History of the Province of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine of the Order of the Augustinian Recollects.

The Recollects in the Philippines began the 18th century with five convents – three in Manila, plus Cavite and Cebu – and about twenty missions scattered throughout the Archipelago. During the first seven decades of the century, this field of work did not undergo substantial changes.

The state of anxiety due to a lack of personnel, which seems to be an endemic issue, also did not undergo major changes. By the middle of the 18th century, there were few ministries where there were two priests. In 1784, the Province had 54 priests and 8 brothers, but the number of religious suitable for pastoral work was much fewer.

This was not due to a lack of intellectual capacity, technical competence, or apostolic zeal. The determining factor was the living conditions, which resulted in a high rate of mortality and morbidity among the religious.

Half of them succumbed before reaching 45 years of age. Of the 358 religious who died in the 18th century, 143 (40%) died before reaching the age of 40; and 35 (10%), between 40 and 45. The remaining 180 did exceed 45 years, but only a few reached 55.

In addition to this, there was the imminent danger of death posed, on the one hand, by the incessant Moro attacks; and, on the other, by the constant shipwrecks. Only in this century were there more than 50 shipwrecked Recollects, many of whom perished.

1. Mindanao, Palawan, Calamianes, Mindoro, Romblón

The activity of The Recollects in Mindanao changed substantially in 1769, when the Jesuits were expelled from there. Until then, the Province had maintained eight religious there, who attended to about 14,000 inhabitants. Now, eight more were sent, in substitution of the eight Jesuits.

By then, both that large island and the entire southeast of the Archipelago were on the verge of collapse. The calm had ended in 1718, when the Spanish Government rebuilt the fortress of Zamboanga, at the southern tip of Mindanao, pointing towards Joló. From the perspective of the Moros, it was seen as an aggression, and this triggered their incursions again.

Throughout practically the whole century, the letters of the provincial priors seemed like war reports. Time and again they spoke of deaths and captivities, of the ruin of houses and crops, of how to intensify vigilance, of the construction of bulwarks and forts, of the distribution of weapons, clothes, and food.

One letter, for example, dated June 12, 1796, certified the death of 150 people and the captivity of another 400 during the last two years. And, from July 1797 to the same month in 1799, there would still be the death of another 80 people and the captivity of 200 to be lamented.

The same happened in Palawan and the Calamianes, which the Recollects had taken charge of again, at the request of the authorities in Manila, in November 1680. Everything lay in the greatest spiritual and material prostration.

Another era of terror began, which would last until the middle of the 19th century. During these two centuries, the missionaries and faithful of Palawan, Mindanao, Mindoro, and Romblón were going to be easy and constant prey to the Moros.

The religious were the first to pay the consequences. First, with their lives. Already between 1720 and 1750, 13 religious had succumbed at the hands of the Moros. And, between 1752 and 1784, another 16 were captured.

And, of course, their activity changed radically, moving on two fronts. On the one hand, they were in charge of defence against pirates, they raised bulwarks, organized volunteer corps, and consumed a good part of their resources in the acquisition of the most indispensable weapons.

On the other hand, the missionary had to attend to the faithful who had sought refuge far from the coasts, sheltered in the mountains. Because, in that situation, they ran the risk of relaxing in their life of piety and even returning to the practice of superstitions and pagan customs. The religious went up to the mountain from time to time and ventured into the fields. There they baptized, legitimized marriages, and encouraged the practice of Christian life.

In reality, both the instruction and the Christian life of the group, on a day-to-day basis, were left to the mercy of the zeal and enlightenment of some pious person who, fortunately, was not lacking in any village. They were in charge of presiding over the rosary prayer on Sundays, teaching prayers to children, and even administering baptism to newborns.

2. Bohol and the Mariana Islands

The Recollects also arrived on the island of Bohol, replacing the Jesuits, after these were expelled. It was the year 1768, and the island was hostage to the confrontations between the authorities and rebel groups that sowed terror and death in the villages.

The arrival of the Recollects was a magnificent occasion to attempt pacification; although, no matter how much effort they made, they did not achieve much.

Upon arrival, the Recollects agreed with the faithful to follow the traditions inherited from the Jesuits; they only changed the title of the Marian congregations typical of the Ignatian charism, which became Confraternities of Consolation. For the first time, all the parishes of a region entrusted to the Order had this confraternity.

The nine missions attended by the Jesuits in 1768 became eleven in 1799, and those attended rose from 30,430 to 64,708. Ordinarily, nine Recollects resided on the island, one in each Parish. In addition to worship and pastoral care, each parish priest directed and financed with church funds two schools, one for boys and one for girls, in which children learned to read, write, and were instructed in Christian doctrine.

The Province also took charge of the Jesuit ministries in Guam. The first three missionaries arrived, coming from Manila, in 1769. And, the following year, three more joined them who travelled from Mexico. At the end of the century, the parishioners would be about 6,000, spread over four locations: Agaña, Agat, Merizo, and Umátac.

3. Imus and Las Piñas

At the origin of the ministry of Imus, located in the province of Cavite, there was an economic issue. The finances of the Province of Saint Nicholas were always precarious. The missions could hardly maintain their ministers and the rents of the convents did not reach to cover their ordinary needs. Any calamity or project unbalanced the budget and forced to resort to loans.

It became necessary to invest in real estate. Specifically, in 1685 the Province acquired at public auction the estate of Imus, which it gradually developed, to optimize its performance. At this time, Brother Lucas de Jesús María (1722-1792) built the dam of Casundit, the most important hydraulic work carried out in the entire Archipelago in the 18th century. More than 70 hectares of land would soon be irrigated.

Around the estate, the town of Imus was formed, which housed 500 families and had a parish house and a stone church.

Towards the middle of the century, the Recollects felt the need to assume the spiritual direction of the estate, erecting in it a Parish independent of that of Cavite. This project would gain new strength with the destruction of the Manila convent of San Juan de Bagumbayan (1762).

Finally, in 1795, the civil and ecclesiastical authority welcomed a formal request from the City Council and, by common agreement, erected the Parish of Imus, which they entrusted to the Recollects.

In the area of influence of the estate of Imus, a stone’s throw from Manila, was Las Piñas, which at the end of the 18th century was nothing more than a shelter for criminals.

In 1795, the Province managed to establish it as a Parish, and took great pains to put at its head eminent religious figures, of the stature of Diego Cera, for 35 years (1797-1831) or of the very Saint Ezequiel Moreno (1876-1880).

4. Unity in Dispersion

When the 18th century closed, the Province of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine shepherded 140,000 souls in 10 provinces of the Filipino Archipelago, plus the activity of the five convents, plus the missions of the Marianas, 2,500 km. from Manila. These were times of slow, irregular, and insecure communications. The question arose as to how to articulate the pastoral action of the Province.

As far as internal life was concerned, the religious followed the same norms – Constitutions, Ritual, Ceremonial -which channelled the ordinary flow of their communities. They could be observed with more or less rigor, but they were a common pattern; as were the Ordinations of the provincial Chapters, which the representatives of the friars attended every three years.

Dispersion could have occurred more easily in relation to pastoral activity, due to the variety of environments and dioceses. But that danger was conjured by the authority vested in the figure of the prior provincial.

Beyond his personal gifts, often eminent, by virtue of his office, he stands before the King of Spain as the one responsible for all the ministries of the Province; the universal minister of all our missions, as it was said. He makes the appointments, judges the suitability of each one, and removes them when he deems it appropriate. The missionaries are his delegates, and they report to him or his regional vicar.

The prior provincial also has the imperative obligation to visit his friars, with the aim of encouraging them, while supervising their work. Certainly, canonical visits are very beneficial, but they are also full of difficulties and dangers. They involve no less than 6,000 kilometres of sailing or rowing through seas that are often treacherous, and always exposed to a thousand contingencies.

Finally, on the other hand, since the distant year of 1625, the Province has been governed by the so-called “Mode of Administration”, to which all missionaries must adjust their action. This document is reviewed in the provincial chapters. With the appropriate periodic updates, it will remain in force until 1898.

The perilous life of the Recollect missionary in the Philippines during the 17th century. Painting by Pastor Paloma, OAR. Mission Museum of Marcilla, Navarra, Spain.

Cannons, falconets and forts

In 1790, Joaquín Encabo, who would later become the bishop of Cebu and was at that time the Recollect prior provincial, distributed supplies and ammunition among the towns of Mindanao:

“To the town of Cantilan, he allocated a cannon with a four-inch barrel, three cannons with two-inch barrels, and one with a one-inch barrel; to the towns on Siargao Island, two falconets with two-inch calibres and one with a one-inch calibre; to the district of Bislig, two falconets with two-inch calibres and one with a half-inch calibre; to the newly established town of Gingoog, a one-inch calibre falconet along with a sufficient number of bullets and charge bags for the aforementioned cannons”.

(General Arquive of Indias, Seville: Filipinas 1054A).

Around 1739, Governor General Fernando Valdés informed the Spanish King about the condition of the forts in the Philippines, sending a map and description of the 25 that existed at the time. All were funded by the Royal Treasury, except for the five constructed and maintained by the Recollects.

One of these was Fort San Andres in Romblon, built in the 17th century by Padre Capitán. It is still partially preserved to this day.

The other four forts are situated in the Calamianes Islands and were built by the same architect, Father Juan de San Severo, who constructed them circa 1683. The fort in Culion was nearly demolished to expand the church. The forts in Cuyo and Agutaya housed the Augustinian Recollects until November 1973, which is why both are in a relatively good state of preservation.

The fifth fort is on Linapacan Island, and some remnants of it remain today.

NEXT PAGE: 4. 19th Century: The Philippines, Zenith, and Collapse

TABLE OF CONTENT
History of the Province of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine:
‘Always in mission’

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR