from Spain under the leadership of
their Prior, Pedro de Cordoba, a man of gentle birth, distinguished
appearance, gracious manners, and great piety. He had exceptional gifts
as a preacher and, in selecting the men of his Order to accompany him, he
chose those who, to their exemplary life and zeal for conversions, united
facility in expounding Christian doctrine. Two, especially, out of his
company, were men of unusual ability--Fray Antonio de Montesinos and Fray
Bernardo de Santo Domingo.

One of the colonists, Pedro Lumbreras, gave the missionaries shelter, and
arranged to supply them with provisions, and the monks, without losing any
time, set to work to improve the habits and morals of the easy-going
Spaniards in the colony. The Viceroy being absent in the city of
Concepcion de la Vega at that time, the Prior went thither to announce
their arrival and pay his respects, accomplishing the tedious journey of
thirty leagues on foot, sleeping on the ground and living on bread and
water. He arrived at La Vega on a Saturday, and the next day, being
Sunday in the octave of All Saints, he preached a sermon on the glories of
paradise prepared for the saints, of which Las Casas says, "It was a
sermon so lofty and so divine that I held myself happy to hear it." In
response to the Prior's invitation at the close of his discourse, his
hearers sent their Indians, men, women, and children, to the church, after
dinner. The Prior, holding a crucifix in his hand, and assisted by
interpreters, then gave the Indians their first exposition of Christian
doctrine, beginning with the creation of the world and finishing with the
Crucifixion. This was the beginning of anything like a serious and
practical effort to carry out the reiterated instructions of the Spanish
sovereigns to instruct the Indians and convert them to Christianity.

In that same year, Las Casas took holy orders, and, though it is not clear
whether his ordination occurred before or after the memorable sermon of
Prior Pedro de Cordoba, it is evident that the impression he received from
that discourse powerfully influenced him at a critical moment of his life
and contributed to form the special vocation to which he afterwards
devoted himself.

His own description of his ordination is as follows:

"In this same year and in these same days, when the father, Fray Pedro de
Cordoba went to La Vega, a cleric called Bartholomew de Las Casas had sung
a new mass; he was a nat