The King: To my cousin, the Duke. My zeal and desire have always
been, and are, to procure and provide throughout all the provinces,
divisions, and localities of the Western Indias, whether already
discovered or to be discovered hereafter, the propagation and
extension of our holy Catholic faith and Christian religion; and
for that purpose I endeavor to provide the necessary prelates and
ministers, through whose agency the natives of those parts, blinded
by their hideous idolatry, may come into knowledge of the true faith;
and, together with those already converted, may be enlightened and
instructed so that they may enjoy salvation, partaking of the copious
fruit of our redemption. Hence at my supplication, archbishoprics
have been established in those districts and places where it seemed
necessary. For, in spite of the fact that a bishopric was founded in
the city of Manila in the island of Luzon in the Philipinas, situated
in the great archipelago of China, very near the mainland of that
country--yet, inasmuch as that district is very large, and contains
numerous islands with a large native population--a single prelate
cannot easily and under ordinary circumstances visit his diocese as
he should, fulfil the pontifical decrees, and provide for spiritual
affairs with the necessary despatch. It has been shown by those who
have had experience that many inconveniences result; and after this
was investigated by the members of my royal Council of the Indias,
and counsel taken upon it, with the object of correcting these evils,
it has seemed to me both fitting and necessary for the fulfilment
of the obligation that I am under of procuring the salvation of the
souls of those my subjects--according as I am enjoined by the holy
apostolic see and bidden by my conscience--that the cathedral church
of the said city of Manila be elevated into a metropolitan see and
its territory into an archbishopric; and that three new bishoprics
be created and established suffragan to it, so that they may hold
their synods according to the orders of the holy Council of Trent, and
without coming to Nueva España, as the bishop of Manila, who was the
suffragan to the archbishop of Mexico, was compelled to do. From one
region to the other, the journey is more than three thousand leguas;
and, besides, it is evident that those islands could thus be better
and more fittingly governed in spiritual affairs.
Therefore I command you upon receipt of this despatch, to propose to
his Holiness, and supplicate him, in my name, that he may be pleased to
elevate into a metropolitan see the said cathedral church of Manila,
and to create the three bishoprics aforesaid--one in the church of
the city of Nueva-Segovia in the province of Cagayan in the island
of Luzon, under the protection of the Conception of Our Lady; one in
the city of Cáceres in the territory of Camarines, in the same island,
under the protection of St. John the Evangelist; and the other in the
aforesaid city of Santísimo Nombre de Xesus, in the island of Cebú,
of that archipelago, under the protection of the guardian angel. In
this way each one may exercise in his diocese the pastoral office; and
the metropolitan archbishop, together with the bishops, may labor with
jurisdiction, authority, and power in the conversion and instruction
of the said natives; and he and they may provide for other spiritual
matters which may seem desirable for the maintenance of divine worship
and the salvation of souls. But for the present, and until affairs
be more settled in those regions and tithes established, no cathedral
churches shall be erected, or dignitaries or canonries provided for,
except that the bishops shall dwell privately in the monasteries of
their order which are situated in the aforesaid cities. Nevertheless,
in order that the said cathedral churches may be erected in due time,
and that for the present, definite territories may be assigned to the
aforesaid archbishopric, and to the bishops, you must thus entreat his
Holiness, in my name, to give me power to add to or to change the said
territories, when and in such wise as may seem most fitting to me. At
the same time, you will present and nominate to his Holiness, in my
name, Fray Ygnacio de Santibañez, [23] of the order of St. Francis,
as archbishop of the aforesaid church of Manila, in place of the late
Fray Domingo de Salazar, of the order of St. Dominic, the first and
last bishop of that city; for the bishopric of Nueva-Segovia, Fray
Miguel de Benavides, of the order of St. Dominic; for the bishopric
of the city of Santísimo Nombre de Xesús, in the island of Cebú,
Fray Pedro de Agurto, of the order of St. Augustine; and for the
bishopric of the city of Cáceres, Fray Luis Maldonado, of the order
of St. Francis. By these presents I nominate them and offer them as
candidates to his Holiness, in order that by this nomination--which I
make as patron of all the churches of the Indias--he may bestow upon
them these churches and the aforesaid archbishopric and bishoprics;
for from the favorable accounts that I have of the goodness, learning,
virtue, and exemplary lives of the aforesaid religious, I trust that
our Lord will be well served by these provisions and the churches
well governed and administered. Moreover, in according me this, his
Holiness will confer upon me a special favor and kindness, which
you will therefore make known to him. You will also tell him that
in the absence of tithes, I have endowed the archbishopric with an
annuity of three thousand ducats, drawn from my royal exchequer,
and each of the bishops with five hundred thousand maravedis [24]
annually. You will see to it that the bulls [25] on the whole matter
be sent out with the utmost promptitude in order to reach the first
fleet that sails. From Madrid, on the seventeenth day of June, one
thousand five hundred and ninety-five.
_I The King_