After the death of the lord archbishop Don Fray Miguel Garcia Serrano,
the ecclesiastical cabildo of Manila attempted to interfere in
the government of the vacant see--alleging for this purpose that
the brief of Paul V, and the royal decree, had been obtained by
underhand means and misrepresentations. The bishop of Cagayan, Don Fray
Hernando Guerrero, also brought forward his claim to the vacant post;
accordingly, both parties presented the arguments in behalf of their
respective claims. The decision thereon was deferred for some time,
the cabildo always resisting Don Fray Hernando Guerrero's efforts to
take possession of the see, and denying not only the claim which he
preferred, but also the right which the bishop of Cebu, Don Fray Pedro
de Arce, had--which he, moreover, had yielded to Senor Guerrero. This
contest lasted two years in the royal Audiencia; then, the auditors
having declared that the government of the archbishopric belonged to
Don Fray Pedro de Arce, the cabildo appealed to the Council of the
Indias. Nevertheless, the royal Audiencia and the governor sent for the
bishop of Cebu, who reached Manila on the twenty-second of January,
1630. The cabildo having been commanded, by a royal decree, to hold
a session, Don Fray Pedro de Arce presented himself at that meeting,
and made the following proposition: "Sirs, it is well understood, as
you will satisfy yourselves, that my coming to this city, and just
now to this cabildo, is quite contrary to my own inclinations; for
I desire and love a quiet life, and I hold very dear the sheep of my
bishopric. The example [of this that I have given] is very evident;
for Fray Hernando Guerrero having gone to my diocese so that I might
confer upon him the orders for which he had been consecrated, I also
transferred to him the right to the government of this archbishopric
that I hold in virtue of a brief from his Holiness Paul V, issued
by him on January 7, 1612. But the claim of the said bishop of Nueva
Segovia was not allowed, for reasons which you know. After that, Don
Juan Nino de Tavora, governor and captain-general of these islands,
wrote to me so urgently in the name of the gentlemen of the royal
Audiencia, sending me his Majesty's royal decree, and laying a burden
upon my conscience if I did not accept this duty, that I could not
refuse it; accordingly, I come to this city, certainly against my own
wishes, and to the injury of my health in my advanced years. But, sirs,
it has seemed to me expedient to come, as a measure of peace and love,
to expostulate with you, and ask that you carefully consider all these
motives and reasons. I ask that, without delay or opposition, you at
once admit me to the government of this archbishopric, to which his
Holiness and his Majesty call me, considering that my earnest desire
and intention is to strive to labor in the service of both Majesties,
and to promote, for yourselves and all this commonwealth, the welfare
and harmony which should prevail, and which are right." Thus spoke
Don Fray Pedro de Arce; and answer was made to him by the dean,
Don Miguel Garcetas, in behalf of the cabildo. He said that they all
fully appreciated the bishop's kindness, and that all were entirely
satisfied of his good intentions in this matter, and of his great
virtue, prudence, and learning; but that, in order that they might
proceed in this matter with all harmony, certainty, and deliberation,
it was necessary that all the members of the cabildo should assemble
(for some were not present at this meeting). The dean added that in all
their acts they would follow the rulings of the sacred canons and the
constitutions of the cathedral church, and that his Lordship might be
certain that all of them confessed themselves to be his affectionate
children, and desired to render him service; and that they entreated
him to show them the bulls and other documents that he possessed,
in order that all these might be duly fulfilled. To this the bishop
replied that the bulls were already before the cabildo, and by virtue
of them he had been admitted to the government of the archbishopric
by the death of Don Diego Vazquez Mercado; accordingly, they must
settle the matter without delay because, if they did this amicably,
they would find in him a father and protector; but if not, he would
enforce his claims by the severe measures which he could by law employ.
The cabildo met on the twenty-ninth of January, and decided that,
after having consulted learned persons, they were of opinion that the
cabildo ought not to surrender the government; but that, on account of
the many and serious difficulties [that might arise from this], they
would yield under protest. Accordingly, they received Don Fray Pedro de
Arce on the same day as ruler of the vacant see, although the cabildo
took much umbrage at it; and from this affair originated continual
strife and dissensions. At the outset, they denied to Don Fray Pedro
the seat in the choir, the cabildo asserting that the bishop was not
competent to possess it because he was not a proprietary bishop; and
that, although he had been consecrated, it was in another diocese, and
one suffragan to that of Manila. The prudent bishop felt this slight
keenly, for they had given him this seat when he first administered
the vacant see; but finally they gave him the seat (to which he was
legally entitled), as they had done before. Don Fray Pedro de Arce
ruled with the prudence and uprightness which in him were so eminent,
which together with his virtue and piety, made him a most accomplished
prelate, and truly a father to all. In the course of his government
he made enactments very important for the conduct of the church;
in especial, he imposed the cuadrante [84] for the choir in the
cathedral of Manila with great exactness--aiding the prebends with
great readiness in their choir, the subsidy that they receive being
still so small that some of them have hardly enough for their support.
[The rest of this chapter is mainly occupied with secular occurrences,
which we omit here because they have already been fully related in
other documents for that time--the fruitless expedition against
Jolo under Lorenzo de Olaso, shipbuilding in Cambodia attempted,
the despatch of an envoy to India to secure Portuguese cooperation
against the Dutch, the coming of the royal visitor Don Francisco de
Rojas, and the death of the governor Nino de Tavora--and the relation
of various miraculous cures and deliverances performed through the
Santo Nino (or image of Christ) in the church of Cebu. The following
paragraph states the proceedings at the meeting of the Augustinian
provincial chapter of 1632:]
The year 1632 having arrived, the provincial chapter was convened
in the convent at Manila, on the first day of May; the president at
this session was father Fray Juan de Tapia, and the election [for
provincial] resulted, with the general consent of the entire province,
in the choice of father Fray Geronimo de Medrano--a very courteous and
discreet religious, who governed this province well. As definitors
were chosen the fathers Fray Juan de Montemayor, Fray Francisco de
Mercado, Fray Luis Ronquillo, and Fray Juan Ramirez; and as visitors,
the fathers Fray Alonso Carbajal and Fray Antonio de Porras. They made
regulations very useful for the proper government of the province;
and as its procurator for Espana was appointed father Fray Diego de
Ordas, at that time prior of the convent of Santo Nino at Cebu. He
made the journey that year, and, having performed it very successfully,
returned [to the islands] in the year 1635.