The servant of God, Don Fray Domingo de Salaçar, first bishop of
the Philippinas
By the ships which came to these islands from Nueva España in 1596,
arrived the sad news of the death of their father and first bishop,
Don Fray Domingo de Salaçar. This was one of the greatest losses
which they could have met with at that time, for they lost in him a
most loving father and a most faithful defender. In their defense
he had not hesitated to set out on a long and perilous journey to
España, and that in his very last years, when his great age would
have excused him from such excessive labors. But the fervent love
which he had for his sheep would not permit him to offer any excuses,
when he saw them in so great need as they were in at that time. There
was in these regions no place from which he could obtain relief for
them, nor could he have obtained relief from España if he had not
gone there in person to get it, for he had tried all other means. He
had sent a procurator; and he had written most urgent letters, and
had learned by experience that they did not bring about the results
desired. In fine, these islands lost a shepherd and a holy bishop;
and when this has been said, everything has been said. The Order of
St. Dominic, which had been so recently established in these islands,
suffered the greatest loss in this general affliction, for it had
in him a father and a brother who loved it most affectionately;
and a continual benefactor, who, though he was poor in the extreme,
seemed rich and generous in the benefits which he conferred upon the
order. Without them it would have suffered much, because the religious
came as apostolic preachers, in the greatest poverty, and in the
greatest need of the favor which they always received from this pious
bishop. Don Fray Domingo de Salacar was born in La Rioja in Castilla,
and had assumed the habit in the distinguished convent of San Estevan
at Salamanca, where he was contemporary with some who afterward became
famous professors of theology in this illustrious university--the
father masters Fray Domingo Bañes and Fray Bartholome de Medina
[Fray Domingo de Salacar was not inferior to them in scholarship,
but his heart was set more on sanctity than on learning; and hence
he desired to go to the province of Santiago de Mexico, which seemed
to have renewed the primitive austerity of the time of our father
St. Dominic. When he reached Mexico, though he wished to labor among
the Indians, the orders of his superior kept him from doing so, and
he became a teacher, and finally a master of theology, the highest
degree of this kind which can be reached in the order. His virtue was
such that during all the time while he was in Nueva España (namely,
forty years), he never broke any of our sacred constitutions in any
point. As one of the popes has said, a religious who thus follows the
constitutions of our order, has done enough to be canonized. When the
directions of his superiors at last permitted him to give the reins
to his desire, he devoted himself to missionary work among the Indian
tribes in the province of Vaxac. He suffered deeply from every wrong
that the Spaniards did to the Indians; and his suffering was doubled
because he could not remedy their wrongs. However, he did what he could
for those that were under his charge by comforting them and encouraging
them to patience; and it is no small consolation for the unfortunate
to see that there is someone who pities them and sympathizes with their
suffering. So desirous was father Fray Domingo of laboring for the Lord
that he joined the expedition to Florida, [4] accompanying the holy
Fray Domingo de la Anunciacion in the hardships which he endured,
which he felt the more because he could not make the conversions
which he hoped for among those Indians. Before beginning his journey,
he asked the superior to bless all the waters of the streams and
rivers from which he should have to drink, that he might not break
the constitution which directs us not to drink without permission and
a blessing. The want of food from which they suffered was such that
they were obliged to boil the leather straps of their helmets and of
the other parts of their armor that they might have something to keep
them alive, or to delay death a little. When they had exhausted this
supply they ate roots and the bark of wild trees. On this journey our
Lady of the Rosary showed her favor to father Fray Domingo by assisting
him in a remarkable way on several occasions. Once she enabled him
to save the life of a poor soldier who had been condemned to death,
and once gave him grace to change the heart of a man who intended to
commit suicide. Although he desired to give himself to work among the
Indians, he was obliged by the orders of his superiors and by his
vow of obedience to assume several honorable posts in the province
of Mexico, becoming prior and vicar-provincial, and finally the chief
consultor of the Holy Office; but he gave up these positions as soon
as he could to devote himself to the work which he preferred among
the natives. He spent thirty-eight years in laboring for those poor
people, teaching them, and protecting them against wrong. He was at
one time sent to España by his superiors on matters of important
business connected with the missions to the Indians. Here he met
many difficulties, as vested interests and great wealth were arrayed
against him; and on one occasion the nuncio of his Holiness, to
whom he had complained, commanded him not to visit the palace. But,
though he did not attain the end for which he set out, he made a
great impression upon his Majesty, who appointed him first bishop of
the Philippinas.] His Majesty felt a particular affection for these
islands, because their conversion had begun in his time and as a
result of his initiative. As they had received their name from his,
he desired also to give them a bishop with his own hand. He chose a man
whose learning, virtue, and deep zeal for the good and the protection
of the Indians qualified him to be the father and first shepherd
of regions so new and so remote from the presence of their king. In
such regions it is very easy for the wrongs which the powerful do to
the weak to be more and greater than in others; hence they needed a
valiant defender, and a strong pastor and master to contend with the
great difficulties which are always met with in new conquests. At
first father Fray Domingo did not venture to accept the bishopric,
and consulted learned and able religious. They all advised him to
accept it, as being a very heavy charge, but one in which he could do
great service to God and be of great advantage to the Indians. They
suggested that, if he were the bishop of the Indians, he could
help them better in the great sufferings which it might be expected
that they would have to endure, as all newly-conquered people have
endured them. These sufferings he saw and deplored when he went to his
bishopric; and he strove to remedy them as completely as he could. He
accepted the dignity for the labor and the banishment which it offered
him, knowing well that there was no honor and profit to be expected
from it. At this time he strove to bring with him religious of his own
order, feeling that they would be more closely allied to him and under
greater obligations to him; and that thus they would help him to carry
his burden. His Majesty granted them to him, and they reached Mexico;
[5] but here there were so many who died or fell ill that he had left
but one companion, father Fray Christobal de Salvatierra--who was a
wonderfully helpful associate, and aided him greatly in the government
of his bishopric, as well as in everything else which had to be done;
and these additional duties were neither few nor pleasant. He went to
the city of Manila and built in it his cathedral church, assigning
prebends and arranging everything necessary for the service of the
cathedral--although poorly, because he had no ecclesiastical income,
and because the royal income in these islands was very small. He found
his bishopric like sheep without a shepherd, and strove to gather them
together and bring them to order; but, as they had learned to live
without control, they took his efforts very ill. Some of them broke
bounds entirely, one of them going so far that he dared to tell the
bishop to his face that he would better moderate his enthusiasm; for
that if he did not, the speaker could hit a mitre at fifty paces with
his arquebus. But the good bishop in these and similar cases followed
the commands of St. Paul to his disciple St. Timothy: Argue, obsecra,
increpa, in omni patientia et doctrina. [6] The good prelate put his
shoulder and his breast to the wheel against all these difficulties,
and with all his heart strove to reform the morals of the colony. By
his example he animated the preachers and confessors to tell the
truth with greater clearness and courage than before; and, that
this might be the better and more effectively done, he called a
conference, or quasi-synod, composed of the superiors from all the
religious orders and of the learned men who were in the land, both
theologians and jurists. This conference sat for a long time. In it
there were also six captains who had had experience in that country,
and in the conquests which had been made there. These officers were
added to the conference that they might give information with regard
to many matters of fact upon which the determination of justice and
conscience in the case depended; and that the truth and righteousness
of the proceedings of the conference might be more apparent. It was
hoped that in this way the decisions of the conference would be better
received. In this assembly the holy bishop showed his great capacity,
his great knowledge and the clearness of his mind; and skilfully
directed and disposed of a great variety of matters which were there
very effectively decided. Many questions were there propounded and
settled; and from the decrees of the conference there resulted a
sort of general list or set of rules by which the confessors were
to govern themselves in assigning penance to all sorts of people
in that country. These rules affected the governor, the auditors,
the royal officials, the alcaldes, the corregidors, those who had
taken part in the conquest, the encomenderos, the collectors of
tributes, and people of all ranks--in a word, all the inhabitants
of the country. It had validity for what had been done as well as
for what was to come. This was a very helpful matter, because it
dealt with affairs which offered no precedents, did not regularly
happen, and could not be understood by everyone because of their great
difficulty. On this account those who understood them best, and desired
to deal with them as truth and reason required, were not respected by
those who were most concerned. The latter, in order that they might
avoid their obligations, ordinarily tried to find confessors who would
show leniency, to their own harm and to that of their penitents. But as
soon as these decrees appeared, having been voted by so many learned
and holy men, they were such that neither confessors nor penitents
dared oppose them. This conference was accordingly a very important
one; and in a few days it was possible to see the new light which had
come to these islands and to perceive how thoughtful and careful,
and how full of knowledge, was the new shepherd and spouse of this
church. The holy bishop afforded much edification with his teaching,
his addresses, and his sermons, for he was a learned theologian and an
excellent preacher; but he did very much more by the example of his
admirable life. The sermons which he preached in this way had great
power over the souls of those who looked upon this noble example,
and even hardened hearts could not resist them. He did not alter his
habit, his bed, or his diet. His habit was of serge, as was customary
in Nueva España. He wore a woolen shirt, and slept upon a bed which
was even poorer than that of the poorest religious. His food was eggs
and fish; his dwelling had no paintings or adornments in it. He rose
at midnight to recite matins, and after this he offered his mental
prayer. That he might not trouble anyone to give him a light, he
always kept a tinder and flint, and struck and kindled his own light
without having any servant to attend upon him when he went to bed or
when he rose. He was especially devoted to our Lady of the Rosary,
whose grace and favor he had many times experienced; and he desired
to see this same devotion well established in all. When he spoke upon
this matter, he seemed to surpass himself; and some believed that our
Lady spoke in him, because of the grandeur of the heavenly ideas which
he uttered on this subject. When our religious reached this country,
he entertained them in his dwelling, as has been said; and he kept
and cherished them there for many days, gave them extraordinary alms,
and bought a site for their convent. He helped very much in the
building of the convent, without ever feeling poor for this or for
similar objects--though he was really in extreme poverty on account
of the smallness of the salary which he received, without having
any other source of income. Although the salary was small, it never
failed him when the poor required it, to whom belonged everything
that he acquired. Thus he was always consuming his income, without
ever lacking something to give.