"During our stay several incidents occur_The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 13 of 55 1604-1605 Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of The Catholic Missions, As Related in Contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Close of the Nineteenth Century

Indian woman, wife of the governor of the village, and of high rank,

lay sick. One night her malady grew so violent that it left her without

power of speech. Believing her to be dead, they hastened to summon us

late in the night. When we arrived she was speechless and unconscious,

and they were bewailing her as one dead. It grieved me that the woman

should die in that state; for she had been a Christian for some years,

and yet had not attended confession (although she led a blameless life)

because there was no priest who knew her language. I was anxious that

she should, if only by a sign, ask for confession, but she could not

do even this. We repeated the gospel to her, sprinkling her with

holy water; and God, the Father of mercy, gave such efficacy to

these means that we had not finished reciting the holy gospel when

the woman regained consciousness and asked for confession, saying:

'Jesus, have mercy on me.' Many people were present on this occasion,

and we gave thanks to our Lord. Within ten minutes the sick woman was

as well as before her illness; accordingly, I would not confess her

in her own house, but left her, directing her people to bring her to

the church the next day. This was done, and on the following day she

confessed, to her great consolation. Another woman, also of rank,

was attacked by an illness so violent that she could not be held,

and even dashed herself against the walls. Finally, she was dying,

and they hastily summoned us; we read to her the gospel, as usual,

and gave her holy water. Then with much difficulty, on account of

the many persons who were in the house, I began to confess her before

she should die. But it was God's pleasure that, just as she began to

confess, her malady and the pains of death should be mitigated--so

fully that before her confession was concluded she was as well as

before. The next day she went to the church, and there, before many

persons, she made known the mercy which our Lord had shown to her the

night before. Another woman was reduced by sickness to the point of

death, so that she was speechless; her people hurriedly summoned us,

saying that she was already dead, and we found her unconscious, and

already lamented as dead. We recited the holy gospel, and gave her

holy water; and we had not yet finished the reading when the woman

regained her senses and said 'Jesus.' She then made her confession,

and even before we departed she had recovered health, and was offering

thanks to our Lord.

"They also called us in to see two children who were dying. We went

to them in haste, putting aside the confessions which we had on hand;

and found both of them speechless and unconscious--one of them with

no sign of respiration--and already bewailed as dead. We recited the

holy gospel to them, and gave them holy water; and soon we left them

so well that one of them, who was four or five years old, came down

that same day to play with the other children, and the other one soon

became well. We went to hear the confession of a man who lived a legua

and a half away from the village; he was so sick that they could not

bring him to the church, for his body was in such a state of corruption

that no one would touch him. We went to hear his confession and found

him in the condition which we have described; he could not even move

from one side to another. We sought to induce him to confess, and

repeated to him the holy gospel. This was on Friday or Saturday; on

the following Sunday, when I asked for him, they told me that he was

sound and well, and had gone to another island in quest of food. We

were informed that another, a pagan woman, was at the point of death;

at her request, we went to baptize her. I gave her this sacrament

in some haste, lest she should die on my hands; but after baptism

she regained her health. All these things aroused in their hearts a

deep affection for our Lord, and they recognized that what had been

preached to them was the truth, and that their idols are but demons.

"I also desire to relate to your Reverence how one night, about ten

o'clock, while I was commending myself to our Lord, round about the

church I heard many persons weeping most piteously, yet in gentle

tones, as if grieving for something which had been lost. Fearing lest

it might be some case of death, I sent out two boys to inquire what

it was. Some women of rank, the daughters of the master of the house,

replied that they and the other women were weeping because on that

night, having finished chanting the Christian doctrine, while in a

passage-way or corridor of the house and gazing toward the sky, they

saw as it were one fastened on a cross with a crown on his disfigured

but beautiful head. His body and breast were brighter than the sun,

white, and lovelier than words can depict. This [vision of the] Lord

gradually receded from them, rising toward heaven, until it reached

the moon, when it disappeared from their sight. This lovely vision

aroused in them deep love, and, when it departed from them, sadness

and sorrow. I sent to bid them calm their grief. On the following day,

in the church, those same young women, with their servants and those

of their household, arose before all the people; and when I asked them

what that meant, they recounted what had occurred to them the night

before. Yet they are simple and artless people, who were quite bashful

and timid when I questioned them. The next day we learned that this

vision, or cross, had been seen at the same time in another village,

one or two leguas distant from this one. What most impressed me in this

incident was that those persons, although virtuous before it occurred,

were afterward much more so, and in their exemplary and modest behavior

are the example and pattern for the other women; for they pass many

hours on their knees in prayer, they hear mass every day, and, while

we remained there, they made their confession every Saturday. The

incumbent of that benefice wrote me, several months later, that they

were persevering, and setting a rare example in virtue.

"The time for my departure and my return from Tanai arrived, in

accordance with the orders of holy obedience. Such was the sorrow,

and so many were the tears of those poor people that I was constrained

thereby to weep for compassion. They cast themselves at my feet,

and upon their knees besought me not to depart, saying: 'If we again

fall into sin, to whom shall we have recourse?' I consoled them as

best I could; and they accompanied me as far as the river, where

I embarked. Then they plunged into the water, and surrounded the

boat--men, women, and children--dripping with water, and shedding

tears. They brought me for the journey their offerings of rice,

chickens and other presents, which I did not accept, as it seemed

to me more becoming not to take them. I left them with much regret

at seeing so many souls exposed to danger and without a shepherd or

minister who knew their language. May God our Lord provide aid for

them, according to His mercy."

Seeing the excellent disposition of those people, and the harvest

which our Lord was gaining from the missions, the same Father Gabriel

Sanchez held another one among those people which he briefly mentions

in one of his letters. He says: "I found the people steadfast in their

good intentions, and in the doctrine which I had taught them. When

I asked them, on certain occasions, if they had committed such and

such a sin, they would answer: 'Jesus. Father, would I be false to

God? When we were taught last year that we must not sin against the

Divine Majesty, would we dare to do so?' And their works confirmed

their deeds, for their lives were like those of the primitive

church. There were women who, although they were offered chains of

gold and presents of great value, could not be influenced thereby to

consent to sinful acts. Others suffered insults, and harsh treatment

until their blood was shed from the blows and wounds they received,

because they would not consent to offend our Lord. Many instances of

this could be related."

The fruits of other missions in the island of Ibabao. Chapter LXXII.

As the inhabitants of the island of Ibabao are scattered along

the coast and shores of the sea, it has been necessary to despatch

thither, on missions, three fathers and three brethren, during most

of the year, who instruct the people with the excellent results that

are wont to accrue from such missions. In these the harvest has been

very large, the divine grace corresponding to the earnest desires of

those fathers, and with their labors and perils. Nearly all the time

they are journeying by sea, sailing along the coast of this and other

adjacent islands, and crossing from one to another, never without

danger. They have become fishermen of souls, casting their nets for

the heavenly catch--from these journeys returning to Tinagon, where,

as we have said, is the house of their residence. This residence

cares for fourteen villages, large and small. During the year, there

have been baptized therein three thousand six hundred and eighty

persons, most of them adults. Father Alonso de Umanes, superior of

the residence, Father Manuel Martinez, and Father Juan de San Lucar

formed six principal missions, each father with his companion being

assigned to certain villages. Father Alonso de Umanes writes that in

the first mission two hundred and sixty-nine persons were converted

to Christianity, eighty of whom were children, and the rest adults.

In this mission two small and isolated islands were visited, concerning

which Father Juan de San Lucar writes to the father-visitor, as

follows: "Knowing the satisfaction which your Reverence receives when

we render to you an account of our missions, I will now tell you of

the last one which I made in the two little islets of Maripipi and

Limancauayan, which for more than two years had not been visited by

any priest. The people were most eager to have some father to instruct

them; and when they knew that Brother Francisco Martin and I were

going to them, they made a great feast, and adorned with branches

of trees the streets of the village, and the shore as far as the

church. The boys and girls came forth, singing the doctrine and bearing

a cross, which was to me a most gratifying reception. Afterward, in

the church, I thanked them with tears for the affection which they

showed us. From the time of our arrival until we departed from those

islands, they were continually bringing us gifts from the products of

the land, such as wax, rice, and bananas, and other articles of more

value. When I undertook to make a list of those who sought baptism,

they asked me not to do so, since all those who were not converted

(who were very few) desired to become Christians; so I did as they

wished. The old men, who elsewhere are usually obdurate and stubborn,

and answer that they are now too old to learn the doctrine and begin

a new manner of life, here used this very same argument to induce me

to baptize them, saying: 'Father, consider that we are already old,

and soon shall end our lives; do not let us die without baptism,

since we are so anxious to be Christians.' With this good disposition

on their part, I began to preach to them, and our Lord was pleased

that they should all become Christians. They not orly learned the

doctrine, but discussed together the sermons and instructions in the

church and in their houses; indeed, so concerned were they about this

matter that they seemed to pay no attention to anything else.

"We were greatly aided in facilitating their instruction by the method

of [learning by] decuries which your Reverence imparted to us. Dividing

them by tens, as if in classes, some learned the _Pater-noster_, others

the _Ave Maria_; and thus they came to acquire with much facility

and ease all the prayers of the primer. I baptized one hundred and

forty persons, some of whom were old men of rank. One of them was very

anxious that his mother should become a Christian, and on the day when

our Lord accorded him this mercy he was greatly rejoiced; he made a

great feast, inviting the people to eat at his house, and furnished

to them a bountiful repast. We celebrated the octave of Corpus Christi

with a solemn procession, in which we bore the most blessed sacrament

through the streets, which were decorated and adorned for the occasion

with as much splendor as was possible. They laid all their riches and

gold chains on the platform; and although it was all insignificant

enough, greater was the good will and love with which they offered it.

"With the report that those two islands had been converted to the

faith, the island of Cauayan and others of Samar were led to ask

for fathers to instruct them. I repaired to Cauayan, and in fifteen

days I baptized, after some instructions and sermons, one hundred

and seventy adults, with four or five little children. I inquired

if any one yet remained to be made a Christian; they replied that

only one was left, an old woman, outside the village, but that I

need not concern myself about her, for, on account of her great

age (she must have been more than a hundred and thirty years old),

she had not sufficient understanding or judgment to penetrate into

the things of God. I had her conveyed to the village with great

care, and they brought me a clod of clay, which had only a little

perception, and hardly any understanding; sight had forsaken her,

and her hearing was very dull. She had no more power of motion than

a stone, for wherever they placed her, there she remained without

stirring. She had great-great-grandsons living, and I believe that

the descendants extended even further. I began to catechize her, or

rather to test her, to see if she had the use of reason; but for the

time I could not convince myself whether she had it or not. I had her

conveyed to the house of a worthy Christian, an Indian woman of much

judgment, by whom the old woman could make herself understood; and I

asked her to talk with the old woman very carefully about the things

of God, and to draw from her all that she could. Relying upon what

this good woman told me (she acted as my interpreter in the church,

and as catechist in her own house), I was finally persuaded that the

old woman had the use of reason; but when I began to instruct her in

the things that were absolutely necessary, the Christian woman told me

that, as for the other truths, it was morally impossible, on acount of

the old woman's limited capacity, to give her further instruction. I

then baptized her, with much consolation, being persuaded that God

had preserved her for that hour. I am convinced that she has a very

short time to live, but I trust, in the mercy of God, that in the

other life she will obtain eternal blessedness through the merits

of our Lord Jesus Christ, who gained it for her with His precious

blood. From Cauayan I went to a little hamlet called Cotai, where I

baptized eighty-three persons. From that place I went to Paet, where

I baptized one hundred and twenty, all adults; thence to Canauan,

where I baptized one hundred and forty. According to my reckoning,

then, more than five hundred persons have been baptized, all of age,

besides twelve children. What I especially value in this is the

sight of the fervor and devotion with which they received baptism,

their horror of sin, and their zealous desire that other neighboring

peoples should become Christians. They often take the initiative with

those people, and preach to their friends with a fervor and power

that astonish me. I am also much gratified at having brought about

more than eighty marriages within the church, for I suspect that

the alliances formed by those people are not marriages, but rather

the taking of concubines, considering the readiness with which they

divorce and marry again, according to the custom of the country.

"It seems to me that the road to the conversion of those natives is

now smooth and open, with the conversion of the chiefs and of the

majority of the people; for the excuse which they formerly gave,

saying, 'I will become a Christian as soon as the rest do,' has now

become their incentive toward conversion, and they now say: 'We desire

to become Christians because all the rest are Christians.' While I

was passing through Canauan, one of the chiefs was enraged because a

slave woman of his had become a Christian, and rebuked her angrily for

it; but recently he brought her to me with all his slaves, and he,

with his wife and all his family, have become Christians. Another

chief prevented his wife from hearing the divine word and becoming

a Christian, which she desired most heartily to be. Being unable to

go to the church, as she was kept at home, she sent a message to the

father informing him that her husband was using this violence toward

her. Orders were given to arrest him, and, this done, the woman was

baptized. But she obtained from God, as I believe, the conversion of

her husband; for within a few days he returned to the church, subdued,

and was baptized. This occurred during the first mission.

"Another mission was held at Catubig; this village is farthest from

the residence, for it is at the extremity of the island of Ibabao,

which is very large. The Indians are very well disposed, and among

them are some Christians, who lack instruction; and all are desirous

of having a father to teach them. There are more than four thousand

souls who only await the coming of ministers of the holy gospel

to distribute among them the bread of heaven. If we had chosen to

open the door for baptism many might have received that sacrament;

but during that mission only one hundred and fifty-four children were

baptized, the others being reserved for a better opportunity, when our

Lord might be pleased to send them those who would preserve them with

the food of instruction in the new life which, with the divine grace,

they would receive.

"In the third mission, there were baptized in three months eight

hundred and thirty-seven persons; seven hundred and five of these

were adults, and ninety-two children. At first, the men encountered

great difficulty in putting away their many wives; but finally the

divine Majesty made the outcome propitious, softening the hearts of

those pagans, and they brought their undertaking to a glorious end.

"In the fourth sortie or foray, six hundred and thirteen were baptized;

in the next, two hundred and seventy; and in the last, two hundred and

fifty-four. With these and other baptisms in this residence alone,

three thousand six hundred and eighty persons were therefore made

Christians, as I stated above; and many more might be converted if

the earnestness with which they ask for baptism were appreciated. But

our fathers proceed by inspiring them first to desire baptism, and

to give proofs of their desires, and constraining them to learn the

doctrine, to attend the church, and to abandon all their heathen rites,

their paganism, and their polygamy; thus they become more thoroughly

acquainted with and rooted in the faith."

Instances occurring in the mission of Dulac. Chapter LXXVIII.

The year one thousand six hundred and one also gave evidence of

great increase and perfecting in the Christian community of Dulac,

effected through the ordinary labors and occupations of four fathers

and three brethren. These laborers, making their retreat at the

appointed times, to practice the spiritual exercises (as is the

custom in all those residences), repair thereafter with greater

courage to their ministry to souls; and the results of their work

thus correspond to their fervor. But, of all the means that they

have employed, we must attribute their good fortune in winning souls

to their exposing the most blessed sacrament in our churches, thus

stimulating the devotion and respect with which it should be regarded;

celebrating with solemn processions the feast of Corpus [Christi];

and inviting the faithful to the table and feast of heaven. As a

result of these measures, the people were so fond of holy communion,

and so greatly enjoyed receiving it, that on some feast-days the

crowd was as great as in cities of Europe; and with so thorough

preparation, by fasting, discipline, prayer, fervor, and confession,

that it seemed to be a primitive church. Thus their esteem for our

holy faith is so increased that few are those who do not ask for or

desire baptism. Indeed, there are so many who seek it that during

the two weeks of advent and Easter in 1601 more than seven hundred

persons were baptized; and from the Easter of the previous year, 1600,

there were counted in this mission-field more than two thousand and

twenty persons baptized--and all this with great fervor, eagerness,

and esteem for the new law which they profess with holy baptism.

The residence of Dulac has in its care, among many others, the two

large villages called Dagami and San Salvador (which is Paloc), both

populous; their people are well instructed and submissive, and our

fathers have labored among them with great success. Father Melchior

Hurtado writes that in San Salvador, during the celebration of the

Christmas feast, almost eight hundred infidels were baptized, and

that the confessions and communions were such as might be expected in

España--so many, that the fathers could not attend to them all. This

is occasion for much glory to our Lord, especially in a land so new,

which the Society had entered but six years before to instruct its

people, and had found them so obdurate, as I have already stated. From

the letters of this father, and from others of Father Juan de Torres

and Father Francisco Vicente, some special incidents have been drawn,

which I shall here relate.

A father, passing through a little village belonging to that residence

and inquiring who were Christians, was told of an old man who lived

out in the country, alone in his little hut, and remained there

unable to walk. The father gave orders that this man be brought to

his presence, and asked him concerning his life, not expecting him to

recall much of the doctrine; but he gave so good an account of himself

as to leave the father astounded. Among other things the old man said:

"Although I remain in this life with my body, my desires are in heaven;

and so much so that at night I dream only of the things of the other

life. There I see all the dwellers of heaven covered with splendor,

and especially one, who excels all the others in brightness. O, father,

would that I might be there, freed from this decaying and burdensome

body!" The father showed him a print of the judgment, in which heaven

was depicted with splendor and beauty, and then asked him if it looked

like what he had seen. He answered, _Abà_, which is one of their words

of surprise, and, as it were, of disdain. "That and nothing more,

Father? Much more, much more!" Then the father wondered as he beheld

the riches which God our Lord had deposited in that clod of earth; and

he felt sure that, as the old man said, his only occupation thereafter

would be to repeat "Jesus" and "Mary"--which would never leave his

memory or his lips, until he should end this life and begin that

which is eternal. Two of Ours, passing a wretched hut, found a man,

who must have been more than eighty years old, stretched upon some

reeds, unconscious and dying. So thin was his body that it was hardly

more than skin adhering to bones; and so wasted that he seemed the

living picture of death. In their pity for him they prayed our Lord

to have compassion on that poor soul. In a short time he recovered

consciousness, and gladly asked for the waters of holy baptism, which

he greatly desired; this was plainly evident in the ardor with which

he declared his belief in our holy faith. After being baptized, his

senses were entranced, and he very sweetly invoked the most blessed

name of Jesus, and that of Mary; and then he died.

One of our fathers desired to visit another sick man (who had, when in

danger of death, been baptized by the schoolmaster of the village),

but, with his many confessions and other duties, he had forgotten

to do so. Afterward, while resting, he had heard loud wailing and

outcries, such as they are wont to utter for their dead; and they came

to tell him that the man had died. The father could not refrain from

going to see him (although he left all the people in the church),

deeply grieved that he had not seen the sick man before. But with

great confidence (although everyone said that he was already dead),

he approached the unconscious sick man, and said: "Clement" (such was

his name), "dost thou hear us, my son?" He opened his eyes and said:

"Yes, Father." Then the father bade him invoke the most blessed name

of Jesus, and the most sweet name of Mary, and aided him with some

nourishment; the sick man regained consciousness, and some strength,

and at the end of a few days made his confession, and died in the Lord.

Ours had been asked to visit a sick man, and, when the visit to him

was ended, the father, while descending from the house, was seized

with the desire to ascertain if there were any other sick person in

the vicinity. In the next house he found an old woman, an infidel,

ninety years old, although not very sick; he approached her, gave

her instruction, and baptized her. On the following day, when he was

setting out from the village at the same hour, his heart would not

allow him to depart without first visiting his sick people. He gained

the little hut, and found therein a dead person, shrouded. He inquired

who it was and they told him that it was Ana (the name of the woman

whom he had baptized the day before). He continued his way, praising

the divine Providence and judgments of God, who had thus predestined

the lot of that soul. We were informed that a sick man lay at the

point of death, far out from the village. The road thither was hard

to descry in the darkness of the night, and abounded with serpents,

which were continually encountered, stretched out in the road. In

addition to this, a very broad river must be passed, with rapid

current and full of crocodiles--which, when they become ravenous,

rush upon anything. Yet all these obstacles were of less importance

than one soul redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ; so the father

went to visit his sick man, and, with a certain medicine, in the name

of Jesus Christ our Lord, cured and comforted him. But the marvel was

that on the way he found another sick person, a woman, apparently in

less danger; he baptized her, and she died immediately, while the sick

man, for whom the father had undertaken all that hardship, was healed.

An Indian, finding himself in the clutches and jaws of a crocodile,

covered with wounds, and almost dead, began to invoke the most holy

name of Jesus, which a little before he had heard in the sermon

of a father; and our Lord was pleased that the savage beast should

release him.

This befell a father and a brother while journeying along a sandy

tract, greatly fatigued by the heat of the noonday sun, without any

restorative or food, and parched with thirst--in short, deprived of

everything that might serve them as a relief or comfort; yet enduring

their suffering and with devout meditation offering to God that

hardship, even desiring that it might be increased if his Majesty

might thus be served. Unexpectedly and suddenly they descried a man

seated in the midst of the sand, with a collation of fresh cocoanuts

and other fruits; and so gracious and serene was his appearance that

he inspired admiration and pleasure. When the fathers and those who

accompanied them accepted from him those delicacies, refreshing their

heated bodies and appeasing their hunger, this man displayed unusual

satisfaction and joy, inviting them to partake of more, since what he

possessed was theirs, and he was a servant of the Spaniards. With this

they continued their journey (which otherwise would have been very

wearisome), giving thanks to Him who had thus succored them in their

dire necessity. Although at the time the father took little notice of

this incident, afterward recalling the circumstances, as well as the

gracious manner of the man, he became convinced that he must have been

some angel. Nor was he far out of the way, considering the occasion on

which he succored them, when they could not go any farther on account

of the oppressive heat of the season, and the lack of food; the spot

where they had encountered him, a place where it had never occurred

that they found an Indian so solitary and, moreover, unknown; and

then his gracious manner and serene countenance, and his generosity

and liberality in sharing with them what he had, saying that it all

belonged to the fathers, and that he was a servant of the Spaniards

(at a time when there was not one Spaniard in the island): all this

induces the belief that the incident was something more than ordinary,

or, at least, a token of our Lord's especial providence. There can be

no doubt that the incident was most pleasing to Him, on account of the

unusual and extraordinary harvest which He permitted to be gathered

in the village from which the father had that day set out. I shall

not relate this in detail, in order not to repeat the same events,

and to pass on to what yet remains to be narrated, which is much.

The many conversions to the Christian faith in Carigara and its

district. Chapter LXXIV.

We deem it a special providence of our Lord that while the native

language of the Indians of our various residences is the same, and it

is easy for our workers to remove from one place to another, since

they are not, in doing so, obliged to learn several tongues--there

is, at the same time, such variety in the stations and missions. Some

of them may be visited entirely by sea, such as those of Tinagon or

Samar; others wholly by land, as the mission of Alangalang. Again,

others may be reached partly by sea, partly by land, such as Dulac,

Carigara, and Bohol. This is a great convenience, in assigning the

missionaries according to the abilities and temperament of each,

allotting to those who cannot journey by land, stations on the coast,

and inland posts to those who can endure the hardships of the roads.

There is enough of such hardship in the residence of Alangalang,

where four fathers and three brethren are employed, toiling in the

vineyard of the Lord--journeying on foot (as is our custom there)

under sun and shower, through swamps and rivers, with the water often

waist-deep; yet with much consolation and joy in the Lord, for whose

love are undertaken these and like hardships.

Our brethren live in those villages well content at seeing that our

Lord is continually gaining souls to Himself, and inclining to His holy

law the hearts of those who but a few years ago were living without God

and without law. From the year 1600 to the year 1602, when I departed

from those regions, two thousand six hundred and ninety-four persons

had been baptized in that mission. They attend with great punctuality

the sermons, masses, and other divine services, which in that mission

are celebrated with greater splendor and more punctiliousness than in

others, through the advantage which it has in three choirs of Indians,

who [in this service] surpass many Spaniards. They are wont to sing

the _Salve_ to our Lady; on some days, the litany; and on the Fridays

of Lent the _Miserere_ to accompany the discipline--all of which

indicates the faith which burns and glows in their souls.

To that residence of Alangalang are annexed those of Ogmuc and

Carigara, with seven or eight other villages; through these our fathers

have dispersed (having made their retreat, in the course of the year

for the [spiritual] exercises), being assigned [to certain villages] to

instruct their people. The superior, Father Mateo Sanchez, took charge

of the newer villages, in order to build there churches and establish

stations convenient for the affairs of those Christian churches--as

he did in the village of Lingayon, and in others. On the way, he

baptized in Barugo twenty-five adults, and in Carigara sixty-three.

At the residence of Ogmuc we had completed a church, one of the

finest in that island, through the diligence and labors of Father

Alonso Rodriguez, who spent a long time there. Father Francisco de

Enzinas went to that residence, and baptized one hundred and two

persons; of these eighty-one were adults, and among them some old

men. These last asked for baptism, as it seemed, with reason, saying

that they were already at the gates of death, and they ought to be

most favored since they were most needy. They asked questions about

the life eternal; and while the father was explaining to them the

resurrection of the body he was aided, by a man recently baptized,

with the simile of the serpent, which sheds and then renews its skin,

and with other comparisons of that sort. On his road the same father

visited a little village, called Baibai, and baptized there ninety

persons, of whom eighty-seven were adults.

Father Alonso Rodriguez held another mission in a little village called

Ugyao, where he baptized twenty-eight persons, among whom was the wife

of the chief of the village; she was afterward an instrument for the

conversion of many. He also sojourned in a village called Leite, whence

he writes a letter to the father-visitor, which runs as follows: "The

lord bishop was greatly consoled at the aspect of this village. The

Indians seemed to him very tractable, and submissive to the things

of our holy faith. They are continually in the church, morning and

evening, frequenting the services to such an extent that the time I

spent there seemed like a jubilee. I noticed among the chiefs much zeal

in bringing me pagans that I might baptize them. During this visit and

the next that I made there, I baptized one hundred and thirty-seven

persons, who were children and old people. I was in Alangalang and was

much pleased with the people there; indeed, everything in that island

seemed to me to be from heaven. I cannot sufficiently thank our Lord

for the signal favor that He has granted me in bringing me to this

land, and employing me in this Catholic ministry--of which I feel

myself most unworthy, often acknowledging this before our Lord, with

tears and humiliation. I regard it as most lavish pay for many faithful

services that our Lord should consent to employ one in these missions,

and that one may behold His mercy toward these new Christians. I have

just visited the people of Ugyao, and to live among them, enjoying

the mercies which God conters upon them, seems to me like Paradise."

Such is the father's general account; I will illustrate the details

by only two instances. While a father was sojourning in one of those

seacoast villages, there arrived in a little boat a solitary Indian,

to the astonishment of all, as he had neither feet nor hands. But

God and his good angel aided him to steer the boat, and so he

reached that place where the father was, and urgently asked him

for baptism. The reason for this was, that he had heard a Spaniard

say that those who were not Christians went to hell. The father

baptized him with great satisfaction, and gave praises to our Lord

that He had preserved this man on the sea, and had guided that little

vessel and a man who was alone, and bereft of hands and feet. There

were some persons--especially a Spaniard in whose charge he was--who

earnestly desired that a certain Indian should become a Christian. This

Spaniard sought to convert him by arguments and inducements, and by

other efforts; but apparently he became steadily more hardened. At

that time one of our brethren chanced (although it was not without

divine Providence) to speak to him of the things of heaven; and all

at once that soul turned in earnest toward our Lord. At his baptism

the Spaniard acted as his godfather, and was much gratified at seeing

his pious desire fulfilled.

Great benefits have resulted from the schools and the education of

the children; for these pupils are, in their homes, teachers to their

own parents, and in the villages through which they are scattered

they arouse the people to devotion. A young boy, one of the singers

in the church, thus replied to a Spaniard who communicated to him his

evil desires, in order that the youth might help him to attain them:

"Sir, I know of an excellent remedy for this temptation which thou

art suffering. Do thou repeat a rosary to the Virgin Mary, and I

will say another in thy behalf; thus thou wilt drive away these evil

thoughts." Thus he who should by right have been the teacher was

himself instructed by this new Christian.

Other events in the same residence of Alangalang and in

Carigara. Chapter LXXV.

When a certain father was setting out from one of the villages that

he had been visiting, in order to return to the chief town [of the

mission], an incident befell him which the father himself relates,

in a letter which is in part as follows: "In this village there was

a sick man, an infidel, whom the father had visited, and provided

with someone to instruct and catechize him for holy baptism. As the

father thought that the malady was making but slow progress, he left

the sick man thus. But God, who chose to comfort that soul so desirous

for its salvation, caused such a change in the weather that, although

the sky was serene and clear when they went to visit the sick man,

a rainstorm suddenly arose, so violent that it seemed as if our Lord

were constraining the father (as he did the glorious St. Benedict)

to halt and abandon his journey in order that that soul might enter

by the true way into heaven. With this he began to instruct the sick

man very slowly; and, having taught him what was sufficient, gave

him holy baptism, to the great consolation and joy of both. At once

the rainstorm ceased, and the sky became so clear that the father,

leaving that poor man much consoled--or, more correctly, rich in

celestial gifts--made his journey very comfortably. A few days having

passed without his making any inquiry about the sick man, an Indian

came to the father, and said to him: 'Father, that Indian whom thou

didst baptize, coming hither, our Lord has taken.'

"During Lent and Holy Week they performed their penances with

great devotion, shedding their blood with such fervor that it became

necessary to restrain them. So strong and ardent was their desire to do

penance that those who could not procure woolen shirts would not go in

the procession, waiting for those garments already stained with blood,

in order that they might bathe these anew with their own. Nor was

there less fervor among the children, who sought permission [to take

the discipline], even at a very tender age, and became disconsolate

indeed if it were denied them. These new Christians practiced another

sort of penance during the last two weeks of Lent, which caused great

edification. In the early evening they went out, clad in their woolen

shirts; their hands extended in the form of a cross, were bound to a

piece of wood; and from each hand hung a very heavy stone. In this

manner they went about the village, halting finally at the church

whence they had set out. There they remained a long time on their

knees, offering their penance to God our Lord. The children had

practiced this penance before; for during the Shrovetide festival

(at which time there are so many disorders among our Christians of

long standing) they formed themselves in pairs, and went forth with

great devotion, having their hands extended, in the form of a cross,

on a piece of wood, with heavy stones hanging at each side. For this

purpose one child bound the other, accompanying him until he returned

to the door of the church; there, unfastening the other's bonds, he

himself took the stick and stones, and thus they again went forth,

and he who had first borne the stones now accompanied the other. Thus

did each one acquit his obligation to the other, with more devotion

and understanding than the Shrovetide season demands from persons

of greater age, judgment, and obligations. In this way does our Lord

bestow upon them His mercy--as happened to a young boy, whose story,

as it is very attractive, I am unwilling to omit. There was a child,

about five or six years old, who was suffering from a disease of

the eyes; the little one in his pain went to a father, to whom he

tenderly made his plaint. The father, inasmuch as a few days before

he had taught the child the _Ave Maria_, bade him enter the church,

and on his knees to say that prayer and offer it to the most blessed

Virgin, our Lady. The child did thus, and when his prayer was concluded

went out from the church, and began to play contentedly with the other

children of his age. The father, perceiving him so merry with the rest,

called to him and asked him if he were well. He answered that as soon

as he had said the _Ave Maria_ to our Lady, the pain left him and he

became well."

Among the occasions when Ours have gone to make excursions into

the country, and to despoil the enemy of his former possessions,

there is one which Father Mateo Sanchez describes in a letter to the

father vice-provincial, as follows: "The voyage of the fathers who

were sailing for Ogmuc and Sebu proved to be unfortunate; for they

suffered many hardships through contrary winds, being finally driven

into a small bay, where they remained as long as their provisions

lasted. When these were consumed, they determined, as the weather

remained unfavorable, to return to Carigara. The two of us who remained

had made, in the meantime, some important visits, especially in Tunga,

where the village was in great excitement on account of some murders

among the Indian chiefs. It pleased our Lord that our fathers should

begin to calm and soothe the respective factions, and reconcile their

differences, and establish friendly relations between them. Although

this was not accomplished at once, the affair made gradual progress

toward settlement; and even the murderers came to our fathers for

protection, so that through our agency, peace might be restored and

established. This affair was one of the greatest importance, for the

island [of Leyte] was well-nigh in a state of insurrection, and overrun

by bandits. Our Lord was pleased that by means of the gentleness

and love with which we approached them, this condition of affairs

should pass away like smoke, and the bandits be dispersed. There were

twelve criminals, who, on account of the various murders that they had

committed, were roaming in bands through the mountains and highways,

sheltering the slaves and fugitives who joined them, as well as base

women and notorious witches--who accompanied them either through love

for evil, or in fear of punishment for their own heinous crimes. All

these people have been reclaimed, and have come to our fathers--not

only the men, but the women--asking for protection, pardon, and

penance. Only one has failed to come, and he was the beginning and,

as it were, the source of all this disturbance; but I hope that God,

in His great mercy, will bring in this man. In truth, it will be

very difficult for him to effect a reconciliation with the parties

concerned and obtain a pardon, on account of their rank and wealth;

for the murdered man (whose name was Humbas) was one of the most

noted and valiant Indians in the island, and always had been, and

was at the time, governor of the village of Ogyao [_sic_]. But since

his sons were all Christians, and the eldest, Don Philipe Tipon,

is an excellent man, greatly attached to us, and well instructed,

and informed in the Christian religion, I promise myself that it will

not be very difficult to obtain from him a pardon for this man, and

reconcile them, and settle this affair as we have desired and sought

for the greater glory of God." Thus writes Father Mateo Sanchez. [21]

The mission in Panamao. Chapter LXXVI.

Panamao [22] is one of the islands which lie adjacent to Leite,

on its northern side, and is almost a continuation of the latter,

since they are separated only by a strait so narrow that a ship can

scarcely pass through it. As it contains a great abundance of trees,

it is well adapted for shipbuilding, as are many others of these

islands. On this account workmen were building there, in December

of the year one thousand six hundred and one, the ship in which I

departed from those islands, early in July of the year one thousand

six hundred and two. As many Spaniards, Indians, and other peoples had

gathered there for this work of construction, they furnished sufficient

occupation to Father Francisco Vicente of our Society, who came from

Carigara, or Alangalang, to visit them and provide for them spiritual

consolation. The father arrived there at a juncture when our Lord had

undertaken to prepare the hearts of all those people. They were indeed

prepared, as by the Divine hand, by an occurrence which affrighted

and horrified them. There was a Spanish speaking negro who entered

the service of the captain there, and was accompanied by his wife. It

became necessary for him to go away, to procure some articles necessary

to the progress of the work. Returning one night, he found his wife

with another man, and, maddened by jealousy, he killed the adulterer

with a lance and wounded the woman, leaving her for dead. This was

a deplorable occurrence, for the murdered man was a youth of comely

parts and beloved by all; and to see him thus slain--a reputable

man, without confession, and in such circumstances, by the hand of a

negro--was sufficient to lead all to do penance. For assistance in

this, it was necessary for Father Francisco Vicente to proceed to

Panamao; and he, finding the harvest ready, was soon reaping, with

his sermons, discourses, and confessions, the now ripened grain--as

that father reports in one of his letters, which runs as follows:

"I reached Panamao, on Saturday before the last Sunday of Advent, and

we were welcomed by the captain with much affection and kindness. It

is a large population which has been gathered there, of both Indians

and Spaniards, and among them God our Lord gave us a goodly harvest

of souls. On arriving there I sought to speak to them and show them

my affection. At the outset, I undertook to have a church built;

and this was done so that we said mass on the following day. I also

preached to them on matters relating to sin, explaining to them its

hideous and injurious nature--especially by recalling to their minds

that recent example or sermon which our Lord had preached to them a

short time before. They were all deeply moved, and resolved to ask me

for confession and the cure for their souls. In order that so rich a

prize should not be lost, I labored assiduously, preaching now to the

Spaniards, now to the Indians. On that Sunday I preached three sermons,

and tried, moreover, by special discourses to attract the headmen and

chiefs, explaining to them how they ought to make confession. When

they understood that I must go immediately after the first day of

Easter, they entreated me to remain, if only until the third day,

in order that they might make their confessions as they should. I

consented to this; and from that hour, all the people, Spaniards as

well as Indians, began to consecrate themselves with such devotion as

to make me ashamed. I did not lose this opportunity--now encouraging

and consoling them, now removing their difficulties, now instructing

them; and striving most heartily to assist them. The confessions began

before dawn, about four o'clock in the morning; and the people came

with general confessions for a whole life or for many years, uttering

them with tears and sobs. Indeed, it was necessary to loosen the reins

and encourage them, for it was not necessary to seek, as is usually

done, incentives to contrition and grief. During this mission some of

the Spaniards were obliged to go away to another islet; some of them,

in order not to lose this opportunity, hastened to confess, making up

for the shortness of the time allowed them by their great devotion;

others, who were deprived of even this satisfaction, deferred their

confessions until my return, to their own great sorrow and with holy

envy for those who remained. In truth, God knows best what went on in

those souls: what I can say is, that I have never seen such tears, or

conversions so sincere. There were persons who spent entire nights in

weeping, with the crucifix in their hands. During the Easter season

they were so withdrawn from worldly concerns that it seemed to be

Holy Friday; and they did not leave their houses except to go to

mass or to confer with me about the welfare of their souls. In their

silence and downcast looks, and the grief which they felt within,

they gave evidence of the mercies which our Lord had showed them, and

the light which He was bestowing upon them, as they went from and to

their houses. I experienced a thousand scruples in regard to calming

and satisfying their consciences; but I gave a thousand thanks to God

our Lord for having brought me to that place for the great good of so

many souls. Certain persons assured me that they had never before seen

the like. We continued to hear the confessions, so that they might be

better prepared for Easter. Certainly, had I to purchase by dint of

toil those moments of consolation, when I was administering to each

one the sacrament of communion and seemed to read his very heart,

a thousand journeys from España were little to give for that. I was

to go on the fourth day of Easter, but that was impossible, for with

earnest solicitations they entreated me to remain--and some, moreover,

had not finished their confessions; it was therefore necessary to

wait until Sunday. On that day we effected a reconciliation between

the murderer and the adulteress, who embraced and pardoned each other

and made their confession with much devotion. On Monday morning I was

obliged, on account of my departure, to say mass shortly after two

o'clock; and yet the service was not so secret as to prevent them from

attending it, all being present, and manifesting great devotion. With

tears and words they expressed their great regret at my departure,

and made me promise that I would soon return to console them; and

with this I came away, glorifying the Lord. I left, in process of

erection, a little hospital for the sick and poor, which all aided

with charitable offerings and personal attendance. Glory be to our

Lord Jesus Christ, from whom proceed all things."

The death of Father Francisco Almerique, and other events in

Manila. Chapter LXXVII.

At the end of that year, one thousand six hundred and one, Father

Francisco Almerique ceased his labors, death claiming him while he

was busily occupied, and full of joy and consolation therein. He

had no illness save that occasioned by his very excessive labors,

which for a period of almost twenty years had been so wasting and

reducing his energies that the coming of hot weather carried him off,

without strength to resist, in five days. At the time of his death

he was engaged in forming villages, some of Indians and others of

blacks. These latter are in Manila called Itas; he had lured them from

a rugged mountain region, and persuaded them to settle in a lovely,

peaceful spot, fertile and pleasant, about two or three leguas from

Antipolo, giving to the new settlement the name of Santiago. First

in Manila, and afterward in the mission of Taitai, he busied himself

with the study of languages and the care of souls, to the very great

satisfaction (as we have already said) of all those who had relations

with him; for, on account of his great humility and gentleness, he

was loved and sought for, followed and obeyed, honored and respected,

and regarded as a saint. He never spared toil when the aid of souls

was concerned, nor did he heed times and seasons; by day and by night,

in rain or the sun's heat, and both far and near, forgetful of himself

and his health, he indefatigably rendered his services to whomsoever

called him. His most important occupation was to bring the people down

from the mountains and thinly settled districts, drawing them by cords

of love and gentleness. Such was his grace in this that as we have

said, on more than one occasion entire villages would come to him;

and, leaving to the care of others those whom he had already won,

he devoted himself to winning and inviting other and new souls. Not

a feast day or Sunday passed when he did not preach a sermon; and

often he said mass twice and delivered two sermons, in two different

villages. Inasmuch as those people usually had recourse to the father

with all their affairs, it always happened at the end of mass that he

remained to answer and console his Indians, with untiring patience,

without touching food until past midday, or even two or three hours

later. His soul went out toward some one of those poor creatures,

and the meaner the Indian, the greater was his love. In this exercise

and occupation, God our Lord communicated with him most familiarly

and affectionately, the father holding Him ever before his mind by

frequent and fervent prayer. This power he acquired in so high a

degree that those who were in close intercourse with him affirm, in

the words of the glorious St. Dionysus, that, _erat divina patiens_;

and it called forth our admiration to behold in him the gift of prayer

so lofty and sublime, united to a power of action so incessant and

effective. In harmony with these characteristics was his peaceful

and easy death, joyful and full of heavenly consolation. He died on

the first Sunday of Advent at the college of Manila (whither I had

taken him for medical treatment), after having received the most

blessed sacraments with great devotion. His death occurred just as

all the churches were ringing for the _Ave Marias_, on the second

of December, 1601, the day of the glorious departure of the blessed

father Francisco Xavier, whose true follower he ever was. His death

was deeply felt and lamented, and his obsequies were celebrated with

tears and solemn ceremonies; his body was deposited in the main chapel

of our church at Manila, before the steps of the great altar.

At that time we were still pursuing our occupations in Manila among our

neighbors, where our Lord was continually forwarding the progress of

all our ministries, not only in those that pertained to divine worship

and the salvation of souls, but in those which concerned learning and

letters. To the Latin studies was added a course in philosophy, which

was begun in that year by Father Miguel Gomez, who had previously

taught it in Gandia. At the first lecture, which served to open

the studies of that year and which was itself grave and learned,

there assembled a goodly number of students, clergy, religious, and

persons of other ranks; and dignity was lent to the occasion by the

presence of the governor, president, and magistrates. The course was

continued, with a membership of many students, and with the theses,

conferences and other exercises which are customary to that branch of

learning, wherein the students gave excellent proof of their talent and

ability. The two congregations of La Anunciata (composed respectively

of students and laymen), who continually emulated each other in their

devotion and service to the most blessed Virgin, celebrated together

the feast of the Annunciation with great splendor and dignity, and

much devotion on their part and that of the people. The youth of

this city were in the utmost need of a seminary where they could

be withdrawn from the world and reared in virtue. Although this

had been desired for years, it had been impossible to carry out

the plan until the preceding year [_i.e._, 1600], when, with the

divine favor, a seminary was begun, which chose as its patron the

glorious St. Joseph. The institution was placed in charge of two

members of the Society, a father and a brother. On the day of its

foundation were assembled the royal Audiencia, [those who direct]

the vacant Bishopric, the religious orders, and many other people

of rank in this city. The collegians were clad in mantles of husi,

which is a thin fabric like picote, [23] inclining toward violet,

with insignia of red braid extending to the feet. They went out at

the gate of the college to receive the royal Audiencia, and soon

afterward in the chapel the archdeacon of Manila said the first mass,

the acolytes being two of the above-mentioned collegians, Don Pedro

Tello de Guzman, nephew of the president, and Don Antonio de Morga,

son of Don Antonio de Morga, auditor of the royal Audiencia. At

the conclusion of mass, two other collegians made harangues, giving

an account of what was intended in the foundation of this college;

wherewith they were well satisfied, and pleased with the work which

the Society had undertaken. The collegians at the foundation of the

institution were thirteen. That number has continued to increase until

it has reached twenty, as at present, which is not an insignificant

beginning in so new a land. Many people came to visit the college and

its apartments, admiring its good order and plan, and praising this

work, so serviceable to God our Lord, and to this commonwealth. They

attend with punctuality the devotional exercises and the divisions

of time according to the arrangements of the college, and thus derive

profit in letters and in virtue. The Indians, too, repair to Ours, as

they would to parents; and with the confidence of faithful children

they make known their doubts and give account of their affairs. For

instance: An Indian, on the day of the birth of Christ our Lord,

was in his house contentedly repairing his boat and preparing to

make a voyage the next day for matters concerning his occupation,

when a certain person chanced to pass his house, who said to him:

"How now? dost thou dare to work on Christmas day?" The other answered

him, in jest: "Oh, yes! I have permission from Jesus Christ to do

this." But his chastisement was not long delayed, for just when he

was making ready for his voyage on that very day a violent and mortal

illness attacked his family, sparing neither wife nor children, and

laying him at the door of death, so that for three months he could

not leave his house. He came to us in remorse, and acknowledging his

guilt; and after telling us these things asked for advice, made his

confession, and prepared for communion, through the efficacy of which

he recovered his health, and was able to accomplish those things which,

on account of his sins, our Lord had prevented him from doing.

While one of our brethren was sojourning in an Indian village far from

that city [of Manila], two incidents occurred whereby was seen and

manifested the supernatural virtue of the holy _Agnus Dei_, so famed

for many other great miracles. Two women were quarreling, as is usual

among barbarians and vulgar people. One of them was a famous witch,

and in anger and passion she threatened the other woman with summary

vengeance through her charms. She went home; and the poor Indian

woman, entering her own house without fear of evil, was seized with

a violent trembling throughout her body. In this paroxysm she arose

from her husband's side while they were eating their food and fought

desperately to throw herself down from the window. The husband ran,

in his consternation, to save her, and called loudly to his neighbors

for help. Three persons ran to her, and were hardly able to hold

her. Our brother sent to ascertain what this disturbance meant, and

when he learned what had happened he called the husband and gave him

a little piece of the _Agnus_ in a reliquary, exhorting him at the

same time to have faith, and promising that his wife would soon be

healed. Then, upon his knees, the brother prayed our Lord to deign

to grant his request, for the greater strengthening of the faith

of those new Christians. The husband went home with the _Agnus_,

and no sooner had he applied it to his wife, than she was freed of

the trembling and terror and remained quite calm. This occurrence

soon became public, and another Indian, who had been bewitched by

the same Indian woman, on seeing this marvel was convinced that God

granted health to those who invoked Him; accordingly, he asked for

the same relic, and the result was conformable to his faith. Thus the

people were confirmed in their faith, and grateful for the benefits

received from the bounteous hand of the Lord.

The number of villages in the mission of Taitai, and the events

therein of the year MDCII. Chapter LXXVIII.

The villages of San Iuan del Monte, Antipolo, and others, were

instructed by Father Francisco Almerique and Father Tomas de Montoya,

with the help of another priest who desired to enter our Society, and

who busied himself in assisting us in this work to the great profit of

the Indians, of whose language he had an excellent knowledge. These

fathers were joined by Father Angelo Armano, who had gone hence two

years before and had been detained in Manila compiling the history of

the saints, whose relics, as we have said, had been deposited in our

Church--a work which this father made very learned and eloquent. Having

completed this task, he went to Antipolo, where he began the study

and practice of the native language, with admirable results in all of

those villages. On the death of Father Almerique (who was stronger

than the rest), the burden of work so exhausted the others that,

falling sick one by one, the entire load fell upon Father Angelo, who

bravely sustained it for several months. This mission contains three

principal villages, all of which are capitals of their respective

districts, other villages being annexed and subordinate to each of

these three. Each one of these villages requires and needs at least two

priests with their usual assistants, in order to give adequate care to

so many souls. San Iuan del Monte, which is a village of about four

hundred inhabitants, has near it Dalig and Angono. Antipolo contains

seven hundred houses, and has the two villages of Santa Cruz and

Maihai. Santiago was then being settled, with more than four hundred

inhabitants, and had in its vicinity other villages, especially two

inhabited by blacks, or Itas. All those people were in charge of

Father Angelo Armano, who, during Lent of the year one thousand six

hundred and two, maintained them in great devotion and fervor without

their losing sight, on that account, of their devotional exercises

throughout that season, especially in Holy Week. During the latter

period, the divine services were celebrated with great solemnity, and

there were processions of blood in the two churches of San Juan and

Antipolo, with a goodly number of confessions and communions. Another

father--a middle-aged man, who knew the language--came from Manila to

help in this work, with orders not to remain more than one week, on

account of the need of priests in Manila. However, on the second day

of Easter, the rector of Manila came with two other fathers who knew

the language, on their vacation, very opportunely for concluding the

confessions and communions in those villages. During the month that

we spent there, there was a notable concourse of people who came to

confess, and great was the number of communions. At that time there

occurred to Father Pedro de Segura, who was one of those who had gone

thither from Manila, an extraordinary incident in connection with

the image of our blessed Father Ignatius. One morning, at daybreak,

he was summoned in behalf of a woman who lay in a critical condition

from childbirth, and wished to confess with Father Segura. While

the father was dressing himself to go, he sent for an image of our

father, to whom he professed great devotion--which had been increased

by the outcome of the shipwrecks which we have described, in which he

himself had been present. There was some delay in bringing the image,

so that the father reached the sick woman first; and after he had

confessed her the image arrived. The poor woman was much exhausted,

and, according to the midwife, in extreme danger. The infant was dead,

and as it lay obliquely in the womb, the mother could not obtain

relief by expelling it. The father exhorted her to have confidence in

our Lord, and placing the image before her, left her calling loudly

to heaven in her anguish. A second time they called him to hear

her confession; and the father, having done so and encouraged her

as before, went away. As he was descending from the house the woman

expelled the infant, to the wonder of all at seeing the dead child,

and the mother living and free from so great a peril.

The people of Antipolo celebrated with great solemnity the feast of

the most blessed sacrament, which was attended by the people of our

mission as well as of many others. A dialogue in the Tagal language

was spoken by the children of the seminary with much cleverness and

indication of ability, and to the satisfaction and pleasure of the

hearers. This seminary is making great progress in both spiritual and

temporal affairs. It is aided by the Indians, with generous alms for

its maintenance; and (what is of even greater value) they act with

such harmony and edification that they may well serve as an example

to the Spanish youth. Some of these pupils are of signal virtue,

and our Lord shows them many favors. Every day they go to hear mass,

or, in case there is no one to say it, to commend themselves to our

Lord in the church. They regularly go from their houses reciting

aloud the Christian doctrine; and, upon reaching the church, they

conclude it upon their knees. They celebrate the feasts with much

solemn pomp and music (for the seminary can furnish good music);

and they practice there reading and writing, and other honorable

and virtuous exercises. The hospital is making excellent progress,

and the Confraternities assign each week those of their members who

are to care for the service of the sick, doing this, as I have said,

with great alacrity and devotion.

The new residence of Silan and its Christians. Chapter LXXIX.

This new field of Silan was assigned to the Society of Jesus from

the year 1599, as the people of those villages, among whom were some

Christians, were without a priest to minister to them, although they

were but a day's journey from Manila. [24] There are five villages,

which contain about one thousand five hundred inhabitants, besides the

many other people who, as is their custom, are separated and dispersed

through the country districts, in their cultivated lands. These

villages are in the tingues, as they call them, of Cavite, among some

mountains; the climate there is very moderate, and in no season of

the year is there excessive heat--rather, the mountains render it

cooler. The people are simple, tractable, and well inclined toward

all good things. The first members of the Society who went expressly

to instruct them and to settle there were Father Gregorio Lopez

and Father Pedro de Segura, who went in the year 1601. In previous

months and years some of us had gone there for a short time, as we

had visited other places, on a mission or by way of recreation; and

by the friendly reception that they gave us and the results which,

by Divine grace, were accomplished among them, we were encouraged

to establish among them in that year a regular mission, stationing

there the two fathers whom I have mentioned. Through the teaching

and good example of those fathers they abandoned some of their evil

practices, and applied themselves to the Christian customs with good

will and pleasure; and many (for there were no Christians among them)

received holy baptism.

Not only do they attend their own mass and sermon on Sundays

(never missing one of these services), but on Saturdays they go

to hear that in honor of our Lady, which is said for them with as

much solemnity as that on Sundays. They were greatly encouraged in

the observance of these masses and feasts by the following incident

which occurred at that time: A woman, who was very eager to finish

the weaving of a piece of cloth, sat down at her loom one Sunday to

work thereon; afterward, upon returning to her task, she found the

cloth all eaten away by moths. She herself made this known, with

the full knowledge that it had been a chastisement and penalty for

that offense of hers. To assist us in instructing the large number

of catechumens in those villages, and in teaching the doctrine to

the innumerable children who assemble at the mission from all the

settlements, our Lord provided for that work an Indian blind in body

but truly enlightened of soul, who, with great faith, charity, and

love for the things of God, instructs those who wish to be baptized,

catechizing them morning and night in the church. He is so expert in

the catechism that none of us could excel him therein. Consequently,

they come from his charge marvelously well instructed; and, although

he is blind, he is so watchful over the large number of catechumens in

his charge, that he notes if even one person is absent, and reports

it to the father. The first time when he received communion, which

was on the feast of our Lady, he displayed such profound respect and

reverence that his body trembled while receiving the holy sacrament,

and so great devotion that the sight of it inspired that emotion in

others. This man deserves all the greater credit for what he is doing,

for having gone from one extreme to another; formerly he was one of

the heathen priests, whom they here call catalones, and now he has

become a preacher of our holy faith. This he relates, while uttering

fervent thanks and exalting the great favors and benefits which God

has bestowed upon him.

The increase of this mission has been very great, although it requires

arduous labors on the part of the fathers, who have been obliged to

go forth among mountains and rugged cliffs seemingly inaccessible;

for they go to seek the people in their huts and grain-fields, where

it seems as if the devil, in order to deprive them of instruction and

gospel truth, had persuaded them to seek wild and rugged places which

can be reached only with the greatest difficulty. In this work the

fathers have spent the greater part of their time, and have gathered

into settlements (to the consolation of their own souls) a great

number of people, of all classes. Old persons who seemed the living

and fearful images of death, men, women, and tender little children,

of all ages, have in this way become acquainted with gospel truth;

and as they see that we act disinterestedly in all things, even aiding

them in our poverty, they are attracted to us, and soon are ranked

in the number of the faithful.

The fathers have succored them in their sickness; and during a

pestilence which was prevalent in one of the places visited from this

mission, they went there twice to confess the people, although the

distance was great, and the roads so difficult that in the going to

that one place one must go through nine or ten precipitous ravines,

to pass which, as it was then the rainy season, they must walk

barefoot, the mud in many places being knee-deep. The fathers heard

the confessions of all the sick, some of whom our Lord soon took to

Himself. While returning from this village the father passed through

a little hamlet of Christians not dependent on this mission, which

lay within some very rugged ravines; and among all its people there

was not one who had in all his life made confession. They welcomed

the father with great joy, going more than a quarter of a legua out

of the village to meet him; and when he departed from the village

they accompanied him to a like distance. He heard the confessions

of some, and all were desirous of removing to our mission-village;

they put this desire into execution, at the end of four months, by

breaking up the entire village, and proceeding with their families

to Silan. This and other beneficial results from that residence of

Silan are well described by Father Gregorio Lopez in a letter written

by him for the father-visitor, thus:

"Early in my stay there, the people told me that in Caibabayan was a

catalona, or priestess; and in order to cut the thread of evil, and to

gain a knowledge of those distant fields and peoples, I went thither,

desiring to act toward them as a father rather than as a judge; and

the Lord, who is the true Father of all, fulfilled my desire. Finding

no present evil, but only the report of past things, I sought to

reëstablish the reputation of the person whom they defamed. I found in

one of the most distant fields, an old man about seventy years of age,

who was crippled and had been sick for days. I baptized him, giving

him the name of Ignacio, and invited many others who had not even

been baptized--encouraging in them the desire for so great a good,

helping them to learn what was necessary, to which they commonly give

attention. Word was sent from one to another among those mountains

and plantations, and those people followed me about with tokens of

love and offered to entertain me. Afterward were baptized there many

persons of all ages--children, youths, and old men. A few days ago I

was informed that in the villages of Malabag, Balete, and Dinglas there

were many sick persons who needed help. I set out in the morning after

saying mass, thinking to return in the evening; but when I arrived

there and saw the needy condition of the people, I changed my plan,

for I found in Malabag many sick persons. After I had cared for them

I heard the confessions of many who were infirm and old, and those

who wished to guard against the malady which was attacking many of

them--and perhaps not a few that they might profit, at little cost,

by the presence of the new confessor in their village. I passed on to

Balete and found that it had become a hospital. I went through all the

houses to hear confessions, but could not finish them on that day; so

I continued this task on the following day, and then went to Dinglas,

where I found the same needs. All, both the sick and those in health,

were greatly consoled by my visit; and finally I returned to Silang

in the night, with the fiscal and others, who accompanied me. I had

occasion to make other and shorter trips among the plantations in

the vicinity of Silang, as they contained sick persons who were in

need; I also desired to ascertain what houses and persons were in

those country districts. Moreover, I thus did something to further my

plan of removing them to the village and to have them carry thither

their rice and their little possessions, desiring to accomplish what

your Reverence so desires, and which is so expedient for the proper

instruction of those people. The great activity and solicitude of

the father, who is my companion, was of great value to me in this as

in all other matters; and the coming of the father rector and Father

Diego Sanchez, who assisted us here until Lent, was most valuable,

adding more energy and ability to our forces, and consoling and

encouraging those people with suitable instruction.

"After Christmas I was summoned back to Manila, but in Lent was sent

again to the village of Silang. At that time I found the mission

greatly increased by the many natives whom the fathers had recently

brought together; they were coming to us each day from other villages

(the entire village of Indan had joined us), all of them very needy,

and almost half of them unbaptized. On the feast of St. Gregory I

baptized twenty-five persons, only one of whom, a sick woman, was of

adult age, and on the feast of the Annunciation twenty-one, of whom

nineteen were adults; at present another goodly number of them are

being prepared. The number of those baptized this year is about two

hundred, and the confessions very numerous; and the number of those

admitted to communion is about fifty, the choicest of whom are members

of the confraternity. We erected our altar of the sepulchre [25] as

skilfully as we were able, and celebrated the offices [appropriate to

the occasion], by the help of which this new people gained new light

upon the services of Holy Week. Those who took the discipline, going

forth in a formal procession, were on Holy Monday, the singers, who did

this by way of preparation; others desired to march on Holy Tuesday,

but, as the day was stormy and the winds violent, I forbade them to

do so. They had their procession on Holy Wednesday; and others, in

greater number, marched on Holy Thursday. Our most important procession

was on Holy Friday, in the evening; two images were carried--one,

a small crucifix (for we had no larger one); the other, an image of

our Lady--while the choir sang the litanies. When this procession

ended, people gathered in sufficient number to form another; this

was caused by the lack of [woolen] tunics, which were removed by

their wearers and lent [to those in the second procession]. In all

the processions except the principal one, the music consisted of the

Christian doctrine, sung by the children as they walked.

"I must continue the account which in other letters I have written to

your Reverence of the favors which the Lord communicates by means of a

print of our blessed Father Ignatius; for He is continually bestowing

these favors upon those new Christians, on account of their strong

faith in Him. A woman was brought in to us, sick and unable to speak,

and was dying before us without our being able to obtain from her

a word or sign so that we could give her absolution; the statement

of her friends, moreover, that she had asked for confession, was

doubtful. I was therefore anxious and grieved, until I brought her

an image of our blessed father, and I said mass for the sick woman,

and when I returned she was able to speak, and made a good confession;

but utterance again failed her, and she died in peace.

"When I returned the second time, I was called in haste to visit a

sick woman, great with child, who was suffering violent pains and

torment. We went to see her, and it aroused our compassion to behold

her in convulsions of pain, both she and the infant (which was entering

the ninth month) being in danger of death. I sent for the image of

our blessed father, and then left the sick woman with Diego, our good

blind man, and his wife, who performs the duties of a midwife. So

good service did they render, in conjunction with the intercession

of our blessed Father Ignatius (to whom they were greatly devoted),

that very soon they sent for me to baptize the child, which was born

alive. I baptized it, but it died; and the mother regained her health.

"On Holy Saturday a young man came to me in alarm, saying that

a demon was trying to choke his sister. I went to her house and

found her suffering from an oppression in her breast and throat, and

distressed by fear. I asked for the image, and when it was brought,

I heard the sick woman's confession; she was at once relieved from

the oppression and anxiety. For her greater consolation I left the

image in order that she might have good company.

"On the following day, the Lord accorded us a most joyful Easter

Sunday. In the morning there came to me a man, but recently arrived

from Indan, who said that his wife was in a very exhausted condition

from the pains of childbirth. I sent him with a boy to take the

image of our blessed father and carry it to his home. He departed at

once, and when the image was carried into the house his wife brought

forth her child. It seems that the Lord has chosen to confirm this

newly-converted people in their recent coming to Him, and in their

faith. A few days ago, a Bilango came to us in haste to ask for the

image in behalf of a woman who was in childbirth; and as soon as

it was brought to her, she gave birth to a child. In Santiago also

the fiscal, remembering what he had heard about our blessed father,

entreated his aid, as his wife was in a like critical condition, and

her life in great danger. Immediately her infant was born alive, and,

while receiving the water of holy baptism, passed on to the bliss of

eternal light." Thus far I have cited the letter of Father Gregorio

Lopez; he could easily have related therein many other unusual events

and marvelous incidents which occurred among those new believers. He

omitted them probably for the sake of brevity, and because many of

them are quite similar--for which reason I too omit them. But I must

not fail to mention one incident which occurred during the absence of

Father Gregorio Lopez, at which time his companion, Father Pedro de

Segura, remained in Silan. Two Indians came to this father one night,

seeking relief for a woman who was the wife of one and a relative

of the other. She was suffering violent pangs in childbirth, and

was in a most critical state, being unable to expel the child. The

two Indians earnestly entreated the father, in their simplicity,

for some blessed beads. He gave them his own reliquary, and as they

were carrying it away he bethought himself of the image of our blessed

Father Ignatius. Immediately he summoned the fiscal (who is always a

man of mature years and trustworthy character), and gave him the image

to be carried to the sick woman. The Indian woman, when she beheld the

image, took it in her hands with devotion and love, and at the same

moment gave birth to a child as beautiful as an angel, to her own great

joy and the wonder of those who were present. Soon afterward she named

the child, on this account, Maliuag, which signifies "difficult;" and

again, at the baptism, Ignacio, in memory of so signal a favor. The

name which this woman gave her child at its birth gives me occasion

to describe the custom of these people in giving names.

The manner in which names are conferred among the Filipinos. Chapter

LXXX.

When a child is born, it is the mother's duty to give it a name; and

whatever appellation she gives it must remain its name. The names

are most often conferred on account of certain circumstances--as,

for example, Maliuag, which means "difficult," because the child's

birth was such; Malacas, which signifies "a man of strength," because

the mother thinks that the child will be strong, or desires that it

be so. At other times they name it, without any symbolism or special

reason, by the first word which occurs to them--as, for example,

Daan, which signifies "road;" Babui, which means "pig;" or Manug,

which signifies "fowl." All persons are called by these names from

birth, without using surnames until they are married. The first-born

son or daughter then gives his or her name to the parents; for until

they die they call the father Ama ni Coan, "father of So-and-so,"

and the mother Ina ni Coan, "mother of So-and-so." The names of the

women are distinguished from those of the men by adding "in." Thus,

while the name of a man and of a woman may be practically the same,

that of the man is left intact, and to the woman's is added the

[termination] "in;" for example, Hog (which means "river") being

the name of two persons of different sex, the man is called Hog,

the woman Hoguin. In naming children they use diminutives, just as

we do; but in order not to exceed the limits of my narrative, or

to enter those of grammar, I shall not enumerate these, or the other

appellations more personal, more intimate, or more elegant, which those

people use for nearly all the degrees of relationship. For instance,

_ama_ means "father;" thus the son, in speaking of him to a third

person calls him _ang amaco_, that is, "my father." But the son in

addressing his father directly does not call him _ama_, but _bapa_,

which is a more intimate and affectionate term; nor does he address

his mother as _ina_, but _bai_. On the other hand, the father and

mother in familiar intercourse call their sons, brothers, uncles,

and other near relatives, not by the common appellations of such

relationship, but by others more intimate and personal, which signify

a like connection. This is but another illustration of the fertility,

elegance and courtesy of the Tagal language, which we described in

chapter 16. The children of those natives were reared in such respect

and reverence for the names belonging to their parents that they

never called them by these, whether the parents were living or dead;

they believed, moreover, that if they uttered these names they would

fall dead, or become leprous.

At first, I was much often annoyed at these superstitions, because,

as I did not know the secret, I would upon occasions of affability

or flattery, or necessity or obligation, inquire of the son for

his father; and, as he gave me no answer, I remained confused and

abashed. But, with the aid of Divine grace, this and other bad

customs and errors were banished and forgotten; and we played a

game--our fathers, and the little children, and even the adults--in

which each one told the name of his father, I also telling them the

name of mine. Not only this, but anyone would name the parents of

another--a thing which they consider a great incivility and insult.

It is a general custom among all these nations not to have any special

family names, titles, or surnames; using, as I have before said, but

one appellation. Now, besides the Christian name, Juan or Pedro, they

use as a surname that which the mother gives them at birth--although

there are mothers so Christian and civilized that they will not use

this latter name, but prefer that both Christian name and surname be

conferred in baptism; this we often do. The wretched "Don" has filled

both men and women with such vanity that every one of them who has a

tolerably good opinion of himself must place this title before his

name; accordingly, there are even more Dons among them than among

our Spaniards.

The visit which the right reverend bishop of Sebu made to Bohol,

and the fervor and growth of those Christians. Chapter LXXXI.

The right reverend bishop of Sebu, in the course of his visits

among his flocks, determined to go for this purpose to the island of

Bohol--which, as we have said, is about eight leguas to the south

of the island of Sebu--taking as his companion Father Francisco

Gonzalez of our Society. We learned of the outcome of this visit

through that father's account of it in one of his letters, as follows:

"I think that your Reverence knows of the visit which his Lordship

made to the island of Bohol; but, as it was my lot to accompany him,

I shall relate to your Reverence, if only in outline, something of

what befell us there. He visited in the island of Bohol eight villages

which are instructed by the fathers of the Society, and confirmed

therein three thousand Christians, spending about twenty days in the

visit. Most remarkable was the fervor which resulted from it, for the

Christians made excellent preparation for receiving the sacrament,

many of them, in all the villages, making their confessions. Besides

this, he had previously trained and examined them, all being assembled

in the church, in the catechism, causing them to repeat aloud the

principal mysteries of our faith. A sermon was preached them wherein

they were exhorted to feel much grief at having offended our Lord. At

the conclusion of the sermon, they all fell upon their knees, and

offered audible acts of contrition and of love to God. They were

next asked if they desired to receive the sacrament of confirmation;

and they answered aloud that they desired it, in order that our Lord

might pardon their sins and strengthen them in the faith. Then, his

Lordship confirmed them, with a short exhortation at the end of the

ceremony, by which they were all greatly consoled and fortified in

the truth of our holy faith. This result was greatly aided by the love

and so paternal affection which the lord bishop manifested to them not

only in the church but in their houses--going to visit the sick, and

confirming them in their very cabins; giving alms, ransoming slaves,

and clothing the poor; and performing many other deeds of mercy. His

Lordship was especially delighted at beholding those new flocks of

his so well instructed, when they were answering the questions on

catechism, which was done in the presence of his Lordship." Such is

the brief account given by the father.

All these are but flames of that celestial fire which we said had

taken hold of this island, and with which even the little children

are ablaze. Thus in each of those villages nearly two hundred

children assemble every day, uttering praises to the Divine Majesty,

acknowledging His greatness, learning the Christian doctrine, and

imparting it to their parents and elders. The confessions cannot be

enumerated, for they are as many as there are Christians. No one fails

to make his confession during Lent, even though he may have confessed

many times during the year; and with like ardor the other exercises

of piety and devotion are performed. This was especially evident on

Holy Friday of that year, one thousand six hundred and two, during

the adoration of the cross, in which they displayed deep emotion;

they even removed the rings from their fingers and the jewels from

their ears, to make offerings of these. As Father Gabriel Sanchez

has been the usual laborer in that island, I shall here set down

a part of one of his letters in which, with his usual simplicity,

he gives some account of the island and of Christianity therein:

"Our Lord has been well served this year in the island of Bohol, with

the fruits gathered from the conversion of those pagans, for in this

barren waste we have set out a beautiful garden of new plants which our

Lord has planted. Many people have been brought together and induced

to settle in villages, wherein they are instructed. At the time when

I am writing this, we are in a village on the coast, whither there

came down to us yesterday two other villages of the Tinguianes, or

mountaineers, asking us, of their own accord, to allow them to live

here. As an earnest of their desire, they brought as many as forty

children that we might baptize them, which we have done. We value this

all the more because these two villages have up to this time been the

most obstinate and stubborn in all the island: but God has now been

pleased to soften their hearts. May He be blessed and praised that,

if there had been fathers for all of them, the whole island would

now be converted; for, although there are actually in this mission no

more than four thousand Christians, its people are so well disposed

that on the day when they shall have someone to teach and baptize

them they will all be converted. The very villages that we are unable

to teach come frequently to ask that we will go to instruct them and

unite them into one, and give them baptism. But, as so few fathers

have been in this island, we have not been able to succor them; and so

they remain until God shall send them a reënforcement of fathers--of

whom they themselves are so desirous that they have already built

us houses and churches, before a priest has been brought to them,

or even mentioned, to my knowledge. May God, whose plantation this

is, send workmen hither, since there is harvest enough in all this

island; and when they shall undertake to extend their labors further,

there are, near by, some little islands in extreme spiritual want, and

entirely deprived of any human succor for their conversion. Therein

might be held some missions most acceptable to God, all the more so

because those people are so forsaken; for, as those are insignificant

little islands, no one cares for them. Those people are on the road

to hell, if we do not succor them; and we do not aid them for lack of

ministers. One of these islands is called Isla de Fuegos ["Island of

Fires"], and is a half day's sail distant from here. Several times

its chiefs have come to ask that we would go thither. The people

already know how to recite the Christian doctrine, and yet not one has

been baptized there (although they are calling for that sacrament),

for there is no one who may distribute the bread, and thus they are

perishing of spiritual hunger.

"But, to return to our island, there is great cause to glorify our

Lord in seeing the esteem with which its people regard the Christian

religion, and the fervor with which they one and all fulfil their

obligations as Christians, in confession and communion, and in their

pious and general affection toward the things of God. A week ago,

there was in our house a young man, an infidel, who had come from

another village to see us. He was laughing and enjoying himself with

the others, although quite modestly; yet another lad who was there, a

Christian, said to him: 'How is it that thou, who art not a Christian,

dost laugh and sport?'" Thus writes the father; he adds that the new

baptisms during this past year amounted to four hundred. The number

was no larger, because they did not dare to baptize converts in other

villages until those people could have fathers to maintain them in

the faith and in Christian customs.

The growth of Christianity in Catubig. Chapter LXXXII.

The same want of gospel ministers is felt by other residences (as

is plainly evident from what I have thus far said), but especially

in the island of Samar, where for that very reason the exercises of

Holy Week and Easter were celebrated this year in one village; and

there were many confessions and communions together with the feast and

procession of the institution of the most blessed sacrament--both of

which were conducted with devotion and grandeur, although with some

inconvenience, as they were not celebrated at their proper time.

Nevertheless, on account of the extraordinary and crying needs

of Catubig--which, as we have said, is in the eastern part of the

island of Ibabao, bathed by the South Sea--Father Juan de Torres,

accompanied by a brother, was constrained to go thither from Tinagon

at the end of the year one thousand six hundred and one. For a year

and a half no one had visited Catubig, because there was no one who

could go there; and now, although this caused a lack of service at

other stations, the greater needs of Catubig compelled us to leave them

[for the present]. Well did our Lord exercise them in their journey,

so that upon arriving they might enjoy the pleasant fruit which

they afterward gathered; for besides the rivers and swamps--through

which they journeyed with the water, in some places, and the mud in

others, to their knees--the slopes and mountains were so rugged that

it was impossible to advance except by using their hands as feet. But

consolation was not long delayed; even before they reached Catubig, on

their very way, our Lord aided them, as the father himself describes

in the following words: "One night three villages met together,

rejoicing at our arrival, and, thinking that it would be appropriate,

I told them about the things of the other life, the immortality of the

soul, and the existence of God; and of the reward for Christians, and

the torment for those who are not. I am sure, my father, that among

the many people who were there you would not think that there was

one who had not faith, to judge by what they said and the questions

they asked, and the way in which they encouraged one another to

receive baptism. They soon made arrangements to build a large church,

and gave me a list of all the inhabitants, including the children,

of whom there are an infinite number. God knows what my grief was

at seeing them in the arms of their mothers; for they appeared to

me like unto the ripe fruit hanging from the bough, which, if the

gardener neglects it, is either stolen or decays, and thus is lost."

Refreshed by such consolation, the father continued on his

way, crossing the entire island of Ibabao, as far as the river

of Catubig, where he found the whole people busied in their

grain-fields. Accordingly, he went farther to some small islands lying

adjacent in the broad sea, where the people had already gathered in

their rice crops. In one of them, called Batac, he made a short stay,

and the people from all the neighboring islands assembled there to

celebrate the Christmas festivals, and attend to the things pertaining

to their salvation. When they were about to return home, advice was

given to the women in other matters relating to civilized ways and to

modesty--especially in regard to their mode of dress, which, on account

of their being a rough and barbarous people, was not quite decent;

but after they were taught, they adorned and covered themselves more

modestly. They had built, in anticipation of the father's coming, a

church and house and even a confessional for the women. After a goodly

number had been made Christians, the father returned to the principal

station, which is Catubig; and at his departure these poor creatures

besought him earnestly not to leave them so forsaken, now that he

was going away, but to teach some Christian the form and ceremony,

so that he could baptize them in cases of necessity. The father did

so, and left them with much grief in his heart. But these pains,

which in truth are more intense than those of childbirth, we often

suffer there, since the harvest is so great and the laborers are so

few. So many were the baptisms in Catubig that the father, fearing

lest the blessed oil and chrism would give out, carried the water of

baptism from place to place, in order not to prepare it so often. [26]

Among the notable conversions in this mission, which amounted to seven

hundred, the most distinguished and remarkable of all was that of a

chief some sixty years of age, and highly esteemed in that region. In

this case much time was needful to extricate his conscience from the

former robberies and tyrannies which we have already described. He

gave their freedom to many slaves, and, in order to settle other

obligations which were not defined by the church, presented to us a

handsome house, so large that, together with the church (a building

about fifteen brazas long), it serves us a commodious habitation for

our fathers who are there; and finally, after a thorough preparation,

baptism was conferred upon him. He was governor of the village,

and yet as a catechumen he attended each morning the sermons for the

children. There he encouraged all, both children and adults, exhorted

them to adopt Christian customs, and rebuked in them anything that

seemed to be opposed to these. When the father reminded him that all

his household should be baptized, he attended to that matter with

surprising energy. He himself conducted them to the church, and with

efficacious arguments persuaded them to be baptized. In this way the

greater number of his household were baptized, the rest being deferred.

Another conversion no less notable also occurred, which I shall

relate. An Indian chief from another island happened to pass through

a village where the father was sojourning. He went with the press of

people to hear the father speak, and our holy faith so convinced him

that he did not for a moment leave our fathers, asking them questions

about his salvation. So pleased was he with the instruction that they

gave him, that without saying a word, keeping to himself this new

secret of his vocation, he went back to his island, where he became

a new preacher. He persuaded his wife, children, and relatives,

actually carrying away all his kindred; and went to the place where

the father was, in order to enjoy the light of the gospel, which had

not shone on that country of his. He went in quest of the father,

and carried him as a gift a turtle, the shell of which required two

men to lift it--so monstrous in size are the turtles in those seas;

some of them I have seen and eaten. This chief often made known to

the father the state of his soul, and sought spiritual aid in very

exact and clear terms; and if he forgot anything therein, he told

of it in the same maner on the next day. His preparation continued

thus until, having given full evidences of his faith, he entered with

all his household--wife, children, sons-in-law, and servants, in all,

twelve persons--through the gate of holy baptism, into the flock of the

great shepherd of souls, Jesus Christ our Lord. He was a man of great

valor, as will be seen from an incident which we learned concerning

him. A large crocodile often came to the neighborhood of his house;

and the Indian, angered thereat, determined to punish the hardihood of

the beast. For this purpose, abandoning the usual means of catching

those animals (that is, with a large hook), blinded by rage and

trusting to his own valor, he assembled as many as twenty persons;

and while they stood watching him, he leaped alone into the water,

and swam toward the beast with a knife in his hand. Then, diving

beneath the crocodile, like another valiant Eleazar, [27] he gave it

several knife-thrusts in the belly and killed the beast. And, as a

greater trophy, he was not, as was Eleazar, buried in his triumph,

[28] but remained alive and sound--without a wound, or any lesion

beyond two insignificant scratches, one on his forehead, and one

on his leg. At this instant his followers hastened toward him, and

dragging the beast to the shore, were hardly able, with the strength

of all, to land it, although it was floating on the water. They saw

(and told me of it) a monster of incredible size, the largest that

I have ever seen there, or heard of. The animal measured, from its

shoulders to the tip of its tail, five brazas, [29] and from the

shoulders to the mouth one braza--making its total length six brazas;

and across the breast alone measured a full braza.

There was another crocodile, smaller than this one, which inflicted

loss on the household of a reputable Spaniard of Manila; and this

man came therefore to our house to entreat that Ours would provide

him with a father who would make his Indians Christians. The affair

occurred thus: This Spaniard was in his encomienda, where his house

stood on the shore of a river much infested by these beasts. While he

was dining one day, a youth, one of those who waited on the table,

went to the river to wash some plates; but he did not finish his

task, for a crocodile suddenly sprang upon him and swallowed him. The

people [in the house] saw this tragic event, and the good man left

the table, grieved that the youth should perish without baptism,

and desirous to see if there might be some means of giving him the

sacrament before he should die in the belly of the crocodile. He soon

decoyed the animal by means of a little dog, a food of which these

beasts are very fond; and, having captured the crocodile and landed

it on the shore, he cut it open and found the boy within, whole but

dead. This man, who measured the beast (which was not a large one)

told us that it was fifteen [Spanish] feet in length, but that the

capacity of its stomach was extraordinary: for within it were found,

besides the corpse of the boy, a great number of eggs of various

animals, and fifteen human heads. Grieved by this sad event, he had

come to entreat that instruction might be supplied in his villages;

but this could not be done, as there was no one to give it.

But to return to Catubig: I shall conclude my account of this mission

with the miraculous experiences of two children, which gave us more

consolation than did the incident which we have just related. While

some Indians were on their way to visit the father, one of those fierce

beasts attacked their boat, and seized a boy by the arm, carrying him

away before anyone could rescue him. The boy, following the pious

custom that those people have of invoking Jesus and Mary, when he

found himself in the water in the power of the crocodile, cried aloud:

"Jesus and Mary, help me!" and the marvelous thing was that the beast

at once let him go practically unharmed, for the few scratches that he

had received from the nails hurt him but little. Rejoicing at this,

and strengthened in the faith, they drew the child from the water

into the boat, praising God for His mercies toward them. One night

the same father was summoned in behalf of another child, who was

very sick. His parents were very sorrowful, for, although but ten

days old, he had not sucked his mother's breast for three days. They

were anxious for his recovery, but desired, even more, that he should

not die without baptism. The father went, and baptized the child;

and the next morning, when he inquired about it, they replied that

the infant was already well, for holy baptism had immediately cured it.

Let this suffice concerning that mission, and at the same time conclude

my narrative, since I have now related the most notable events, and

those which seemed most important and edifying, up to my departure from

those islands--which, as I said in the beginning, was in the month of

July of the year one thousand six hundred and two. [30] I trust that

the progress of events from that time until the present, a period

of almost two years, may give no less satisfaction and consolation,

and that of the future even more; and I hope that it will have a more

able chronicler; indeed, any one in the Society can do it better than

I. It is enough for me that I have tried to render some service to the

Society by this humble work, which although a small one, has cost me

much effort. This, and that other and greater task of undertaking so

many and so long voyages (made not for my own pleasure, but in response

to the claims of obedience), I think deserve the reward which I desire

and claim for them, which is nothing else than the object to which

those labors were dedicated--the increase and extension of the holy

Catholic faith in those so remote islands, by the conversion of so

many souls who are so ready to receive it. May your Paternity and all

those who are able to come to their aid take pity upon them, so that

ministers of the gospel may distribute to them the bread of heaven,

for the hunger from which they are dying. It is a sorrowful thing,

more sorrowful than can be told, to see them die without relief. At

Roma, March 5, 1604.

_Father Chirino_, of the Society of Jesus.

The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 13 of 55 1604-1605 Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of The Catholic Missions, As Related in Contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Close of the Nineteenth Century · 第 12 / 29 题

"During our stay several incidents occurred which I shall relate. An