The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 | Page 3

mission.
He then relates the progress of the mission in Bohol, citing for this purpose the letters of the two missionaries there. The new converts display much devotion, and even the pagans receive the fathers kindly. Many are converted, and some of their children are trained to instruct the people in the Christian faith. Sanchez procures the destruction of many instruments of witchcraft in a certain village; and relates some marvelous cures made by administering the sacraments, and some instances of feminine virtue.
In Butuan (Mindanao) a rich harvest of souls is being gathered by Ledesma and Martinez; and even the infidels are very friendly to the new religion. The converts are very devout, and will not countenance any pagan practices. Certain miraculous cures are recorded. The practice of flagellation is maintained in the Jesuit church there, as in other places.
The Filipinos had formerly lived in perpetual warfare between the petty chiefs and their adherents; those who could remove migrated to new homes inland, and thus the mountain regions became settled. In order to reach the natives, the Jesuits at Alangalang bend all their efforts, which are soon successful, to gathering these scattered settlements into large villages--mission "reductions" like those which they had already made so noted in Paraguay and other lands. Their labors are thus more advantageously conducted, and many conversions result. At Carigara their church services are greatly aided by a native choir, who sing in both their own and the European modes. A letter from Father Enzinas praises the purity of the converted Indian women. Father Sanchez relates a notable case in his missionary labors at Barugo. The progress of the church at Ogmuc is related, with ardent praise for the piety and fervor of the converts. The infidels are steadily growing more inclined to receive the faith; and polygamy is being suppressed. A brief mission at Paloc by Father Rodriguez results in fifty baptisms; and other subsequent missions there reap a rich harvest of souls. Flagellation is a usual practice in Lent; nearly all the people have received baptism; and the converted chiefs offer atonement to all whom they may have wronged.
The record of the Dulac mission shows seven hundred baptisms in one year; and the details of some conversions are related, especially that of two deaf-mutes, whose piety is most edifying. During Holy Week the converts practice flagellation; and on one occasion one of the fathers gives his flock a practical lesson in Christian charity.
In Tinagon the Jesuits baptize, during the year ending in April, 1600, nearly a thousand persons. The number of missionaries for this field is so inadequate that they send to some villages the Indian boys who have been instructed, in order that they may teach the people the catechism and doctrine. Accounts of missionary labors and of certain conversions are given in extracts from some letters written by the fathers. All the people are friendly to the new faith, and the prospect is most encouraging.
Chirino mentions the shipwreck of the vessels bound for Mexico, and the conflict with Oliver van Noordt, in connection with which he describes the deaths and the pious lives of some Jesuits who perished therein. In 1601 Father Gregorio Lopez brings to the islands a reenforcement of nine missionaries; and their long and dangerous voyage across the Pacific, safely accomplished through the intercession of St. Ignatius, is fully described. In the same year and the next arrive also many missionaries of the other orders: Chirino praises their devotion and zeal, the fraternal spirit among the various orders, the excellent influence exerted by their members among the Spaniards in Manila, and the religious spirit exhibited by the latter; and describes various exercises of piety practiced there--the institution of a religious congregation among the students in the Jesuit college, and, later, one among the townspeople; the practice of flagellation every week during the year, as well as in Lent; attendance at Sunday afternoon sermons; the choice of patron saints by lot; etc. The particulars of certain conversions and virtuous acts are also related--especially the conversion of the Dutch prisoners captured from van Noordt.
The Indians in Manila, who are largely in care of the Jesuits, are devout by nature, and much inclined to confession and other pious exercises. A confraternity among them accomplishes many pious and benevolent works, and exerts a great influence on those outside it. In the Taytay mission there is cheering progress, and many of the mountain Indians, hitherto infidels, are converted and baptized. The visitor Garcia has founded at Antipolo a hospital, and a seminary for boys, both of great assistance to the missionaries' labors.
Toward the end of 1600 the bishop of Cebu holds a council of secular clergy and missionaries, wherein their work is better planned and regulated, and various salutary enactments are made for the diocese.