Opening the text

The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898: Volume 31, 1640: Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the Catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth centuryAduarte, Diego

History

The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898: Volume 31, 1640: Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the Catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century

Name: The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898: Volume 31, 1640: Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the Catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century
Author: Aduarte, Diego

Aduarte, Diego

Demarcation line of Alexander VI; Missions -- Philippines; Philippines -- Discovery and exploration; Philippines -- History -- Sources

When many were turned back by the difficulties in Mexico,
father Fray Alonso was always firm and constant. When he reached
Manila, the ministry of Batan fell to his lot. In spite of his age, and
the great difficulty which he had in learning the Indian language, he
at length succeeded. In this ministry he suffered the hardships which
have been described already. He was especially kind and serviceable
to sick Indians, preparing dishes of meat or eggs for them, and even
putting the food in their mouths, with his own hands. Being taken
severely ill as a result of all the hardships to which he was exposed,
he was carried to the convent of Manila. Scarcely did he feel better,
when he left his bed and began to work at the building of the church,
turning his hand to this manual labor with the greatest skill. When
he was elected prior, he had no assistance in the convent except one
priest and one lay brother; but, few as they were, they performed all
the offices of a community. As he had a sonorous voice and understood
music well, he would sing the whole mass alone; then leave the choir
to go to the pulpit and preach, and then return to the choir, though
he had been hearing confessions all the morning. This he did without
failing to make his regular daily prayer. Even when alone he used to
say matins aloud, and on some feast-days would sing a great part of
them. He was elected provincial from this office of prior; and in his
provincialate he made many excellent ordinances for the ministry to
the Indians, which are still observed and esteemed as if they had been
ordained yesterday. During his time the province was greatly extended,
the whole of the province of Nueva Segovia being admitted, and many
new churches and missions being established in that of Pangasinan. It
was his desire also that the kingdom of Camboxa should be added to
it; and in the glorious enterprise of extending the gospel to that
kingdom he ended his life.]





CHAPTER LI

The coming of some religious to the province, and the transactions
of the intermediate chapter

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.