to send a considerable number of fathers of the Society of Jesus from Europe—at least about fifty, considering that it is many years since any have been asked for, and on this occasion a procurator is going for that purpose. It will, moreover, be important for his Majesty to issue there very urgent orders, so that the superiors in Europe may not be illiberal and refuse to furnish ministers. If he considers the pacification of Mindanao, and, besides that, if we should have to provide Maluco with ministers from here with the new government which is coming, it is necessary to provide beforehand for an increase in the number of workers. I hope for all the above from the great foresight of your Highness, with grace and justice.
Gregorio Lopez
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.