The province of Chiapas was at first included in the see of Tlascala, and paid tithes to that bishopric till it was transferred to the diocese of Guatemala in 1536. When Ciudad Real was laid out, under the direction of Mazariegos, an allotment was assigned for a church building, and its erection was begun almost immediately.[XIX‑1] The first parish priest of Ciudad Real was Pedro Gonzalez, who was appointed by the cabildo in 1528, with a salary of three hundred pesos de oro. On his death Pedro Castellanos succeeded to the benefice in 1532.[XIX‑2] In 1537, through the exertions of Bishop Marroquin, a convent of the order of La Merced was founded by frailes Pedro de Barrientos and Pedro Benitez de Lugo. On the 18th of May these friars petitioned the cabildo for an allotment of land on which to found a monastery, but though their request was granted they remained but a short time.[XIX‑3] In 1539 Fray Marcos Perez Dardon, as superior, in company with Fray Juan Zambano took possession of the deserted building. Finding that it was situated too far from the settlement, the former petitioned for a new site and for contributions and assistance in erecting a new convent. His request met with a liberal response, and the friars who arrived in after years were well supplied with the means of support.[XIX‑4] By a papal bull issued on the 19th of March 1538,[XIX‑5] Ciudad Real was appointed a cathedral city, the diocese to be subject to the archbishopric of Seville, and the pope reserving to himself the appointment of the first prelate. The salary of the bishop was fixed at two hundred ducats a year, payable from the revenues of the province, while the privileges and revenues of the bishopric were to be based on the system prevailing in Spain. The church patronage and the choice of dignitaries were conceded to the crown of Spain. The limits of the see were also left to the decision of the emperor.[XIX‑6] On the 14th of April 1538, Juan de Arteaga y Avendaño, a friar of the order of Santiago, was appointed to the charge of the newly created bishopric, but it was not until nearly three years later that he was consecrated at Seville, whence he issued a document framing the constitution of his diocese.[XIX‑7] The prelate did not like to take possession, for on his arrival at Vera Cruz in 1541 he was attacked with a severe fever, and though he succeeded in reaching Puebla de los Angeles he died there shortly afterward,[XIX‑8] his diocese remaining in charge of the bishop of Guatemala until the arrival, in 1545, of Bartolomé de las Casas. [Illustration: ARMS OF THE CITY OF CHIAPAS.] [Illustration: CHIAPAS.] [Sidenote: ARRIVAL OF DOMINICANS.]