Historical and biographical review of some of the main figures of the Province of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine of the Order of Augustinian Recollects from its foundation to the present day.
Rodrigo de San Miguel was born in 1584 in Valladolid, Spain. After his studies in the convents of Portillo and Nava del Rey, he enrolled at the University of Salamanca in 1604. There, encouraged by his cousin, a Franciscan friar, he joined the first Recollect missionary expedition to the Philippines, arriving there in 1606. During the ten-month voyage, he completed his studies and was ordained as a priest upon his arrival in the Philippines.
In the Philippines
His first assignment was in Mariveles, Bataan, from where he proceeded to Zambales. He administered almost a thousand baptisms annually, founded towns, and constructed churches and convents. He learned the Tagalog and Zambal languages and authored a Zambal grammar, a glossary, poems, and a play.
In July 1614, he was sent to Spain to recruit missionaries. The Council of the Indies authorized twenty missionaries, but he returned to Cavite in 1618 with only four, along with books and the Lady of Mount Carmel icon from Mexico City.
Until 1622, he fulfilled the roles of a superior, Ecclesiastical Censor of Books, and author of the General History and Conquest of the Philippines. He completed the construction of the Convent in Intramuros, Manila, founded those in Cebu and San Sebastian, took on the missions of Mindanao and Palawan, and prepared for the mission to Japan.
En route to Rome
He left Manila on 24 December 1622 and arrived in Orio, Guipúzcoa, Spain four years later, in five stages. The first leg, lasting three months, took him from Manila to Malacca. The second leg began in January 1624 and concluded in Goa. The third took him from Goa to Basra, Iraq, where he arrived in 1625. His fourth leg ended in Rome.
During his travels, he mastered navigation, geography, cartography, history, and ethnology. He meticulously documented everything he observed, heard, or read, depicting both sea and land in their natural states.
In Basra, he collaborated with the Augustinians and Carmelites in evangelizing the Mandaeans. In 1625, twenty-five Mandaean leaders signed a document converting to Catholicism, and Fray Rodrigo was tasked with delivering this document to the Pope.
In Rome, he received a warm reception, and nearly all his proposals were approved. Pope Urban VIII met with him twice, entrusted him with a mission among the Mandaeans, and instructed him to document his experiences, which he did in his work, Conversion of the Philippines and Japan.
The Last Journey
Fray Rodrigo set out to implement his plans, but Divine Providence had other designs. In Genoa, his health began to fail. Despite numerous challenges, he managed to reach Orio. There, in the land of his forefathers, he gave up his soul to his Creator on 26 December 1626, at the age of 42.
