The copy of this decree existing in the Archivo general de Indias at Sevilla—with pressmark, “Audiencia de Filipinas; registros de oficio; reales ordenes dirigidas á las autoridades del distrito de dicha Audiencia; años 1635 á 1672; est. 105, caj. 2, leg. 2, lib. 4”—bears the following endorsement in the margin: “In order that no soldier or sailor in the Filipinas Islands who may be indebted to the royal treasury may take the vows of religion without first satisfying the amount of his debt.”
[10] Dominicans.—Domingo Gonzalez came to the islands in 1602; for several years he was an instructor in theology in the cathedral of Manila, and afterward spent five years as a missionary in Cagayan. Returning then to Manila, he was rector of the college of Santo Tomás, provincial of his order (chosen in 1633, and again in 1644), and commissary-general of the Inquisition for sixteen years. He died November 5, 1647, at Manila, at the age of seventy-three.
Francisco de Herrera came with the mission of 1598. He filled numerous important offices in the order—among them, those of provincial (1629–33), rector of Santo Tomás, and commissary-general of the Inquisition. He died at Manila, August 9, 1644.
Antonio Gonzalez accompanied the mission of 1632, and at first was an instructor in Santo Tomás; but early in 1636 he went to Japan, where he suffered martyrdom, September 24, 1637.
Sebastian Oquendo also began his labors in the Philippines as instructor at the college in Manila; he afterward held various offices in the convent there, but died at Méjico in 1651. (All these notices are obtained from Reseña biográfica, vol. i.)
Augustinians.—Juan de Montemayor came to Manila in 1613. He held important posts in the order, and was minister in several Indian villages; and died at Manila in 1638.
Alonso Carbajal arrived at the islands in 1618. Among the posts of honor which he held was that of provincial (1644), and more than once he declined a bishopric offered to him. He also spent several years in missionary labors, among the Pampangans and Visayans, and died therein (1654).
Diego de Ochoa had just come (1635) to the Filipinas mission; he ministered in several villages in Luzón, and died in 1648. (These notices are obtained from Pérez’s Catálogo.)
Franciscans.—Gerónimo del Espiritu Santo came to Manila in 1633, and in the following year became vicar-provincial. He accompanied the sisters of St. Clare to Macao (1634), who founded there a convent of their order. From January, 1635, to June, 1637, Fray Gerónimo was minister-provincial; he then retired to Sampaloc, and in 1638 departed for Mexico. The ship was wrecked on the Marianas, and this priest, refusing to save his life while he could console the dying, perished with the rest, September 21, 1638.
Jose de Santa Maria began his labors in the Philippines as early as 1621, and seems to have been a missionary among the Indians from 1626 to 1637. He was minister provincial during the first half of 1638; and died at Manila in 1645.