FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82  
83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   >>   >|  
se islands, number twenty-three. They have forty-nine ministers in these; and in the city of Manila they have another monastery of their order, with fifteen religious--priests and brethren, laymen and choristers. He [Ortega] does not know the exact number of Indians in their charge, although he thinks that they have baptized something like thirty thousand persons. There are four monasteries of the order of St. Dominic in Indian villages, and two in Manila--one among the Chinese settled there, and the other among the Spaniards. All six convents have eighteen ministers, and he thinks they have baptized something like fourteen thousand souls. Fray Francisco de Ortega presents this report to your Highness, as one who has an experience of twenty-four years in those islands, and what remains from thirty-nine years in Nueva Espana. He presents the report with all sincerity, so that your Highness may have detailed information, and may deem yourself to be well served by his order. His hope is that the necessity of ministers--both for preaching to the natives already converted, and for the conversion of so vast a multitude of people still to be converted--being evident, your Highness, with your royal and usual kindness, may have a great number of ministers of the gospel sent; since God is sending the remedy that is drawing this people from their blindness, by the hands of your Highness, for whom He is keeping the reward of so noble and sovereign a work as this of converting a new world to the knowledge of God our Lord. [_Endorsed:_ "Fray Francisco de Ortega of the order of St. Augustine."] What He Begs for the Monasteries of His Order + Sire: Fray Francisco de Ortega, visitor-general of his order of St. Augustine, and prior of the convent of the city of Manila, in the name of that province, and by the authority which he has for that purpose, humbly begs and beseeches the following from your Majesty. 1. That your Majesty be pleased to bestow, as a grant and as alms for the building of the monastery of that city, a fixed sum for a certain period, as you did in past years for the building of the church of the said monastery. In that case were assigned for the period of ten years one thousand ducados annually. This grant is asked in consideration of the fact that it has been burned twice, and has been in part rebuilt from the alms that the religious have acquired with great difficulty. Another ground is the m
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82  
83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

Highness

 

ministers

 

Ortega

 

thousand

 

Francisco

 

Manila

 
number
 

monastery

 
period
 
building

religious

 
presents
 
report
 

Majesty

 
converted
 

people

 
Augustine
 

islands

 
twenty
 

thinks


thirty

 
baptized
 

Monasteries

 

keeping

 

rebuilt

 

blindness

 

convent

 

general

 

visitor

 

acquired


converting

 

sovereign

 

Another

 
knowledge
 
difficulty
 

reward

 

Endorsed

 

ground

 

annually

 

ducados


consideration

 

assigned

 
church
 

beseeches

 
humbly
 
purpose
 

authority

 
burned
 
drawing
 

pleased