The province sent father Fray Matheo de la Villa, who has several times been mentioned with praise. Thereupon father Fray Diego, after obtaining the necessary licenses and decrees, gathered twenty companions and came to live and die with them in this province – nearly all the members of which were his sons, whom he had sent or brought from España, as has been recounted. Hence he was received as the general father of all, and was by all much beloved for the great good which he had wrought for all of them, for each one in particular, and for the whole province in general, by means of many royal decrees and grants which he had obtained at court for medicine for the sick, wine for the masses, oil for the lamps which burned before the most holy sacrament, and habits for the religious, which are great sources of relief in our great poverty. Among these things the provision for the dress of the religious ought not to be passed over in silence. Neither the province nor any house within it had any regular source of income; and it provided for all its expenses entirely with alms received from the faithful. Since serge for our habits had to be brought from Nueva España, it was a difficult thing for the province to send every year the money for all the clothing of the religious, at the price in Mexico. The province provides the religious with clothing, for no member of it cares for himself, or has any deposit or anything else of his own, not even with the permission of his superior. Hence the province sent directions to father Fray Diego to ask his Majesty to give as alms the clothing for all the religious of the province – and this not for one year or two, but forever, since the same need and poverty were to continue forever. Father Fray Diego, who was acquainted with the heavy demands upon the royal treasury, regarded it as impossible to obtain this; and he put off asking for it until he felt obliged to send an answer to the province. Feeling practically certain that it would not be granted, he asked for it in a memorial of his own, sending in other memorials in which he asked for things which seemed to him very easy to grant; and when he looked over the answers he found that the royal Council had unhesitatingly allowed the grant and gift of the clothing (which he had regarded as impossible), but had refused everything which he asked for in the other memorial. From this it was plain that it was God who had in His hand the heart of the king; and that He had done more than what human prudence might hope for. This truth was all the more confirmed by the fact that when the royal decree came to be presented before the royal officials in Mexico, who were always accustomed to put a thousand difficulties and contingencies in the way of such grants, they not only did not put any such in the way of this grant; but, seeing that the religious had from mere timidity asked much less than they needed, urged them to ask for a sufficient amount. The matter was immediately settled on this footing, and has remained so ever since, a plain token that the Lord is pleased that the religious of this province shall wear the habits which they have always worn – poor, humble, rough, made of coarse and heavy serge; a penance for the religious, and a good example for others, as have always been the poor and rough habits of religious orders. At the first vacancy of the position of prior in Manila father Fray Diego was a second time elected prior. He filled the post to the great benefit of the religious and the convent, to the needs and obligations of which he attended with great care and charity. He was by nature taciturn and somewhat rigid, but by virtue was so corrected and mild that he left no necessity unremedied, no afflicted whom he did not strive to console, no weak or fallen one for whom he did not pray. With all he was gentle, and to all he desired to do good. While he was in this position, and very far from thinking of changing his condition, he received in the year 1632 the royal decree appointing him bishop of Nueva Segovia. He hesitated long before accepting this dignity, presenting many arguments against his acceptance. But, since all the others were opposed to him in this matter, he gave up his own opinion and accepted the episcopate, with the most firm determination not to abandon his character as a friar vowed to poverty and to observe the manner of living which he had previously maintained – and even to improve it by far, as the superior station upon which he entered required of him; and this determination he most perfectly fulfilled, as will be seen. Someone very much devoted to the order sent him a diamond cross for a pectoral; and he returned it, saying that it was very rich for so poor a bishop, for whom a pectoral of wood would be sufficient. The bulls did not reach him that year; so he waited for them without leaving the cell in which he had lived in the hospital of the Chinese. He took no servant, and made no change in his poor manner of living, dress, and clothing. He went to the choir and performed the other obligations of religious in this poor habit, and did everything else, whether by day or in the midst of the night, that he had promised. He was consecrated and went to his bishopric; and giving himself up wholly to his obligations as bishop he personally visited all his bishopric, leaving in all parts a lively memory of his sanctity, devotion, and alms-giving. His common custom was to spend one hour of prayer before mass, raising his fervor by mental devotion that he might say it with a greater spiritual elevation. This was in addition to many other hours of prayer by day and by night. After mass was finished, he spent another hour in giving thanks to the Lord for what he had received; and then he went immediately to his study of holy scripture, which likewise is prayer. He did not rise from his work until something happened which compelled him to. His expenses were almost nothing, so that the poor income of his bishopric was wholly spent upon charity and upon the adornments of his church; for in these two matters he spent as if he were rich. Hence in the short time during which he governed the bishopric (which was only a year and a half), he gave it more ornaments and jewels than others who had been superiors there had given in many years. He was most humble; and when father Fray Carlos Clemente Gant was vicar of the convent, the bishop used to go almost daily from his residence to our house to confess to him. When father Fray Carlos begged him to remain at home, and said he would go to hear his confession every day, the bishop declined, saying, “Your Reverence is very busy. I, who am less so, will come,” and on this footing this matter always continued. He took less food than when he was in the order, giving up one meal when he accepted the bishopric. He said that his position brought more obligations; therefore his food ought to be less. He always ate fish, if necessity did not force him to take something else. His bed was a piece of felt for a mattress and a blanket for covering, without any other pillow than the mat used by the poor Chinese, or one of the native mats – which was given a coat of a sort of varnish, so that the perspiration might be washed off and the pillow kept clean. In his whole house he had no other bed-clothes, so that even in his last sickness he had no mattress nor sheets, nor even a linen pillow upon which to rest his head; it was therefore necessary to bring that which was kept ready in the poor infirmary of the convent, for no such comforts were used or were to be found in the bishop’s house. When he went on visitation, he always took with him some bundles of cloth to distribute among the poor, and these and other good works which he did for them constituted the sole profit of his visitation. He highly esteemed the ministers whom he had in his bishopric, and was greatly pleased to see that they were practically all religious – not only of his own order, but also of that of our father St. Augustine. He loved both tenderly, and always had much good to say of all of them. During his time another bishop71 (who was a member of an order) put forward a claim that the royal decrees should be put in execution which provide that the religious who have charge of Indians shall be subject to the inspection and visitation of the bishop or his visitors. When this matter was discussed before the royal Audiencia, our good bishop was present – yielding, so far as his bishopric was concerned, the favor granted in these royal decrees. He declared and proved with many strong arguments that, though the execution of the decrees would greatly increase the dignity and temporal profit of the bishops, it was to the spiritual and temporal injury of the Indians. Hence, to avoid these greater injuries, he renounced with a good will these inferior gains, as a prelate who felt that all his gains were secured by procuring the proper ministry for those subject to him. The whole income of his bishopric he collected for the poor, without taking from it more than the labor or dividing it among the needy; for his own maintenance, he asked alms as one of the poor. When on any account he was absent from his bishopric, he left someone in it to distribute alms to the poor, that they might not be injured by his absence.
The habit which he wore was of serge, and he wore an old frieze cloak which had served one of the religious on his way from España. His shoes were old and patched, and his breeches poor and mean, like those used in this province. He wore no rings, and did not spend a real for them or for a pectoral, being contented with those which were offered to him as to a bishop in such a state of poverty. When he entered our convents, he prostrated himself on the floor to receive the blessing of the superior, as the other religious do; and he joined the community and took no precedence in seating himself, just like any of the other brothers. He did not permit them to give him anything special in the refectory; and he remained in all things as humble and as perfect in his duties, as a member of the order, as he had been before becoming a bishop. The happy end of all his many arduous labors was at hand; and after only three days of sickness he went to receive the endless reward of his toils, leaving those who were subject to him above measure sad at the loss of such a superior, father, and common benefactor of all. But those who displayed the greatest feeling, and with the greatest reason, were the religious of this province, who had in him an honor, a defense, and an example, which incited them to all virtue, and to strict observance of their rules. [His death caused great sorrow, not only in his diocese but in Manila, where he was beloved by all; and notable honors were paid to his memory, even by the other orders.]
Chapter LX
The glorious martyrdom of four religious of this province, and two laymen, their companions, in Japon
May 2, 1637, there was elected as provincial father Fray Carlos Clemente Gant, a native of the famous city of Zaragoça, and a son of the illustrious convent of Preachers in that city, a person of much virtue and superior prudence, of which he had given evidence in many offices which he had filled with great praise. He was elected in this chapter on the first ballot, and the wisdom of his election was soon shown, the Lord choosing him as a principal instrument to bring to an end the congregation – which, as has been narrated, had already begun to be planned, to the great harm of these conversions.
[This year, which concludes the number of fifty since the foundation of this province, is closed, as with a precious key, by the marvelous martyrdom of four religious belonging to the province – father Fray Antonio Gonçalez, father Fray Guillermo Cortet (who here bore the name of Fray Thomas de Sancto Domingo), father Fray Miguel de Ozaraza, and father Fray Vicente de la Cruz. With the martyrdoms (already narrated) of father Fray Jordan de San Estevan and Fray Thomas de San Jacintho, the Japanese persecutors of the church had spilled the blood of all the Dominican friars of that kingdom; yet they had not, as they expected, caused the souls of the religious to fear, or cooled their fervent desires to go to Japon. Of all those who asked for permission to go thither, these four only received the desired license. Two of them were teachers of theology in the college and university of the province, in the city of Manila; and both of them had lectured on theology before coming to this province – father Fray Antonio in that of España, and father Fray Guillermo in his native country of France. Thus the province has sent its best to Japon. Father Fray Francisco de Morales was for many years lecturer on theology, and at the time of his mission was prior of the convent of Manila; and father Fray Jacintho de Esquivel, father Fray Domingo de Erquicia, father Fray Lucas del Espiritu Sancto, and father Fray Diego de Rivera had all been lecturers on theology. There was great difficulty in sending these four religious to Japon, which was finally overcome by the determination of the religious. In the year 1634, some Spaniards had been cast on shore on the islands of the Lequios, which are subject to Japon. They were examined to see if they were religious or no; but, as it did not appear that they were, they were set free. Many Japanese came to them by night, asking them if they were priests to hear their confessions; and, being assured that they were not, they begged for priests to come to them. Father Fray Vincente de la Cruz and a Christian Japanese offered to take the religious whom the province might send and to make their way from the Lequios Islands to Japon. The governor, learning that the expedition was about to be equipped, burned the vessel which had been prepared, and set sentinels at the mouth of the bay to prevent the religious from setting out. By God’s aid they succeeded in eluding him, and after meeting with storms made their way to the islands of the Lequios, where they landed July 10, 1636. No certain reports have been received as to what occurred in the islands; but the fathers seem to have been arrested as soon as they revealed themselves, and to have been sent as prisoners to Japon.
On September 13, 1637, fathers Fray Guillermo Cortet, Fray Miguel Oçaraça and Fray Vicente de la Cruz, dressed in secular clothes, were brought from Satzuma to Nangasaqui, to be tried for their crime. Father Fray Antonio Gonçalez was not with them, having sailed in another vessel, and not having yet arrived. They answered boldly, declaring that they had had no assistance from any government; and that their very pilot had been a religious who had known something of seamanship before entering the order. They were subjected to terrible torture, especially the torture of water, which they bore bravely. Their tortures were prolonged, and the text describes them with fulness. On the twenty-first of the same month, father Fray Antonio Gonçalez, the superior of the religious, arrived in Nangasaqui in another funea. He was accompanied by two lay companions – one a mestizo, the son of a Chinese man and an Indian woman; the other a Japanese, who had been exiled for the faith.72 As soon as father Fray Antonio set foot on the soil, he made the sign of the cross, in sight of all the Portuguese trading there and of a great multitude of people. The holy father, being of noble stature, towered above the company about him like another Saul. He was taken directly before the judges, confessed who he was, was cruelly tortured, and subjected to insult. The mestizo at first feared the torments, but afterward plucked up his courage to endure them. The Japanese wretchedly fell away from fear. Father Fray Antonio suffered the torture of water, to which he was subjected when he was very sick of a fever; and he died in the prison, his body being burnt and the ashes cast into the sea. On the twenty-seventh of the month the prisoners were taken out to be martyred, being gagged to prevent their preaching. They were all suspended by the feet, and while they hung in their pits they chanted praises to God; and the ministers of justice, in admiration of their courage, caused them to be taken out from the holes still alive and to be beheaded, that they might no longer suffer torture. The ashes of the five holy martyrs were cast into the sea, three leguas from the port of Nangasaqui, on the same day, September 29, 1637.]
Chapter LXI
The exercises with which the Lord prepared these saints for martyrdom
[The Lord in general requires a holy life to precede a martyr’s death. Father Fray Antonio Gonçalez was a native of Leon, bred up for the Lord like another Samuel. He showed great capacity in his studies, and became the master of the students in the most religious convent of Piedrahita. Before his conversion, he was devoted to poetry and such matters, which, though they do not take away the grace of the Lord, choke the good seed of His special counsels and the way of perfection. But before long father Fray Antonio gave up these trifles, which, though they were not grave faults, were grave impediments to the perfection to which the Lord called him. Considering how God might best be pleased, it seemed to him that the best offering he could make was the offering of martyrdom. As a means to attain this end, he considered that coming to this province offered the best opportunity for becoming a martyr. He devoted himself to virtuous company, and was most useful as a minister in España. He begged his way from door to door, and set out for the Philippinas when he was just recovering from a severe illness. He was greatly given to works of mortification, and most patient, kind, and obedient. He was devoted to be service of the Rosary, and offered a special devotion, among many saints, to St. Peter Martyr, whom he desired to imitate in life and in death. His martyrdom had been predicted while he was in España.
Father Fray Guillermo Cortet was a native of Visiers, a city of France. He was the child of noble and wealthy parents. While still a young layman he heard of the glory of our holy martyrs in Japon, which made such an impression upon his heart that he determined to give up all that he had and might hope for in the world, and to assume the habit of the order which contained such saints, hoping that he himself might be one of them. He therefore requested the habit from father Fray Sebastian Michaelis, who at that time governed the strictest congregation in France. In time he professed, and became notable for religion, virtue, and learning. So closely did he observe the rule that, when the famous convent of the order in Aviñon was to be reformed, father Fray Guillermo was sent there for the purpose. All this time he was sighing for Japon, and finally set out on foot for España, making the journey in the winter through rain, cold, and snow. He was greatly esteemed in the court, but left it to come to the Philippinas as a member of the congregation. This he abandoned when he heard the convincing reasons with which the province, though obeying the most reverend general and his letters, suspended the execution of them until they could give him information as to the surreptitious manner in which they were obtained, the many impossibilities which they contained within themselves, and the harm which would be done to the work of conversion by the establishment of the congregation. The province directed him to teach theology in the college of Sancto Thomas at Manila, which he did obediently, putting aside his desire to go to Japon. That he might have more time and ease in the holy exercise of prayer, he never undressed at night during the last twenty years of his life, but slept seated in a chair. This country is infested with multitudes of annoying mosquitos; but he did not take advantage of the common means of preventing them, which is a tent, something permitted to all the religious. He would not accept one, but offered to the Lord the stings of the gnats, which is no small mortification and penance. It was no wonder that he paid small attention to the stings of mosquitos, as he often wore next to his skin a girdle bearing fifteen rosettes in honor of our Lady of the Rosary and her fifteen mysteries, with points so sharp that they drew blood when they were touched with the finger. Besides this he wore an iron chain, which was kept bright by wear and gleamed as if it were polished; and in addition to all these things he sometimes wore next his skin a hair shirt, with points of iron so cruel and large that the mere sight of them shocked some religious who happened to see them, as being the most severe thing that they had ever seen in their lives. He was most abstinent, full of devotion for the mass, and above measure humble. He was also very kind and gentle, especially to repentant sinners. He was scarcely a year in this province when his ardent desire to go to Japon was finally gratified.
Father Fray Miguel de Ozaraza was a native of Vizcaya; and because of his virtues, devotion, and prudence he was much beloved in the convent of Sancto Thomas at Madrid, where he lived for some years in great quiet, with all the comfort that a good religious could desire. But as many laymen have been moved by the desire of worldly riches to leave their comforts in España and to go to the Indias, so the desire for spiritual profit caused father Fray Miguel to come to this most distant part of the world. He was very industrious, and skilful in the management of business; and had much to do with the management of the affairs of the shipload of religious with which it was intended to begin the new congregation. When he came to the province, and more clearly understood the condition of affairs here, he left the congregation and was incorporated into the province. For this he obtained the reward of martyrdom for which he sought. No opportunity for him to go to Japon immediately offering, he was directed to learn an Indian language, and to minister to the Indians; this he did with humble obedience, not looking down upon this despised ministry. At the same time he studied the Japanese language. His fortitude in martyrdom was supernatural and divine.]
Father Fray Vicente de la Cruz, whose Japanese name was Xivozzuca, was a native of Japan, the child of devoted Christians of long standing, and was the youngest of seven brothers. He was offered to God before his birth; for, while he was still in his mother’s womb, his parents promised that, if they should have a son, they would offer him like a second Samuel to the service of the church. They bred him in this way as one dedicated to such a service, never permitting him to wear any colored clothes like other boys of his rank, that he might grow up with the sense of being dedicated to God, and of being bound to serve Him with all care and devotion. At the age of nine he was given to the fathers of the Society in fulfilment of the vow; and from that tender age began to be trained in Nangasaqui in the college of the fathers there – studying grammar, and the other moral teaching given by the fathers of the Society to those who are to aid them in their preaching. This Vicente did for many years, up to the persecution which broke out, with the fury described, in the year 1614. At this time Vicente went to Manila, when the ministers were exiled, returning soon afterwards to Japon; but like the dove in the ark, not finding a place whereon to set his foot, because of the persecution, he returned again to this city, seeking some established way in which he could serve the Lord as a minister of the church. He suffered great need, and was tempted by friends and acquaintances to change his plans and to marry; but he did not consent, preferring to be poor and needy in the house of the Lord than to live with ease among laymen. The Lord, who never fails those who put their trust in him, helped him by making him acquainted with the bishop of Zubu, Don Fray Pedro de Arce, a master of such virtue that the virtues of Vicente could not fail to advance under him. Father Fray Luis Sotelo afterwards came to this city with the purpose of taking preachers to Japon, and Vicente joined him, being prepared for every good work, even at the expense of the hardship and danger required by the preaching of the faith in Japon. It was not yet time for this holy man to suffer, and hence he was prevented by sickness from accompanying the holy martyr Fray Luis Sotelo when he went to Japon; so he remained in this country, teaching the language to the religious who were to go to that realm. In this and in all his actions his conduct was so virtuous that the Christian Japanese offered him a liberal support, so that he was ordained priest and gave them his spiritual aid, preaching to them and administering the holy sacraments. That he might live with great perfection, he followed the rule of the tertiary Order of the noble St. Francis. The expedition of these holy martyrs was about to take place, and the superior of it endeavored to have father Fray Vicente accompany and guide them, as he was a native Japanese who had had experience in the preaching of the gospel in that realm. He not only readily agreed to this, but earnestly begged for the habit of the order; and he wore it – in such manner as he could, since he was going to preach in Japon – for more than a year; he professed and suffered, as has been described. May the Lord give us for the merits and intercession of these glorious martyrs,73 and of all the other holy martyrs and confessors who have been in this province, something of the divine grace which made them such as they were. Thus, as up to this time the present members of the province have not belied the holy beginnings with which it was established, but rather seem to perfect themselves with each new increase, so may we not fall off in the future; but may our love toward God and our fellow-men, and our devotion to the rule of our order, forever preserve the perfection which has been found hitherto in the sons of the province, to the glory of the Author of all good, who is the same Lord God to whom belongs all glory forever and ever. Amen.
After the fifty years of this history were completed, there came the following letter from his Majesty, which settled the matter which had disturbed the religious of this province and kept them in affliction. This letter was received, as has been said in the history, without any representation from the province having come to the royal ears; hence it is a most certain proof that it was given by the special providence of the Lord, and by the aid of our great patroness the Virgin Mother; and that it is worthy to be placed as a conclusion to this history.