A hospice is established in the City of Mexico for the accommodation of the religious who go to the Filipinas.
Only section: (Year 1647)
As the province of San Nicolàs de Tolentino had been founded in the Filipinas Islands by our religious, and since they had many missions in various districts to which to attend—not only converting infidels, but comforting and sustaining those converted—they thought that it would be necessary for them to send repeated missions of religious and to conduct them from España to those districts. The usual route is by way of Mexico, a most famous city; and since our Recollects had no house there where the religious could await in comfort the opportunity to embark for the said islands, they determined to take a house or hospice in which they could live and where those who fell sick from the long and troublesome journey could be treated. The Order petitioned it from the king our sovereign, Felipe Fourth, who, exercising his wonted charity, issued his royal decree in this year of 1647 for the founding of the said hospice; and it was actually founded. It does not belong to this history to relate the conditions that were then accepted; we have only thought it best to give this notice of it here.
[The remainder of this book does not concern Philippine affairs].
[The following is translated and condensed from Diego de Santa Theresa’s Historia general de los religiosos descalzos, being vol. iii in the general history of the Recollect order.][2]
[1] The following two sections are taken from the Historia de los religiosos descalzos (Madrid, 1681) of Luis de Jesús, pp. 371–373.
[2] The title-page of this book, translated, reads as follows: “General history of the discalced religious of the Order of the hermits of the great father and doctor of the Church, St. Augustine, of the congregation of España and of the Indias. Volume third: which was written by the very reverend father Fray Diego de Santa Theresa, pensioned lecturer, ex-definitor, and chronicler-general of the said congregation; arranged and enlarged by Father Fray Pedro de San Francisco de Assis, pensioned lecturer, calificador of the Holy Office, definitor of the holy province of Aragon, and chronicler-general. Dedicated to Nuestra Señora del Pilar [i.e., “our Lady of the Pillar”] of Zaragoza. Containing apologetic additions to the first volume in defense of the discalced Augustinians, in answer to what was written against them by the father master Fray Alonso de Villerino; and one decade, namely, from the year 1651 to that of 1660. With license. In Barcelona; at the press of the heirs of Juan Pablo and Maria Martí, under the management of Mauro Martí, in the year 1743.” The heading of the dedication is as follows: “To the sovereign queen of heaven and earth, on her throne of the pillar in Zaragoza” and it is followed by a long and curious letter of dedication. We translate and condense from a copy owned by the Library of Congress, which bears the following inscription: [This book] belongs to the Library of the convent of the discalced Augustinian fathers of Valladolid. Fray Tomas de San José, Librarian.”