A more detailed account of the virtues of the servant of God, Don
Fray Domingo de Salaçar
The conformity of the good bishop with the divine will, and his desire
to be approved before the pure eyes of that heavenly Lord with whom he
always desired most intimately to unite himself, and the knowledge that
he could not attain this approval without striving with all his heart
to imitate His virtues, and by means of them to acquire something of
His likeness, made the bishop endeavor constantly with great solicitude
to attain these virtues--although to attain them it was necessary for
him to strive manfully to conquer his own nature; in so far as it was
opposed to them; and to multiply, in order to attain this victory over
himself, penances and austerities, to the end that his nature might
surrender and be subjected. The virtue of patience, which is in all
circumstances very desirable, and no less difficult to acquire and
maintain, was that which the bishop most needed, for at every step
occasions offered themselves for the exercise of this virtue. Since
he was by nature wrathful and hot-tempered, and was always engaged
in defending the right, it cost him much to control himself and to
be patient. However, he had so restrained himself and so become lord
of his nature, that he did not permit it to display itself. This
was not only in cases where he had time for consideration and for
preparation, but in those sudden and unexpected accidents in which
those who are wronged are accustomed to lose control of themselves,
if the virtue of patience is not well rooted within their souls or has
not reached perfection. He was often obliged to hear many insulting
words from soldiers who were angry because he had interfered with their
excesses; but he kept silent, and walked on as if he had not heard
them, attending to his business without taking any account of things
which did not belong to it. Since the Indians suffered from the abuses
which were inflicted upon them, he went in one day to speak on their
behalf to the governor who was then in office. He was not permitted
to proceed with his business without hearing many insulting words
from the governor, who even put his hands upon his breast and gave
him a push. The bishop did not change countenance; and, following the
counsel of St. Paul, who bids us give place to wrath, he left the hall
that he might not more inflame the wrath of this man. After a while,
when he thought it was time, he went in again, and with great serenity
of countenance and with gentleness of heart and words, he said to him:
"Bend your knees, because my heart does not permit me to leave you
under so heavy a condemnation;" and he added: "By virtue of a brief
of the Supreme Pontiff which I have for this purpose, I absolve you
from the most dreadful excommunication which you have incurred." When
he had done this, he went out again; and even commanded the cleric
who accompanied him not to reveal to anyone what had happened, under
penalty of excommunication. On another occasion another ecclesiastic
whom he rebuked said to him, very angrily: "How badly you treat me,
though you know that I am better than you are." The bishop answered,
with great calmness, that he was delighted to have in his bishopric so
honorable a person. With this gentleness he suffered the blows of those
who exercised his patience, leaving his cause to God, as God commands
us. The Lord assumed the care of his cause, and rigorously chastised
those who spoke evil of him. Some people wrote letters against him to
España; and, before the answer came back, they were called upon to give
their answer before the tribunal of God, ending their lives in sudden
and dreadful death. He took great pains to preserve his chastity and
the purity with which he was born, esteeming it highly like a precious
jewel, and performing many penances to defend it from the assaults of
the enemies who hated its beauty and ever strove to destroy it. Two
priests have borne witness that he was a virgin: father Fray Diego
de Soria, late bishop of Nueva Segovia, to whom he made a general
confession in his old age, at the time when he was about to embark
on the last voyage which he made to España. The other priest was a
clergyman to whom he had confessed more than two hundred times, and
who was well acquainted with the state of his conscience. This priest
confirmed his testimony with an oath. In spite of this, the world
is such that the chaste bishop found it necessary to defend himself
against accusations in regard to this matter, and to bear testimony
to the purity of his own conscience. At a public celebration of the
holy sacrifice of the mass, with the divine sacrament in his hands, he
affirmed, because necessity required it, that he hoped this celestial
food might be his eternal damnation if he was conscious of any fault
of such a kind. If those who spoke against him in this matter had
been only laymen, angry because they had been corrected and forcibly
drawn from such vices, and mad with passion--for such persons will
not forgive those who are most holy--if this accusation had proceeded
from such as these, it would have been matter for sorrow, but would
not have been intolerable; but there were even some ecclesiastics
who saw that the bishop took great pains to seclude abandoned women,
and who ventured to make themselves defenders of these persons of
disorderly life. They declared that a man who gathered in so many
of these women of evil life (some of them handsome), shut them up,
and heard them at their trials, would be sure to put out his hand and
select those who pleased him. This reached the ears of the bishop;
and the vengeance which he took was to commend them to the Lord in
prayer with all his heart--pitying them as being persons who were
really worthy of compassion; since, without comparison, the harm that
one who speaks evil does to himself is greater than the harm done to
him who is wronged. The Lord heard these pious prayers, and touched
their hearts. They acknowledged the evil that they had spoken, and
very repentantly came to beg his pardon, at the episcopal residence,
in the presence of those who lived there. The bishop received them
with open arms and with abundance of tears, and had them that day
as companions at his table. The vengeance which the saints desire to
take upon their enemies is, to have them repent for their faults when
they become conscious of their errors.
He was very compassionate, and felt the utmost pity for the sufferings
of his neighbor. Of this a marked example was given on the voyage from
Nueva España to Manila. There were in the same ship more than twenty
Augustinian religious, and, while they were at sea, their water gave
out. This is one of the greatest hardships which may be suffered on a
voyage. The bishop took pity upon them; and, although he had not enough
to supply the necessity of so many, he preferred suffering with the
others to seeing them suffer while he was comfortable. Accordingly
he offered them the opportunity to drink from what he carried in
his martabana, which is a large jar holding twenty cantaros [7]
of water. Their need would not permit them to refuse what was thus
offered them voluntarily; and, though they all drank of it, the Lord
was pleased that it should last until they landed on the islands,
as the servant of God had prayed. It is no new or rare thing for the
Lord to multiply food and drink, that it may not be lacking to those
who bring themselves to need out of pity. This same virtue caused
the bishop to watch over this municipality of Manila, by taking care
that in the houses of the fathers of the Society [of Jesus] there
should be religious to give instruction in profitable learning to
those who desired to study it. That this might be made permanent,
and that there might not be any failure in it, he brought it about
that his Majesty gave command that the religious should receive an
allowance to be spent upon the teachers. The answer of his Majesty is
contained in the royal decree given at Barcelona the eighth [sic] of
fifteen eighty-three. The document runs as follows: "To the reverend
father in Christ, Fray Domingo de Salacar, bishop of the Philippinas
Islands. Three letters from you have been received from my Council,
etc. Considering the good report which you give of the great results
which have followed and which are likely to follow from the maintenance
of the Order of the Society of Jesus, and considering that to this end
it is necessary that the Society should receive from me what is needed
for the support of the religious who desire to teach and instruct in
Latinity, sciences and good morals, those who come to them, I have,
until some one shall come forward to undertake this business, granted
the decree enclosed. In pursuance of this decree, the president of
the Audiencia and you will together determine how this object may
be carried out," etc. From this same spirit of compassion arose the
benevolence which he displayed toward all the natives by building
a hospital in Manila in which sick Indians might be cared for. He
gave so much energy to this that he not only was the chief person
who concerned himself with it, but he gave the first and the chief
contribution to establish and endow it. At the very beginning of
the hospital he did something worthy of his virtue and prudence. The
sick in this hospital were cared for by religious of the order of the
seraphic father St. Francis, and particularly by a brother named Fray
Juan Clemente. The infirmity for which they were ordinarily treated
was buboes, which are very frequent on these poor Indians because
they ordinarily have to walk in the water in their grain-fields. [8]
The brother had much to suffer with the Indian men, and still more
with the Indian women, the care of whom was in general not very
consonant with decency. On this account, the religious determined
to give up this duty, and actually asked the bishop for permission
to leave the hospital. The bishop, who was well acquainted with the
conscience of Fray Juan, and who saw the reason for his unhappiness,
encouraged and consoled him; and exhorted him not to give up, on
account of these temptations, the good work and the service which he
had begun there. He gave the brother holy and devout reasons for this,
and finally said: "My son Fray Juan, fast for three days in the week;
give yourself a discipline, and keep your hour of prayer. As for the
rest, I will charge myself with it, and will take the responsibility
upon myself." The result was marvelous, for, because of the good
advice which had been given him and the prayer which the bishop made
for him, Fray Juan found himself so much consoled and changed that he
no longer felt the least difficulty or disquiet in the world; and,
as if he had cast all these difficulties upon another person, he no
longer perceived them in himself. Yet before this he had found himself
so much oppressed by them that, in order not to fall, he had desired to
flee. In a case of this kind, to take flight is to conquer--but not so
nobly as when the Lord puts forth His hand that His servants may handle
such serpents as these without being harmed by them, which happened
in this case as the result of the prayer of His servant the bishop.
The many virtues which this servant of God possessed were higher in
degree as a result of the fire of charity which dwelt in his breast,
which, as a queen of all the rest, held the highest place in his
soul and governed all. He could not eat or drink in comfort without
dividing with the poor; and therefore every day he set aside a part of
his food, and, placing it on the corner of the table, said: "You know
for whom this is"--namely, the poor, as his servants understood. This
was given to them, and not only this, but other alms. That the matter
might be the better attended to, they kept, by order of the bishop,
a memorandum of the poor and needy of the city. He directed his
servants that whenever the poor women who asked alms were Spaniards,
they should indicate the fact by saying, "Here is a lady that asks
alms;" if they were Indians or mestizas, they should say, "Here is a
woman." In this way, without seeing them, he would be able to tell
their station, and to aid them conformably thereto. Still, when he
was told about some such matter, he often went down with the servant;
and, if it was the first time that she came, he used to say to her:
"Come, good friend, what is the matter now? Beware not to offend God,
nor to be tricked by the devil into doing any base act for need or
for selfish interest. Trust in God, who will aid you; and I for my
part will assist with all my heart." In order that she might see that
these were not merely good words, he used to give her some assistance
and to write her name with the rest, so that he might aid her with the
care required by her need, and by that of her children, if she had
any. Every week he visited the prisons and the hospitals, generally
assigning Fridays for that purpose. He encouraged and consoled the
prisoners and the sick with kindly words and with alms, according
to the need of each one. The money which he could get together from
restitutions and confirmations he kept with the greatest care, that
not a real might be lost; and, as if he were the most miserly man in
the world, he took care of it for the poor alone, without permitting
the members of his household or anyone else to take anything from the
confirmations, as is customary. He used to say that this belonged to
the poor, and that it was not proper that one who was not poor should
share with them. From some of these alms, and from what he could add
from his own poor income, he bought some lots near the Franciscan
convent, and some cattle, with which he established a stock-farm,
and gave it for the establishment of a hospital for the care of the
natives. The hospital was built and still exists, having been very
greatly increased by the care of the Franciscan fathers, who attend
to it with the greatest charity. To exalt the hospital still more, the
bishop obtained for it a liberal concession of plenary indulgence for
the Sunday of Lazarus, [9] as he did for the hospital of the Spaniards
on Palm Sunday. So great was his charity and his desire to do good to
the poor that once, when he was without money to give them, he sold
his pectoral cross, which was worth one thousand eight hundred pesos,
and gave it to them in alms. In the same way went his table silver;
and his silver pontifical ornaments were almost always in pawn. His
steward used to try to excuse himself when he was told to give alms,
saying that he had not the means. The bishop, calling him to one side,
would say to him, "Tell me the truth; how much money have you?" He
commonly said that there was not in the house more than eight reals
for the daily expense, and sometimes only four. The bishop then
made him give half of what he had, saying that it was sufficient
good-fortune to have some money in the house all the time, so long as
the Lord would provide more; and the Lord to whom he gave took care
that he should never lack, sending him what he needed for himself
and for his poor from some source from which he had never expected
it. When he got it, he would show it to the steward, or give it to
him, and say: "Trust in God, father, and know that even if you had
given me all that you had, the Lord would have sent us more." It was
a common saying among the people of his household that the Father of
the poor provided money miraculously, in order that the bishop might
give them alms. A person of rank was once obliged by necessity to ask
alms from him. The bishop was much grieved, as this person seemed to
be an honorable one; and he directed the steward to give him all the
money there was in the house. As he found no more than eight reals,
the bishop gave this to him, and asked the man to pardon him, saying
that there was no more at that time, but that, as soon as he had any,
he would be sure to come to his aid. The Lord did not delay assisting
him who had not only given alms from his superfluity, but had given
all that he had for the maintenance of himself and his household. For
on that very night He touched the heart of a man who had laid upon
him for ten years the duty of the restitution of four hundred pesos,
and caused him, without waiting till morning, to embark at night and
to come from Cavite to Manila; and in the morning he gave the money to
the bishop without the bishop's ever having spoken to him. The bishop
had desired that his penniless condition should be cared for wholly by
the Lord, who was called upon to relieve the urgent need of him who
was in such need as a result of aiding the poor. When the bishop saw
himself suddenly enriched with four hundred pesos, he gave thanks to
the Lord, from whose hand he had received them rather than from the
hand of him who had brought them hither. He instantly summoned the
person to whom he had given only one peso the day before, because he
had no more, and said to him: "For the little which I have given you
and the much which you desired, the Lord has sent me some money. Take
these fifty pesos and give me that one which I gave you yesterday;
for it is that which attracted all this. Be sure that you spend well
that which I give you; and, when you shall see yourself in prosperity,
take care to be liberal to the poor." The good man promised this;
and in a short time God, in fulfilment of what the bishop had said
to him, gave him so much money that he brought four hundred pesos,
and gave them to the bishop to be distributed among the poor. The rest
of what the bishop had received he did not spend on his household,
though it was so poor; but published in the church that he had some
money to distribute, and summoned the poor to his residence. Among
them he distributed it (as he wished to) very quickly; and, showing
them the eight-real piece which he had given in the first place,
he said to them with much happiness and joy: "Just this peso is for
me, because it is that which attracted so many." When the bishop
was at his meal, having with him at the table the first founders of
this province, who had recently come to the city, a man came to beg
alms. The bishop gave him a peso; and, as it seemed to the beggar
too little, he showed it to the bishop, and said that he had not
given him as much as he needed. This conduct appeared to those who
were present bold, and even insolent; so they told the bishop that he
ought to send the man away, because he had received sufficient alms,
and that it was impossible at one time to succor every necessity. The
bishop agreed; but before long his heart was moved to compassion
at the thought that the poor man had gone away dissatisfied; and,
with his eyes moist with tears, he said: "Call that poor fellow back
again. His need must be very great, because it has forced him to be
importunate." The beggar came back; and the bishop, augmenting the
alms so that the beggar should be contented, was contented himself,
and sent him away with his blessing. Once it happened that he went
to bed with fifteen pesos, which, though for persons of his dignity
it was a mere nothing, for him who gave everything to the poor it
was great riches; and in the morning before nine o'clock he had not a
penny, because the poor had taken it all. He used to say: "The riches
of bishops are in caring for the poor, who are their proper purses;
and, so long as my money is not in them, they will suppose that I have
appropriated it." This did not appear only in his words, but he was
so certain of the truth of it that he carried it out in practice; and
it often resulted that he did not have money for the ordinary expenses
of his household. He was obliged to set sail from Manila to España on
important business; and one of the chief supplies which he ordered to
be laid in was a provision of chickens and of conserves--things which
he never tasted, and which were so foreign to his way of living that
he ate nothing but fish, as if he had been in the refectory of an
extremely austere convent. They got together three hundred chickens
for him; but before he had left port two hundred of them were gone;
while with the conserves and other things that he took he was all
the time feasting and making presents to the poor and needy, so that
nobody could even induce him to taste a chicken. [On the road from
Mexico to San Juan de Ulua, though very ill, he charitably undertook
the ordination of some candidates for the priesthood, who had been
caught in a flood on their way to be ordained at Jalapa.]