Volume I: 530-551 (1549) – Polanco's Chronicon

v1_530-551latin 1549F 530. Ex his regibus quidam, qui alios potentia antecellit et amicissimum se Lusitanis ostendit, Rex est Ternatis sive Maluci (nam ea insula Ternate, quia inter Malucas primas tenet, Maluci nomine censetur), qui publice dixit, velle se filium quemdam suum Christianum facere. Hic ergo ad arcem Lusitanorum veniens, cum praeside et Patre Joanne de Beyra locutus, afirmavit velle se quod promiserat implere, et quod ea de re vellet ad Regem Portugalliae et Gubernatorem Indiae scribere; et ab eis petebat, ut et ipsi scriberent, ut aliqua quae ipse postulabat obtineret. Erat etiam aliqua spes de primogenito ejus filio ad Christianam fidem adducendo, quem facile subditi sequerentur. Volebat autem Rex filium suum ad nostrum Collegium Goam dimittere; sed quia classis nulla eo anno proficiscebatur, id distulit, in sequenti cum nobilibus aliquot adolescentibus eum missurus. Jam hoc anno Indiae Gubernator litteras miserat, quibus hunc filium Regis Ternate omnibus praeficiebat, qui ad Christum converterentur, et auxilio patris ejus ac lusitanorum subigerentur, et hactenus conversi essent, dummodo Christianus ipse fieret; quod si primogenitus Regis ad fidem christianam etiam converteretur, petebat Rex Maluci gratiam a Rege Portugalliae ipsi concedi, ut ipse praeesset omnibus, qui in posterum converterentur, minor autem omnibus, jam conversis. 530. One of these kings, who is more powerful than the others and showed himself friendly to the Portuguese, is the King of Ternate or Maluku (for the island of Ternate, because it is the main one among the Malukus, is used to refer to all the islands); he said publicly that he wanted to make his son a Christian. Therefore he went to the fortress of the Portuguese, and spoke with the commander and with Fr. John de Beyra. He affirmed that he wanted to do what he had promised, and for this reason he wanted to write to the King of Portugal and to the Governor of India; and he asked them to write so that he might obtain something he was asking for. For there was some hope of bringing his eldest son to the Christian faith, so that then his subjects would easily follow him. But the King wanted to send his son to our College in Goa; however, because no fleet departed from there this year, he delayed the matter, and intended to send him with several nobles youths in the following year. Now in this year the Governor of India had sent a letter in which he put this son of the King in charge of all the others who converted to Christ, and they were brought to this by the help of his father and the Portuguese, but they would not convert unless he himself became a Christian. But if the first-born son of the King also converted to the Christian faith, the King of Maluku sought that this favor should be granted to him by the King of Portugal, namely, that he preside over all who are converted in the future, but not over all those who have already become converts. v1_530-551latin 1549F 531. Erat in ea civitate Maluci cum Patre Joanne de Beyra frater Nicolaus et cum se ab infirmitate refecit Pater Joannes, lusitanis viris, eorum uxoribus, filiis, et familiis, ac servis perutilem operam impendebat, diversis concionibus pro eorum captu eos instruens, prout Pater Franciscus Xavier praecedenti anno fecerat. Et non parum recreabat Joannem quod foeminae neophytae sacramentorum Confessionis et Communionis capaces se exhibebant; et lusitanorum uxores, quae indigenae erant, cum suis consanguineis ac ejusdem patriae personis non parum elaborabant, ut ad Christi religionem eas adducerent. Sed et Nicolaus, dum legere et scribere, et grammaticam etiam cum bonis moribus pueros docet, et quidem magno cum fructu, sublevatum ab hoc onere Patrem Joannem liberiorem ad praedicationem et confessiones et discordiarum conciliationes relinquebat. 531. Brother Nicholas was in the city of Maluku with Fr. John de Beyra and when Fr. John recovered from his illness he gave much assistance to the Portuguese men, to their wives, sons, families and servants, by instructing them in various sermons geared to their level of understanding, as Fr. Francis Xavier had done in the previous year. And Fr. John was greatly encouraged, because the neophyte women showed themselves capable of receiving the sacraments of Confession and Communion. And the wives of the Portuguese, who were natives of the area, worked diligently with their relatives and persons of the same fatherland to bring them to the religion of Christ. But Nicholas, because he was teaching the boys to read and to write and also to learn some grammar and good morals, relieved Fr. John of this task so that he was left free to preach, hear confessions and establish peace among enemies. v1_530-551latin 1549F 532. Lusitani saeculares, dum per has insulas Malucas sua negotia conficiunt, indigenas earum non paucos ad Christi fidem adduxerunt, et baptismum etiam petentibus impenderunt; sed quia sacerdotes secum non habebant, et ipsi rebus nauticis et militaribus potius quam doctrinae tradendae apti erant, sine ullo doctrinae Christianae praesidio eos reliquerunt. Inter hos et Macazares nonnulli, et caelebes, et ex aliis insulis exstiterunt; itaque ea messis parata admodum erat, si Dominus operarios in vineam suam mittere dignatus esset, quos tamen maturos esse moribus ac spiritu omnino opus est. Ut hujusmodi homines posset Pater Joannes invisere ac docere, petiit a Patre Francisco ut Regi Maluci scriberet (quia ipsi amicitia conjunctissimus erat) ut navigia nostris ad hunc usum necessaria subministraret. 532. The Portuguese laymen, while they were doing their business throughout these islands, brought not a few of the natives to faith in Christ, and they also baptized those who asked for it. But because they did not have priests with them, and they were trained in nautical and military matters rather than the handing on of doctrine, they left them without any support of Christian doctrine. Among them were some Macazares and inhabitants from the other islands. Therefore the harvest was ready, if the Lord would deign to send workers into his vineyard, but it was necessary that they should be advanced in morals and the spiritual life. So that Fr. John might be able to visit and teach these people, he asked Fr. Francis to write to the King of Maluku (because they were close friends) and ask him to provide ours with the boats necessary for this work. v1_530-551latin 1549F 533. Alloquutus est eumdem Joannes nomine Patris Francisci Xavier ut bona quaedam sua ad instituendam domum puerorum , qui in christiano catechismo instituerentur, applicaret; qui, cum hujusmodi pium opus ei proponeretur, laetissimo animo omnia sua obtulit bona ad institutionem hujusmodi Collegii, ubi Christianorum filii legere et scribere et quae ad aeternam salutem necessaria sunt discere possent; et horum bonorum fructus administrari a Societate nostra voluit ad usum praedicti Collegii; quod si Societas nollet hoc onus admittere, tunc confraternitati Misericordiae eamdem administrationem ad usum Collegii praefati relinquebat, ut scilicet simplices et doctrinae indigentes victu et vestitu et doctrina institui possent, tam qui ex eadem insula quam qui ex aliis ad Christi religionem accederent; et novam quamdam domum ad id deputavit; quamvis, si quae alia aptior inventa esset, transferendi Collegium in illam facultatem reliquit; et jam hoc ipso anno aliqui pueri christiani ex insulis Mauri, et quidem ex nobilioribus illius regionis, in novum hoc Collegium admissi cum suis servis fuerunt. 533. In the name of Fr. Francis Xavier, Fr. John exhorted the same King to donate some of his goods for the establishment of a home for boys, who would be instructed in the Christian catechism; when this pious work was proposed to him, he gladly offered everything necessary for the erection of this College, where the sons of Christians could learn to read and to write and the things that are necessary for eternal salvation. And he wanted the fruit of these goods to be administered by our Society for the use of the said College; but he said that, if the Society did not want to accept this task, then he left the same administration to the Confraternity of Mercy for the use of the College, so that those who are simple and lacking in food, and clothing and doctrine can be instructed; this was to be for those who came to the religion of Christ from the same island and also from the other islands. He designated a new house for this purpose, although, if another more suitable place were to be found, he said that the College should be moved to that facility. And already in this year some Christian boys from the islands of Mauri, and indeed from the more noble families of that region, were admitted with their servants into this new College. [1. Res in India hoc anno gestas, quarum breve certe compendium texuit Polancus, continentur Xaverii, Lancilotti, Joannis de Beira, Henrici Henriquez et aliorum litteris hoc anno et sequentis initio in Europam missis; quarum aliquas nondum editas cum nos edemus, indicarum vocum, quibus scatent, rectam scribendorum rationem et sensum dabimus, plura etiam geographica, quoad ejus fieri poterit, elucidabimus. Tunc enim, postquam illas litteras viderit, breviori multo declaratione ad illa recta intelligenda diligens lector indigebit. — Ignatius Francisco Xaverio, de Antonio Gomez a munere alios regendi removendo, de rebus Portugalliae, de impedimentis, quae ne Henricus Henriquez et alii duo in Societatem cooptareritur obstabant, 11 Novembris;Polancus, ex commissione, eidem, de iisdem impedimentis, eadem die; idem Patri Cosmo de Torres et Paulo Japonensi; idem Francisco Xaverio, eadem die, de uno caeteris praeficiendo ubicumque sint duo vel plures, de mediis propagandae in India et Japonia Societatis, de collegiis, de studiis, de novitiis, de dimittendis; Ignatii patentes litterae, quibus Xaverium Provincialem constituit Indiarum Regis Portugalliae, Brasilia, Africa, Aethiopia exceptis; idem eidem de Goënsi Episcopo, de fratre Vincentio, et de indulgentiis, 11 Novembris. — Ignatius Nicolao Lancilotto, eadem fere quae Xaverio, et se precibus commendat Antonii Criminalis et aliorum; idem Vicario Coccinensi, officiose, eadem die; Polancus Lucae Giraldi, Ulyssiponem, harum litterarum fasciculum ei mittens et ut in Indiam tuto transmittendum curet injungens, eadem die; Ignatii Francisco Xaverio, patentes litterae, ut possit aliis facultates Societati concessas communicare, mense Decembri 49; similes Rectori Goënsi; idem Episcopo Coccinensi, ei gratias pro beneficiis in socios collatis agens, de facultatibus, quas Xaverio et aliis mittit earumque usu, de mittendis Roma et ex Portugallia in Indiam, 24 Decembris; Polancus, ex commissione, fratri Vincentio, eadem fere scribit, quae Ignatius Episcopo, eadem die 49.
The things done in India this year, about which Polanco composed a brief summary, are contained in the letters of Xavier, Lancillott, John de Beyra, Henry Henriquez and others which were sent to Europe during this year and at the beginning of the following year. We will give the right way of spelling some of the things which were not yet published when we went to press, since they abound in Indian names unknown to us; we will also clarify many geographical places as much as possible. For then, after he has seen those names, the careful reader will need only a very brief explanation in order to understand the text.Ignatius to Francis Xavier, about removing Antonio Gomez from the office of governing others, about things in Portugal, about impediments which impede the admission of Henry Henriquez and two others into the Society, November 11; Polanco, ex commissione, to the same, on the same impediments, on the same day; the same to Fr. Cosmo de Torres and to Paul, the Japanese man; the same to Francis Xavier, on the same day, on placing one man over others wherever there are two or more, on the ways of expanding the Society in India and Japan, on the Colleges, on studies, on novices, on dismissing members; the official letter of Ignatius with which he appoints Xavier as the Provincial of Indies of the King of Portugal, with the exception of Brazil, Africa and Ethiopia; the same to the same on the Bishop of Goa, on Brother Vincent, and on indulgences, November 11.Ignatius to Nicholas Lancillott, almost the same as what he wrote to Xavier, and he commends himself to the prayers of Antonio Criminalis and others; the same to the Vicar of Cochin, courteously, on the same day; Polanco to Luke Giraldi, in Lisbon, sending him a bundle of these letters and ordering him to have them safely sent to India, on the same day; Ignatius to Francis Xavier, an official letter, so that he is able to communicate to others faculties granted to the Society, in December 1549; a similar letter to the Rector in Goa; the same to the Bishop of Cochin, giving thanks to him for the benefits bestowed on the companions, on the faculties, which he is sending to Xavier and to others and their use, and which are being sent from Rome and from Portugal to India, December 24; Polanco, ex commissione, to Brother Vincent, and he includes almost the same things as Ignatius did to the Bishop, on the same day in 1549.] v1_530-551latin 1549F 534. Hoc ipso anno 1549 in Insulam Ormuz, paulo ante Patris Francisci discessum ex insula Goae, Pater Gaspar Franciscus missus est. Voluit illi quidem Pater Franciscus gubernationem Collegii Goënsis et aliorum ex nostris, qui in India versantur, committere; sed cum ille onus hujusmodi, tanquam suis humeris impar, sibi non imponi impetrasset, in praedictam insulam, qui peccatorum multitudine et doctrinae penuria valde laborabat et sexcentis leucis Goa distabat, Patrem Gasparem dimisit, libenter ipse eo iturus, nisi Japonensis missio ipsi suscipienda visa esset. Adjunctus est socius Raymundus Pereira, et in navi dominicis diebus concionabatur, et quotidie servos utriusque sexus et pueros catechismum docebat, litanias noctu, et Salve Regina diebus sabbati, cantabat; et cum in ipsa hebdomada sancta processionem puerorum flagellis se caedentium instituisset et multas confessiones audivisset, is fervor saracenos, judaeos, et gentiles, qui in eadem navi versabantur, in magnam admirationem adduxit et aliqui ex eis ad Christum conversi sunt. Duos menses in ea navigatione cum magna fame et siti et periculis consumpserunt; pluvia tamen e coelo missa ubertim et caricis ex maritimo quodam loco Arabiae felicis (Chalayate dicitur) collectis, praesenti necessitati, Deo propitio, consuluerunt. Cum in aestu gravissimo, concionum et confessionum laboribus die noctuque conficeretur Pater Gaspar (vix enim tres horas quieti noctu impendebat), non paucis exhortationibus amici eum ad moderationem adducere nitebantur; sed charitas et hominum necessitas et ipsa experientia, quod ex laboribus, qui alibi distrahere solent, ibi potius spiritus collectio sequebatur, consuetas exercitationes remittere non sinebant. Pervenerunt Maschatem, quod oppidum est in maritima ora Arabiae felicis, ubi complures Lusitanorum invenit, qui inter saracenos decem et duodecim annos sine peccatorum confessione vixerant. Ibi bis concionatus est, Gubernatore ejus regionis et aliis multis audientibus, et, absoluta concione, ad confessiones audiendas illorum hominum, qui in extrema spirituali necessitate constituti videbantur, invitatus est; et rogatu Gubernatoris, navis praefectus diem unum amplius quam statuerat ibi commoratus est, ut confessiones plurimorum Pater Gaspar audire posset. Concubinae multae, matrimonio alibi conjunctae, separatae fuerunt; usurae plurimae, quas cum saracenis exercebant, sublatae. 534. In this year of 1549 Fr. Gaspar Francis was sent to the Island of Ormuz shortly before Fr. Francis departed from Goa. Fr. Francis wanted to commit to him the governing of the College in Goa and of our other members working in India; but since he pleaded that this burden was too heavy for his shoulders and that it not be imposed on him, he sent Fr. Gaspar to that island, which is about six hundred miles from Goa and suffers greatly from a multitude of sinners and a lack of Christian teaching. He was very willing to go there, unless it seemed better for him to undertake the mission to Japan. Raymund Pereira went with him as his companion, and on Sundays he preached on the ship, and every day he taught catechism to the boys and servants of both sexes; in the evening he sang the litanies and on Sundays the Salve Regina. And since in Holy Week he formed a procession of boys beating themselves with scourges, and heard many confessions, this fervor caused great admiration among the Saracens, Jews and Gentiles who were on the same ship, and some of them were converted to Christ. They spent two months in that navigation with much hunger, thirst and amidst dangers; however, rain sent from heaven abundantly and some dry figs found on the seacoast of fruitful Arabia (it is called “Chalayate”), by the help of God, satisfied their need. Since in the intense heat Fr. Gaspar was totally occupied day and night with sermons and confessions (for he hardly had three hours of rest during the night), his friends tried with many exhortations to get him to moderate his activities; but charity and the needs of the people, which can be a distraction in some circumstances, did not cause him to cut back on his usual activities. They arrived at Maschat, which is a town on the seacoast of fertile Arabia, where he found many Portuguese who had lived among the Saracens for ten or twelve years without the confession of their sins. There he preached twice, while the Governor of the region and many others were in the audience, and after the sermon he was asked to hear the confessions of those men, who seemed to find themselves in extreme spiritual necessity. And at the request of the Governor, the captain of the ship agreed to remain there for one more day than he had planned, so that Fr. Gaspar could hear the confessions of many more people. Many concubines, joined in matrimony elsewhere, were sent away; much interest paid for money borrowed, which they took from the Saracens, was returned. v1_530-551latin 1549F 535. Ormuzium deinde pervenit, quod regnum est in sinu persico Arabiam a Perside dividente constitutum. Bazora, ubi modo turcae resident, regni caput est; sed in ipsa civitate Ormuz Rex habitat, qui potentissimus esse solebat. Civitas est populo frequens, et inter ditissimas orbis numeranda; unde accidit ut vitiis ac peccatis nulli cedat. Est hoc regnum prope Babyloniam, quae Bageda nunc dicitur, quam turca a Soldano Babyloniae cepit, quem modo Chateamas vocant et Persiae dominatur. Tam validus est aestus Ormuzii, ut Minae, Ghineae, insulae Sancti Thomae, et Melindae, cum sint sub aequinoctiali, multo minores aestus patiantur; quod exhalationibus, quae ab inferiori parte siccae et aridae insurgunt, adscribitur; nam tota ea insula sal est, quo tamen saliri nihil potest, quin corrumpatur. Gemmarum fodinas habet, arbores fere nullas, nec herbas; nec aves ibidem aluntur, nec animalia quadrupedia; nec ullus aquae dulcis fons ibi est; homines die noctuquo in aestate in magnis vasis aquae versantur, vultu tantum ab aqua stantes; salubris tamen est ille locus, forte propter sudorem, quo mali humores diu noctuque expelluntur. Contremuit ad adventum Patris Gasparis ea civitas validissime, cuius occasione in suis concionibus homines ad poenitentiam excitavit. Emporium ibi est celeberrimum; foenoris usus nimius; qui decem ducatos habet, ex illorum fructu per totum annum vivit. Ter singulis hebdomadis concionabatur Gaspar et quotidie fidei rudimenta pueros cum servis docebat, quos bis per plateas quotidie cymbalo in ecclesiam convocabat. Initio bis fuit a saracenis saxis petitus, et luto aspersus; sed postea, cum ad restitutiones maximas Christianos movisset, quas saracenis, et judaeis, et gentilibus ex aequo faciendas praedicabat, carus etiam eisdem saracenis esse coepit, quorum multi a sua dementia resipuerunt; et cum eum pauperi ac vili cultu indutum viderent, pretiosas ei vestes obtulerunt, quas tamen ipse repudiavit, paupertatem se diligere contestans; disputabat diebus sabbati in sinagogis cum judaeis, qui eum Zachariae filium appellabant; nec sine fructu disputationes cum illis fuerunt ab eo institutae. Praefecto et lusitanis tam acceptus erat ut etiam infideles in gravioribus negotiis, quae cum praefecto arcis habebant, nullum aliud perfugium quam Patrem Gasparem habere viderentur. Distat Ormuz unius mensis itinere Hierosolymis. Versantur ibi tureae, rutheni, poloni, et brachmanes, guzaretes etiam, qui olim gedrozii dicti sunt, abexini etiam, qui Christiani sunt sub Rege Aethiopiae. Erant et aliqui ex judaeis, qui expulsi ex Hispaniis Venetias et inde Ormuzium penetrarunt, inter quos quidam, Salamon nomine, in veteri Testamento valde exercitatus erat, cum quo crebro Pater Gaspar disputabat. Sunt et armeni, qui, quamvis Christiani sint, saracenorum vestibus et cidari (turbante vocant) utuntur, et variis linguis loquuntur, et ubi se in aliquam regionem conferunt, ad ejus morem et cultum plus satis se accommodant. Duo ex eis intempesta nocte ad Patrem Gasparem venerunt, rogantes ut fratrem morti vicinum viseret. Eadem hora cum eis profectus hominis confessionem audivit, qui paulo post eam peractam exspiravit et in consecrato loco sepultus est. 535. Then he arrived at Ormuz, which is a kingdom situated in the Persian Gulf separating Arabia from Persia, where now Turks reside and it is the capital of the kingdom. The King lives in the city of Ormuz, and he is known to be very powerful. The city is full of people, and it is numbered among the richest cities in the world. Hence it happens that it is not inferior to others in vices and sins. This kingdom is near Babylonia, which is now called Bageda, which the Turks took from Soldano of Babylon; they now call it Chateamus and it dominates Persia. So intense is the heat of Ormuz that Minae, [2. Sic clare in mss.; quae autem regio sub aequinoctiali coelo posita isto vocabulo designetur non reperimus. Nisi forte mendum sit pro binae Ghineae, scil., nova et vetus.
Thus clearly in the mss.; but this region placed under the equator we do not find designated with this word. Unless perhaps it is a mistake for binae Ghineae, that is, new and old.] Ghineae, the islands of St. Thomas, and of Melinda, since they are below the equator, experience much less heat. This is attributed to vapors coming up from the lower part of this dry and arid land; for, the whole island is salt, so nothing can sprout up without being corrupted. It has mines of precious gems, almost no trees or shrubs; birds do not live there, nor four-footed animals. There is no fount of sweet water there; day and night in the heat men sit in huge containers of water, with only their head above the water; but the place is healthy, perhaps because of the sweat, by which the bad fluids are expelled from the body day and night. The city was very much afraid of the arrival of Fr. Gaspar, because in his sermons he stirred up men to repentance. The market there is famous; the rate of interest on money is very high; a man who has ten ducats can live off their interest for a whole year. Gaspar preached three times a week and every day he taught the fundamentals of the faith to the boys with their servants, whom he called together twice a day from the streets by ringing the church bell. In the beginning he was attacked by the Saracens twice with stones, and they also spit on him; but later, when he motivated the Christians to make significant restitutions, which he preached that they should do out of fairness to the Saracens, and to the Jews and to the Gentiles, he began to be dear to the same Saracens, many of whom had a change of heart. And when they saw him wearing poor and patched clothing, they offered him expensive clothes, which he refused to accept, while saying that he loved poverty. On Saturdays he argued with the Jews in the synagogues, and they called him the son of Zechariah. And the debates instituted by him with them were not without fruit. He was so honored by the prefect and the Portuguese that even the pagans in the serious negotiations, which they had with the captain of the fortress, seemed to have no other refuge except Fr. Gaspar. Ormuz is a month’s journey from Jerusalem. Living there are Turks, Ruthenians, Poles, and Brahmins, also Guzaretes, who formerly were called Gedrozi, also Abexini, who are Christians under the King of Ethiopia. There were some Jews, who were expelled from Spain to Venice and from there came to Ormuz; among them was a man named Solomon, who was very well versed in the Old Testament, and Fr. Gaspar debated with him frequently. There are also some Armenians who, even though they are Christians, wear the clothes and head dress of the Saracens (they call it a turban). They speak various languages, and when they find themselves in some region, they adapt themselves to the local customs and culture. Two of them in the dead of night came to Fr. Gaspar and asked him to visit a brother near death. Immediately he departed with them and heard the man’s confession; he died a short time afterwards and was buried in consecrated ground. v1_530-551latin 1549F 536. Jogues, qui eremitarum nostrorum vitam imitantur, magno ibi in honore habebantur, imo et a plebe adorabantur. Habitant illi extra urbem in speluncis sub terram penitus demersis; corpus suum et cibum, quo vescuntur, semper cinere aspergunt; rogati causam, quare id faciant, respondent quod et ipsi ex cinere sint. Sanctissimae Trinitatis, Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti divinitatem agnoscunt, et disputatione atque exhortatione Patris Gasparis valde commoti sunt ut caeteris in rebus etiam Christianam Religionem sequerentur. Differebant id tamen, quia quemdam a se spectari dicerent, qui summam apud eos auctoritatem habebat, ut cum ipsius consilio ac voluntate christiani fierent. Hi Jogues, cum esuriunt, propius ad moenia civitatis accedunt, nec tamen eam ingrediuntur, et tamdiu cornu pulsant, donec aliquis cibum afferat, quo vescuntur; nec interim eis licet, ea quae superant, in sequentem diem reservare. 536. The “Jogues,” who imitate the life of our hermits, are held in great honor there, and in fact they are worshipped by the people. They live outside the city in caves deep under the ground; they always sprinkle with ashes their body and the food they eat. When asked the reason why they do this, they respond that it is because they are made out of dust. They acknowledge the divinity of the Holy Trinity, of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and they were very much moved by the arguments and exhortations of Fr. Gaspar so that in other things they also would follow the Christian religion. However, they postponed it, because they said a certain man was to be consulted by them, who has great authority among them, so that with his counsel and will they would become Christians. When these Jogues are hungry, they go up close to the walls of the city, but they do not enter it, and they blow a horn until someone gives them food, which they eat; and they are not allowed to keep for the next day anything that is left over. v1_530-551latin 1549F 537. Praefectus arcis cubiculum in hospitali conficiendum Patri Gaspari curavit, cum tecto pro more illius gentis aperto, nam aestate super tecta illi dormiunt. Tam frequens autem hominum concursus ad eum confluebat, vel confessionum vel consiliorum capiendorum gratia, ut a primo mane usque ad vesperam, cum vix unquam relinquerent. Cum concionari coepit, ingens populi multitudo convenit, et multis cum lacrymis eum audiebant, et, quibusdam auditis concionibus, magna mutatio in populo est consequuta. Cum enim eo venit, tam corruptos mores hominum invenit, ut quodam modo videretur aliud vix effecturus, quam ut eorum defleret spiritualem ruinam; sed Dei verbum intime eorum animos penetravit, qui potius ignorantia, et ob permixtionem Christianorum cum infidelibus (in eadem enim domo et mensa christiani cum saracenis, judaeis, et gentilibus versabantur et, quod magis deflendum erat, complures christianorum filii, qui matres saracenas habebant, earum perfidiam sequebantur) peccabant. Et ea vitia, quae prius non magna videbantur, postquam in concionibus reprehensa graviter audierunt, ab eis magnopere abhorrebant; et tam christiani quam infideles ea et reprehendunt, et in publico perpetrare non audent. In sacramento Confessionis praecipuus fructus capiebatur; plurimas enim Pater Gaspar diu noctuque audiebat, cum multis poenitentium lacrymis, e quibus aliqui se flagellis in porta ecclesiae Dominicis diebus Missae tempore caedebant, quod et terrorem populo incussit, et ad publicas ac secretas poenitentias multos cum magno fervore excitavit. Usurae, quae subtilissimae et tamen communissimae christianis et infidelibus erant, relictae sunt; et jam subtiliter de contractibus ad eas evitandas inter mercatores disputabatur; et si quis talem aliquem contractum facere vellet, alii eum impediebant. Attoniti homines talem mutationem mirabantur; et quia ad aegrotantes potius quam ad sanos, confessionum audiendarum gratia, se conferebat, fuit quidam copiosus homo, qui se aegrotare simulavit ut ad ipsum accederet; et ad ejus pedes se projiciens multa millia ducatorum cum mercimoniis, domibus, navibus, et servis utriusque sexus, et corpus etiam suum in ejus manibus posuit, tantum ab eo petens ut animae ipsius saluti consuleret, paratus omnium detrimentum facere, si opus esset, et in corpore etiam graves poenitencias subire, ne anima ipsius periret. Et tam parati erant alii ad restitutionem ut, si decem deberent, ad viginti solvenda parati essent, et se nunquam ad id usque tempus confessos esse affirmabant. Admirabundi hoc spectaculum saraceni et gentiles intuebantur; ex quibus non pauci commoti fuerunt ad lidem christianam suscipiendam. Judaei fatebantur quod lex ipsorum usuram prohibet, et ab ea recedebant; alii infideles quod non solum venisset Gaspar propter christianos dicebant, sed etiam ut omnes legem naturalem doceret; et cum de discessu ejus audivissent, aegre admodum ferebant. Quidam viri honorati, et aliqui etiam sacerdotes, qui in peccatis erant, differebant confessionem, donec Gaspar Ormuz discessisset; quod cum ille intelligerct, aliquos eorum aggressus est, inter quos cum unus ei fuisset confessus et injunctam sibi poenitentiam faceret, vidit cubiculum ingredientes multos feles, et mures, et res alias nigras, et tanto in numero ut domum fere totam implerent, et sic eum affligebant, ut timuerit ne corpus simul atque animam suam raperent; et cum in afflictione ad Christi imaginem, clamans ut se juvaret, cucurrisset, statim omnia illa animalia tanto cum strepitu recesserunt, ut videretur domus ruitura; ille vero liber mansit et sanctam vitae rationem instituit. Sic alii, qui eum prius fugiebant, relictis concubinis, post confessionem multis cum lacrymis peractam, resipiscebant; et in hujusmodi concubinis expellendis et in peccatis, quorum excommunicatio in bulla Coenae reservatur, sicut etiam in blasphcmiis et publicis dissolutionibus relinquendis, insignis fuit a Domino facta mutatio. Milites initio, vulnerando et injuria afficiendo alios pacilicos, multum impedimenti operi ei adferebant; sed et ipsi postea vitam emendarunt; et multi viri honorati, relictis inimicitiis ac mutuo veniam petendo in porta ecclesiae, in amicitiam mutuam redierunt. 537. The captain of the fortress provided a room in the hospital for Fr. Gaspar, with an open roof according to the custom of those people, for on account of the heat they sleep on the roof. But such a large number of people came to see him, either for confession or to seek his advice, so that from early morning until late at night they hardly ever left him alone. When he began to preach, a huge crowd of people assembled, and many listened to him with tears, and, after hearing his sermons, a big change in the people was the result. For, when he arrived there, he found the morals of the people so corrupt that in a certain sense it seemed that he could hardly do anything else but to weep over their spiritual ruin. But the word of God penetrated deeply into their hearts; and they sinned rather out of ignorance and because of a mixture of Christians with unbelievers (because in the same house and at the same table Christians lived with Saracens, Jews, and Gentiles and, something even more to bewail, many sons of Christians, who had Saracen mothers, followed their perfidy). And the vices, which previously did not seem to be great, after they heard them gravely reprehended in his sermons, were greatly abhorred by them. And both Christians and unbelievers reprehend those vices and do not dare to commit them in public. In the sacrament of Confession a special fruit was obtained; for, Fr. Gaspar heard many of them day and night, with the tears of many penitents. Some of them even scourged themselves at the entrance of the church on Sundays at the time of Mass, which put fear into the people, and caused many people with great fervor to do both public and private penances. Usury, which was commonly practiced by both Christians and infidels, was done away with; and now among merchants care is taken to avoid it, and if someone wants to make a usurious contract, the others prevent it. Stunned men were amazed at such a change; and because he visited the sick rather than the healthy in order to hear their confession, there was a certain wealthy man, who pretended to be sick so he would come to him. And throwing himself at his feet, he placed many thousands of ducats with goods, houses, ships, and servants of both sexes, and even his own body into his hands, only asking him to secure the salvation of his soul; he said he was ready to suffer the loss of all things, if it were necessary, and also to endure grave penances in his body so that his soul would not perish. And others were so ready to make restitution that, if they owed ten ducats, they were prepared to pay twenty, and they said that before this time they had never confessed such things. The Saracens and Gentiles watched this spectacle with amazement; not a few of them were moved to embrace the Christian faith. The Jews confessed that their law forbids usury, and they do not engage in it; other unbelievers said that Gaspar had come not only for Christians, but also to teach the natural law to everyone, and when they heard about his departure, they were very unhappy. Certain honored men, and also some priests, who were in the state of sin, delayed their confession until Gaspar departed from Ormuz; when he found out about this, he approached some of them, among whom when one had confessed to him and had performed the penance imposed on him, he saw many cats and rats and other dark things entering his room, and there were so many of them that they almost filled the whole house, and they so afflicted him that he feared they would take his body and soul away from him. And when in his affliction he placed himself before an image of Christ, calling on him to help him, suddenly all those animals departed with such a rumbling that the house seemed about to collapse. But he remained free and adopted a holy way of life. Thus also others, who at first avoided him, after having separated from their concubines, adopted a holy frame of mind after making a good confession with many tears. After getting rid of their concubines and their grave sins, which have an excommunication attached to them in the Bull Coenae, and also after repenting their blasphemies and public scandals, a significant change was brought about by the Lord. In the beginning the soldiers, because of their wounding and injuring other innocent persons, presented a serious impediment to his work; but afterwards even they improved their life. And many honored men, having abandoned their enmities and asked each other for forgiveness at the door of the church, returned to a state of mutual friendship. v1_530-551latin 1549F 538. Cum etiam alii ex his militibus ad arcem quamdam illius regni, monagianum vocatam, quam in Perside hostes occupaverunt, ad eam recuperandam essent destinati, confessionem facere recusarunt; quibus, cum Pater Gaspar diceret se illis timere Dei vindictam, omnino sic accidit; quia in obsidione multi, saeviente aegritudine inter eos in pestis modum, brutorum in morem perierunt, cum ne esset quidem qui cadavera sepeliret; alii fere centum vulnerati, et alii aegrotantes, vociferantes Patrem Gasparem, ad eum Ormuzium se deduci curaverunt, et confessionem quam prius detrectaverant, petierunt; fere centum ex eis obierunt, prius tamen multis cum lacrymis confessi; nihil enim magis se velle quam confiteri, et deinde et ad mortem se paratos esse. Coepit ergo ille gravius aegrotantes audire diu noctuque, et mensem integrum eorum confessionibus audiendis impendit. Et arx illa, quam non potuerant cum sua superbia expugnare, Deo juvante, postea lusitanis restituta est. 538. Also when some of these soldiers were ordered to recapture a certain fortress of the kingdom called Monagian, which enemies had occupied in Persia, they refused to go to confession. When Fr. Gaspar said that he feared a punishment of God awaited them, that is exactly what happened, because many of them, since a sickness raged among them like the plague, died like brute animals, since there was no one to bury their bodies. Almost a hundred others were wounded, and others who were sick asked for Fr. Gaspar; they had themselves brought to him in Ormuz, and they begged for the confession which they had previously refused to make. Almost a hundred of them died, but only after they had confessed with many tears; for they said that they wanted nothing more than to go to confession and that then they were prepared to die. Therefore he began to hear day and night those who were gravely ill, and he reaped a large harvest by hearing their confessions. And that fortress, which in their pride they were not able to capture, afterwards with the help of God was returned to the Portuguese. v1_530-551latin 1549F 539. Magnum etiam auxilium aegrotantibus ad valetudinem recuperandam impendit, et morientibus utilem operam praestitit. Super septingentas confessiones sex menses audivit; et quia multis annis ab eo Sacramento plurimi abstinuerant, tanto major spiritualis utilitas est consequuta. Et hi multi, qui morituri videbantur, simul atque confessi sunt, sanitatem recuperarunt, et alii ex variis morbis, licet non lethalibus, liberabantur; unde merito vim hujus sacramenti homines admirabantur, cum prius eos irriderent, qui ad confessionem et communionem accedebant; et satis multi, ut octavo quoque die ad hoc Sacramentum accederent, adducti sunt, quos exemplo praeivit ipse arcis praefectus, qui post generalem confessionem, octavo quoque die eas coepit frequentare, et in eleemosynis ac pietatis operibus Deo multum inservire; multum etiam reverentiae in officiis divinis homines exhibere et sacerdotes Domini venerari coeperunt. Diebus Dominicis mane populo condonabatur, et quotidie a prandio servis utriusque sexus, ac pueris, quos, incedens per civitatem cum tintinnabulo, ad doctrinam christianam audiendam adducebat, et tam multi alii confluebant ut vix eos templum caperet. 539. Also he gave much help to the sick in order to recover their health, and he offered useful assistance to the dying. In six months he heard more than seven hundred confessions; and because many men had abstained from that sacrament for many years, a greater spiritual advantage was the result. And many of those, who seemed to be about to die, as soon as they made their confession recovered their health, and others were freed from various illnesses, although they were not lethal. Therefore with good reason the people were astonished at the power of this sacrament, since formerly they had ridiculed those who went to confession and communion. And quite a few were led to approach this sacrament weekly; by his example the captain of the fortress preceded them, since after he made a general confession he frequented the sacraments every week, and he offered great service to God by his alms and works of piety. The men began to show much reverence at Mass and to venerate the priests of the Lord. Sunday mornings he preached to the people, and daily after lunch he brought the servants of both sexes and the boys to listen to an explanation of Christian doctrine; he did this by going through the city ringing a bell, and so many came that the church could hardly hold all of them. v1_530-551latin 1549F 540. Saraceni multum ei honoris deferebant, quibus etiam magnae aedificationis erat paupertas; et confusi satis erant, quia tempus illud, in quo Mahometus aliam illis legem daturus dicebatur, jam linitum erat; et primarii ex eis loqui cum Gaspare optabant et aliqui eamdem legem fere christianorum et suam dicebant. In disputatione quidam inter eos sapiens adductus est ad Sanctissimam Trinitatem confitendam, quamvis ille postea, deserens uxorem et filiam, aufugit. Sed uxorem praedictam, pernobilem foeminam, ex Mahometi genere, cum filia ad fidem christianam Gaspar adduxit et baptizari curavit; et dote hinc et inde conquisita, in matrimonio collocavit. Rex ipse Ormuzii propensior esse credebatur ad Christi fidem suscipiendam quam ad suam retinendam; sed populi dissensionem timens, in faece suae perfidiae haerebat. Cujusdam judaei filia Christiana facta est, et alii primarii inter eos doctores, Salamon et Joseph, ad Christi fidem post disputationes inclinabant; et tota ea gens admodum commota erat, et de veteri Testamento eis declarando in ipsorum synagoga Pater Gaspar, eis id volentibus, agebat. 540. The Saracens held him in great honor, and they were also edified by his poverty. And they were quite confused because that time, in which Mohammed said he was going to give them another law, had already passed; and their leaders wanted to speak with Gaspar and some said that almost the same law was theirs and that of the Christians. In a debate one of their wise men was brought to confess the Holy Trinity, although afterwards, abandoning his wife and daughter, he fled away. But Gaspar brought his wife, a noble woman from the race of Mohammed, along with her daughter to the Christian faith and he baptized them; and having collected a dowry from here and there, he arranged a marriage for them. The King of Ormuz was thought to be more inclined to accepting the faith of Christ than to retaining his own faith; but fearing the opposition of the people, he adhered to the dregs of his own perfidy. The daughter of a certain Jew became a Christian, and other important doctors among them, Solomon and Joseph, leaned towards the faith of Christ after the disputations, and that whole group of people was very much moved, and Fr. Gaspar dealt with the Old Testament by explaining it to them in their own synagogue as they listened to him. v1_530-551latin 1549F 541. Complures qui Christi fidem abnegaverant et inter saracenos vixerant (inter quos erant aliqui graeci, jenizari, et abexini, et unus italus, qui ex Babylonia fugerat, vir strenuus et cujus Rex turcarum magnam rationem habebat, et alii captivi ejusdem nationis) ad Ecclesiae gremium reducere et libertate eos donari curavit. Et ex his aliquos in Collegium nostrum Goënse dimisit. Ex georgianis, tureis, et aliis saracenis, ac variorum nationum infidelibus vel haereticis multi sunt ad fidem Christi catholicam conversi. 541. Many who had denied the faith of Christ and lived among the Saracens (among whom there were some Greeks, Janissaries, and Abexini, and one Italian, who had fled from Babylonia, a vigorous man whose King had high regard for the Turks, and some other captives of the same nation) he brought back to the bosom of the Church and obtained their freedom. He sent some of these to our College in Goa. Many were converted to the Catholic faith in Christ from the Georgians, Turks, and other Saracens, and from the infidels and heretics of various nations. v1_530-551latin 1549F 542. Multi vel ingredi Societatem, vel suos lilios ad id ipsi ei dare volebant; sed pauculos admisit, Goam transmittendos, quia illiterati erant. Facile fuisset ei Collegium Ormuzii instituere, sed non expedire propter bella frequentissima existimavit. 542. Many either wanted to enter the Society or to give their sons to it; but he accepted very few to be sent on to Goa, because they were illiterate. It would have been easy for him to establish a College in Ormuz, but he thought it not opportune because of the frequent wars. v1_530-551latin 1549F 543. Signa etiam aliqua per Patrem Gasparem Dominus operatus est. Illud autem unum fuit, quod, cum virum quemdam primarium et opulentum, sed peccatis irretitum, ad confessionem adducere niteretur, et de ejus peccatis publicis amanter eum reprehenderet, summa ille indignatione contra eum fuit accensus; sed post mediam noctem, cum in lecto esset, visus est sibi videre ante se Patrem illum pulchro aspectu et cum quadam odoris fragantia, quae cubiculum implebat; prope illum alius quidam esse videbatur, qui jacentem in lecto compellans, cur tu non confiteris huic? Patrem Gasparum nominando, non vides qualis sit? Cum autem qui jacebat, eum manu apprehendere vellet, non est amplius ab eo visus; sed alter ille subjunxit: hic Pater in hospitali invenietur, qui aegrotantibus Missae sacrificium dicturus est. Tanta in eo sequuta est vis lacrymarum et compunctio ut, cum mane surgeret, se continere non posset, et P. Gasparem accersens ut suam confessionem audiret postulavit, ad omnem satisfactionem paratissimus; a quo cum se colligere aliquot diebus jussus esset, confessionem generalem instituit, et vitae mutationem insignem per Dei gratiam fecit, tam deditus eleemosynis, ut paucis diebus fere quatuor millia et quingentos [aureos] in pauperes expenderit. Cum filius cujusdam viri primarii tum febribus gravissimis laboraret, tum oculum putrefactum et contusum haberet, et morti jam vicinus esset, rogavit ejus pater Gasparem, ut pro aegrotante filio Missae sacrificium Deo offerret; et eodem die, quo illud obtulit, filius et a febribus convaluit et oculus ei est restitutus, ex quo squamae quaedam exciderunt; qua de re attonitus parens, Patrem Gasparem accersit et quod acciderat refert; ille ad Beatissimam Virginem, in cujus honorem Missa celebrata erat, miracula retulit. Ab alio quodam, cui mors vicina imminebat, rogatus est ut aliud sacrum celebraret, et eo absoluto, statim, qui aegrotabat, sanus relictus est. Cum variis occupationibus Gaspar distineretur, rogatus est a quodam ut ad uxorem, quae videbatur a daemone obsessa et semimortua, aliquas orationes diceret. Misit ille scriptum Evangelium Divi Joannis et quaedam alia pia verba, et dixit ut scriptum illud collo uxoris appenderet, quandoquidem ipse non posset eo ire; quod cum ille fecisset, statim uxor liberata est et sana surrexit. Adiit quemdam, quem a peccatis revocare gravibus optabat. Cum autem ad portam ejus domus accessit, coepit ille jurare quod non esset prius moriturus quam ut ulcisceretur injuriam acceptam, et blasphemias etiam addebat. Tunc dixit illi Pater Gaspar: vide quid dicas; nam ante meridiem diei crastinae saepius confessionem optabis et non exaudieris. Et ita accidit, nam pene extinctus est quodam symptomate, nec inveniebat qui ejus audiret confessionem. Cum praefectus quidam militum ac nobilis sanus venisset in urbem, quem ad pacem quamdam adducere Pater Gaspar frustra conatus erat, dixit idem Pater: displicet mihi quod N. tam recte valeat; petiturus sum a Deo ut aliquem morbum ei mittat, ut ad confessionem accedat; et simul atque id petiit, praefectus ille in febrim incidens ad Patrem Gasparem accedit, rogans ut suam audiat confessionem; quem cum audisset, deduxit illum per totam urbem ut veniam peteret ab his et illis, nam in variis locis cum praeparatis sclopctis et saxis eum exspectabant ut occiderent, et quodam modo tota contra eum civitas armata erat; et qui armis se prius defendere non poterat, se demittendo ad humiliter veniam petendam, ab omnibus se defendit. Demum multa hujusmodi ea in civitate accidebant, quae quamdam speciem primitivae Ecclesia referre videbantur. 543. The Lord also worked some signs through Fr. Gaspar. One of them was the following: when he tried to bring a certain important and wealthy man, but guilty of many sins, to confession, and rebuked him lovingly for his public sins, with great indignation the man railed against him; but in the middle of the night, as he lay in bed, it seemed to him that he saw before him that Father with a happy face and with a certain fragrant odor that filled his room; someone else seemed to be near him, who was saying to the one lying in the bed, “Why do you not go to confession to him? Don’t you see that it is Fr. Gaspar?” But when the one lying in bed wanted to grasp him with his hand, he was no longer to be seen by him. But the other one said to him: “This Father will be found in the hospital, and he is about to offer the sacrifice of the Mass for the sick.” Such a power of tears and compunction resulted in him that, when he arose in the morning, he could not restrain himself, and so he went to Fr. Gaspar and asked him to hear his confession, and said he was ready to make full satisfaction. Fr. Gaspar told him to examine his conscience for a few days and then he made a general confession. By the grace of God he made a total change of life, and he gave so much alms that in a few days he donated almost four thousand five hundred [gold ducats] for the poor. When the son of a certain important man was suffering from a high fever, and then had an infected and blind eye and was close to death, he asked Fr. Gaspar to offer the sacrifice of the Mass to God for his sick son. And on the same day when he did that, the son recovered from the fever and his eye was restored to good health as some scales fell away from it. The father was amazed at this, so he went to Fr. Gaspar and told him what happened. He attributed the miracles to the Blessed Virgin in whose honor he had celebrated the Mass. He was asked by another man, whose death was imminent, to celebrate a Mass for him, and immediately after he finished the Mass the sick man recovered his health. Since Gaspar was very busy with various occupations, he was asked by a certain man to say some prayers for his wife, who was almost dead and seemed to be obsessed by a demon. He sent him a copy of the Gospel of St. John and some other pious works, and told him to hang the Gospel from the neck of his wife, since he could not go to see her; when he did that, she was immediately liberated and stood up healthy again. He went to see a man, whom he wanted to bring back from his grave sins. But when he reached the door of his house, he began to swear that he was not going to die before he avenged the injuries done to him, and he also added some blasphemies. Then Fr. Gaspar said to him: “Be careful about what you say, because before noon tomorrow you will ask many times for confession and you will not be heard.” And so it happened, for he was almost dead from a certain symptom, and he could not find anyone to hear his confession. When a certain prefect of the soldiers, a noble and healthy man, came to the city, whom Fr. Gaspar had tried in vain to bring to some peace, the same Father said: “It displeases me that N. is so healthy; I am going to ask God to send him some illness so that he will come to confession.” And as soon as he asked for that, the prefect became ill and went to Fr. Gaspar and asked him to hear his confession. Then when he had heard him, he led him through the whole city to ask for forgiveness from these and those, for in various places they were waiting for him with swords and stones in order to kill him, and in a certain sense the whole city took up arms against him; and he who before that could not defend himself with arms, by humbling himself to ask for pardon, defends himself from all. Finally, many things like this took place in that city, which seemed to repeat a certain image of the primitive Church. [3. Litterae Gasparis Barzaei et Emmanuelis Fernandez . — ANDRADA. Vida de Dom Joao de Castro, quarto Viso-rei da India, Lisboa, 1815. Post haec spatium quoddam vacuum relictum est, in quo recentiori manu scripta haec sunt: Quae sequuntur videntur reponenda fol. 10, pag 1. Illi autem paginae respondet hic 404, in qua vide not. 1. In ora autem paginae alius scripsit: haec (quae sequuntur ad finem usque) praeponenda suo loco, nisi forte ad annum sequentem. Non tamen ad annum sequentem rejicienda, sed huic inserenda sunt, ut praestitit Orlandinus et ex litteris inferius indicandis apparet.
Letters of Gaspar Barzaeus and Emmanuel Fernandez.Andrada, Vida de Dom Jodo de Castro, quarto Viso-rei da India, Lisbon 1815. After this space there is a certain empty space in which these words were written by a more recent hand: What follows seems to be found in fol. 10, page 1. But those pages correspond here to 404, where note 1 should be consulted. But at the beginning of the page someone else wrote: these things (which follow to the end) should be put in their proper place, unless perhaps in the following year. However, they are not to be delayed to the following year, but belong here, as Orlandinus shows and is apparent from the letters cited below.] v1_530-551latin 1549F 544. Remissus fuerat Parmam Pater Baptista Pezzanus, unus ex his sacerdotibus, qui concionibus Patris Jacobi Laynez ad Societatis institutum fuerant excitati. Hic per confessionis ac Sanctissimae Eucharistiae ministerium plurimos ejus urbis cives ad spiritualem profectum adjuvit. Inter caeteras plurimas confessiones generales audiebat; aliqui singulis mensibus, aliqui octavo quoque die ad haec sancta Sacramenta accedebant cum singulari virtutum augmento et pauperum multorum subventione per largas eorum eleemosynas. Et praeter alia pietatis opera, quibus assidue vacabat, concionabatur etiam in ecclesia cujusdam congregationis hominum saecularium, qui ad Sacramenta crebro accedebant, et ex quorum pietate egregius in urbe fructus consequebatur. Duas etiam lectiones singulis hebdomadis in templo Conversarum habebat. Et Leonardum Masserum ad Societatem inde ipse Romam transmisit. Deputati etiam ad monialium reformationem cum Vicario urbis eum urgebant ut, praeter monasterium Conversarum, alterius cujusdam per praedicationem juvandi curam susciperet. Demum quae bene a Patre Laynez inchoata fuerant in rebus spiritualibus, ab eo bona ex parte conservata et stabilita fuerunt. Sacerdotibus etiam tres in hebdomada lectiones legebat, aliquid scilicet ex Evangelio Sancti Matthaei; et vix ad refectionem corporalem per occupationes tempus suppetebat. Cum autem ad annum Parmam missus esset, qui mense Februario sequentis anni liniebatur, per litteras a Patre Ignatio petebat, ut aliquandiu ulterius Parmae haerere per obedientiam liceret; et cum ea in re paulo magis quam opus esset, videretur fortasse sollicitus, loco responsi easdem ipsius litteras obsignatas et ipsimet inscriptas remitti Ignatius jussit. Intelligens autem ipse quid hoc sibi vellet, cum primum commode potuit, se expedivit et Romam venit. 544. Fr. Baptist Pezzano was sent back to Parma; he was one of the priests who were moved by the sermons of Fr. James Laynez to enter the Society. By the ministry of Confession and the Holy Eucharist he helped many citizens of this city to strive for spiritual progress. Among other things, he heard many general confessions; some received these holy Sacraments once a month, while others did it every week with singular increase in virtue and the assistance of many poor people through their generous alms. And besides the other works of piety, with which he was constantly occupied, he also preached in a church in a certain congregation of laymen, who received the Sacraments often, and from whose piety a notable fruit in the city was the result. He also gave two lectures each week in the church of the converted women. And from there he sent to Rome Leonard Masserus for the Society. The deputies also along with the Vicar of the city urged him to bring about the reformation of the nuns, so that, besides the convent of the converted women, through his preaching he would assume the task of helping those women. Finally, the things that had been started well by Fr. Laynez in spiritual matters, for the most part were preserved and stabilized by him. Three times each week he gave lectures for the priests on the Gospel of St. Matthew; and because of his occupations he hardly had time for the refreshment of his body. But since he had been sent to Parma for a year, which was to end in February of the next year, by a letter he asked Fr. Ignatius that he be allowed by obedience to remain in Parma for a somewhat longer time. And since in this matter it was a bit more than was necessary, and he seemed perhaps solicitous, in place of a response Ignatius ordered that the same letter signed and sealed by him should be returned to him. Then understanding what this meant for him, as soon as he could do it conveniently, he left Parma and went to Rome. [4. Ignatius Joanni Baptistae Pezzano, de Exercitiis, de non movendis iis, qui Exercitiis incumbunt, ad vota emittenda, de libro seu Summa Guidonis Peraldi, de indulgentiis, 9 Februari; idem Deputatis protectoribus monasterii Conversarum, 25 Maii; Polancus, ex commissione, Joanni Baptistae Pezzano, de non acceptandis stipendiis, de monialium cura non assumenda, de successore quaerendo, et ut Romam statim post Purificationis festum sequentis anni veniat, et ne impediri se permittat, 12 Octobris 49. — Joannis Baptistae Pezzano ad Ignatium, et hujus anni historicae litterae.
Ignatius to John Baptist Pezzano, on the Exercises, on not urging those who make the Exercises to pronounce vows, on the book or Summa of Guidonis Peraldi, on indulgences, February 9; the same to the protecting Deputies of the of the convent of the converted women, May 25; Polanco, ex commissione, to John Baptist Pezzano, on not accepting stipends, on not taking on the care of nuns, on seeking a successor, and that he must come to Rome immediately after the feast of the Purification in the following year, and that he should not allow himself to be impeded, October 12, 1549.John Baptist Pezzano to Ignatius, and the historical letter of this year.] v1_530-551latin 1549F 545. Bononiae Pater Paschasius scholasticis quibusdam, et inter alios cuidam sacerdoti, Exercitia spiritualia tradidit; et ad Societatis institutum aliqui ex eis accesserunt; et inter eos canonicus quidam, qui canonicatu et aliis ecclesiasticis bene ficiis relictis, Domino servire coepit. Nobilibus eadem Exercitia cum eorum non exiguo spirituali fructu, virginibus etiam plurimis, et aliquando duodecim et tredecim simul, tradebat, et ad religionem earum aliquae a Domino motae sunt. Christianam doctrinam in quadam Congregatione coepit explicare dominicis et festis diebus, et eisdem P. Franciscus Palmius frequenti satis auditorio et cum ejus aedificatione ac satisfactione concionabatur, et ejus pio labore multum in Domino profecerunt. In confessionibus audiendis non diem solum sed aliquando etiam partem noctis consumebat, et multi ex nobilitate bononiensi ac ex ipso senatu Patris Paschasii opera in hujus Sacramenti ministerio utebantur. 545. At Bologna Fr. Paschase gave the Spiritual Exercises to some students, and among them to a certain priest; and some of them entered the Institute of the Society. Among them was a canon who, having renounced his canonry and other ecclesiastical benefices, began to serve the Lord. He gave the same Exercises to some nobles with no small spiritual fruit on their part, and also to many virgins, and sometimes to twelve or thirteen people at the same time, and some of them were moved by the Lord to embrace the religious life. On Sundays and feast days he began to explain Christian doctrine for a certain Congregation, and Fr. Francis Palmius preached to the same persons with a large audience, much to their edification and satisfaction, and through his efforts they made much progress in the Lord. In hearing confessions he spent not only the day but also part of the night, and many of the nobles in Bologna and also in the Senate made use of the help of Fr. Paschase in the administration of this Sacrament. v1_530-551latin 1549F 546. Episcopus quidam suffraganeus bononiensis Episcopi, et Vicarius (Tudeschinum vocabant, qui concionator fuit insignis, ordinis Sancti Dominici) Societatis opera ad rerum multarum reformationem uti peroptabat, de qua quidem opera ne inter concionandum quidem dissimulabat quam bene sentiret, cum populum ad eorum doctrinam sequendam hortaretur. Cum autem monasteria quaedam monialium negotium ei facesserent, voluit Pater Franciscus concionibus moniales sui officii commonefacere; ipse autem Pater Paschasius monialium confessiones cum magno earum fructu audiebat; plurimis etiam earum Exercitia spiritualia proposuit, quibus ad observationem sui instituti et vitae reformationem multum profecerunt. Sacerdotibus compluribus idem P. Paschasius Summam angelicam per unam horam singulis diebus (festis exceptis) praelegit. Cum Synodus dioecesana celebraretur Bononiae, orationis ad clerum habendae cura Patri Francisco Palmio est injuncta, quo munere cum satisfactione et aedificatione functus est, cum fere trecenti sacerdotes auditores fuissent. 546. The suffragan Bishop of the Bishop of Bologna and his Vicar (his name was Tudeschinus, who was an excellent preacher of the Order of St. Dominic) very much wanted to use the help of the Society for the reformation of many things, and in his sermons he did not conceal his high regard for their work, when he exhorted the people to follow their teaching. But since certain convents of nuns were making trouble for him, Fr. Francis in his sermons wanted to remind the nuns of their duty. But Fr. Paschase heard the confessions of the nuns with great fruit for them; he also gave the Spiritual Exercises to many of them, and they helped much for the observation of their rules and the reformation of their life. The same Fr. Paschase every day (with the exception of feast days) gave a lecture to many priests on the Summa Theologiae of St. Thomas. When the diocesan Synod was celebrated in Bologna, the task of speaking to the clergy was given to Fr. Francis Palmius; he performed this office with edification and satisfaction, while almost three hundred priests listened to him. [5. Polancus, ex commissione, Paschasio Broet, de Paschasio Corvino, 5 Januarii; idem eidem, de eodem, et de iis quae Faventiae agenda sunt, 9 Februarii; idem eidem, de quodam libro Fratris Ambrosii (Catherini?), 28 Februarii; eidem eadem die, de pace inter quosdam concilianda, de Rogerio, Jaio et Laynez; eidem de iisdem, 2 Martii, et de pace inter Leonellum de Carpi et Angelum; idem Paschasio Broet et, si ipse absit, Francisco Palmio, plura de eadem pace et aliis, 9 Martii; idem eidem Broet, de quodam canonico Bononiensi, de Ludovico, Rogerio et Laynez, 30 Martii et 4 Maii; idem eidem de N. Conte, de Thoma Giglio, de Vicario Bononiensi, 11 Maii; idem eidem, commendans Dominum Joannem de Villalon, etc., 25 Maii; eidem soli, de Adriani Adriaenssens itineris socio, de iis qui se de Societate esse fingunt, de canonici Bartholomaei beneficiis, 1 et 8 Junii; de Legati litteris circa Doctoratus gradum a Salmerone, Jaio et Canisio Bononiae suscipiendo, de Antonello, de Bartholomaeo canonico et Conte, 19 Junii; de capitulis seu conditionibus pacis ineundae, de Thoma Giglio, de Rogerio, ut praefationem paret Panormi in studiorum inauguratione pronunciandam, 6 Julii; de iisdem et Joanne Baptista Scoti, 13 Julii; de Cardinali Carpensi, et de cujusdam sacerdotis poenitentia, 20 Julii; de Cardinalis de Monte ejusque Secretario, magistro Angelo, 3 Augusti; de Cardinalis Poggii sorore, de iis qui Bononia transeunt, de Salmerone, Doctore Olave et scriptis Canisii, 14, 21 et 28 Septembris; de aegritudine et morte eorum, quos Bononiae in Societatem admissos Romam miserat, de quadam reformatione, 5 Octobris; de Paulo Boet (sic, forte Broet), 26 Octobris; de moderando scholasticorum labore, 16 Novembris 49. — Litterae Paschasii Broet ad Ignatium, Polancum et Salmeronem. — Instrumenta publica plura de pace inter Cardinalis Carpensis cognatos.
Polanco, ex commssione, to Paschase Broet, on Paschase Corvino, January 5; the same to the same, on the same matter, and about what must be done in Faenza, February 9; the same to the same, about a book of Brother Ambrose (Catherini ?), February 28; to the same man on the same day, on establishing peace among some persons, on Roger, Jay and Laynez; to the same on the same matter, March 2, and on peace between Leonellus de Carpi and Angelus; the same to Paschase Broet and, if he is absent, to Francis Palmius, many things about the same peace and other persons, March 9; the same to the same Broet, on a certain canon in Bologna, on Luis, Roger and Laynez, March 30 and May 4; the same to the same, on N, Conte, on Thomas Giglio, on the Vicar of Bologna, May 11; the same to the same, commending Lord John de Villalon, etc., May 25; to the same one only, on the companion of the journey of Adrian Adriaenensis, and on the things they imagine about the Society, on the canonical benefices of Bartholomew, June 1 and 8; on the letter of the Legate concerning the reception of the Doctoral degree by Salmeron, Jay and Canisius in Bologna, de Antonello, on the canon Bartholomew and on Conte, June 19; on the chapters or conditions of obtaining peace, on Thomas Giglio, on Roger, that he prepare a legal document in Palermo to be published at the beginning of the school year, July 6; on the same thing and on John Baptist Scoti, July 13; on Cardinal John Carpensi, and on the penance for a certain priest, July 20; on Cardinal de Monte and his secretary, Master Angelo, August 2; on the sister of Cardinal Poggi, on those departing from Bologna, on Salmeron, Doctor Olave and the writings of Canisius, September 14, 21 and 28; on the sickness and death of those who were admitted to the Society in Bologna and sent to Rome, on some reformation, October 5; on Paul Boet (sic; perhaps it is Broet), October 16; on moderating the work of the students, November 16, 1549.Letter of Paschase Broet to Ignatius, Polanco and Salmeron.Several public documents on peace among the relatives of Cardinal Carpensi.] v1_530-551latin 1549F 547. Interim Cardinalis Carpensis, cum Meldulam (quod oppidum Domini Leonelli, patris ejus, erat) se conferre vellet, Patris Paschasii opera ad pueros in christiana doctrina erudiendos uti voluit. Unde significavit ei ut curaret imprimendos aliquot libellos hujus doctrinae et cum illis Meldulam ad paucos dies se conferret; quod ille fecit, et in quodam templo fere centum pueros et alios viros, qui eo confluebant, docere coepit; et cum Cardinalis ac domini Leonelli favor accederet, fructum inde consequuturum esse non poenitendum sperabat. Postquam autem rem, ut oportebat, inchoasset, et tamen bononienses occupationes eum inde revocarent, scripsit nomine Cardinalis Carpensis, nostri protectoris, ad P. Ignatium petens ut ad tres vel quatuor menses Stephanum Capumsachi, Aretinum, ad hoc opus prosequendum Meldulam mitteret; et ipse Bononiam rediit, ubi solitae ipsum charitatis functiones exceperunt. Nec tamen aliquarum contradictionum (quae potissimum a religiosis viris oriebamur) exercitatio illis deerat, quae ad humilitatis conservationem perutiles esse solent. 547. Meanwhile Cardinal Carpensi, wanted to go to Meldula (which was the town of Lord Leonelli, his father), and he also wanted to enlist the help of Fr. Paschase to instruct the boys in Christian doctrine. Therefore, he told him to print several copies of this doctrine and to bring them with him to Meldula in a few days. That is what he did, and in a short space of time he began to teach almost a hundred boys, and also some men who joined them. And since he gained the favor of the Cardinal and of Lord Leonelli, he hoped that much fruit would result from this. But after he had started this work, as he should have done, but his work in Bologna called him called him back from there, he wrote in the name of Cardinal Carpensi, our protector, to Fr. Ignatius asking him to send for three or four months Stephen Capumsachi, now in Arezzo, to Meldula in order to complete this work; and he returned to Bologna, where he resumed his usual works of charity. But they also experienced some opposition (which comes often from religious men), which is very helpful in order to preserve the virtue of humility. [6. Polancus, ex commissione, Paschasio Broet, Meldulam, de Cardinali Carpensi, de mittendo Meldulam Stephano Aretino Caposacchi, saltem ad tres menses, 24 Julii, 10 et 17 Augusti 49. — Stephani Caposacchi litterae ad Ignatium.
Polanco, ex commissione, to Paschase Broet, in Meldula, on Cardinal Carpensi, on sending Stephen Aretino Capumsachi to Meldula, at least for three months, July 24, August 10 and 17, 1549.The letter of Stephen Capumsachi to Ignatius.] v1_530-551latin 1549F 548. Venerat Bononiam Septembri mense ut superius dictum est, Pater Salmeron ex civitate Bellunensi et Veneta veniens, et Pater Canisius ex Sicilia; et aliquanto post Pater Claudius Ferraria (obtenta ad aliquot menses a Duce Hercule facultate) eo consequutus erat; et quia bononienses pestem esse Ferrariae intelligebant, et diligenter ne quem inde venientem admitterent observabant, arte utendum fuit ut in urbem Pater Claudius admitteretur; et cum duo ex nostris ad suburbium egressi essent, urbano vestitu indutus Pater Claudius, illis se adjungens, simul cum eis Bononiam est ingressus. Visum fuerat Patri Ignatio expedire, ut hi tres Patres, qui Theologiam in Ingolstadiensi Academia professuri erant, gradum Doctoratus, in Germania necessarium ad id munus exercendum, Bononiae susciperent. Erat autem tunc Tridenti Cardinalis de Monte, qui brevi in Pontificem electus et Julius III vocatus est. Is curam commisit fratri Ambrosio Catherino, Episcopo Minorensi, ut adjunctis duobus doctoribus ejusdem ordinis, eos examinaret; et cum pridie puncta quaedam ad legendum et respondendum proposuisset, die sequenti examinati fuerunt; et cum tam Episcopus quam alii Doctores Cardinali retulissent quanta cum eruditione ipsis esset satisfactum, die Sancto Francisco sacra, ad doctoratum promoti fuerunt et litterae, quae id testarentur confectae, ad eos in Germaniam, nec enim illas exspectarunt, missae sunt. 548. In September Fr. Salmeron, as noted above, arrived in Bologna, coming from the city of Belluno in the Veneto, and Fr. Canisius came from Sicily; and somewhat later Fr. Claude, coming from Ferrara (having received permission from Duke Hercules to be away for several months), followed them there. And because the people of Bologna thought that the plague was in Ferrara, and observed carefully that anyone coming from there would not be admitted into the city, it was necessary to use some skill so that Fr. Claude could enter into the city. And when two of ours went out into the suburbs, Fr. Claude put on the clothes commonly worn there, joined up with them, and together with them he went into Bologna. It seemed useful to Fr. Ignatius that these three Fathers, who were going to teach theology at the University of Ingolstadt, should receive in Bologna the doctoral degree, which is necessary in Germany in order to perform this function. At that time Cardinal de Monte was in Trent; he would soon be elected Pontiff and take the name of Julius III. He committed the task to Brother Ambrose Catherino, a Franciscan Bishop, that with the help of two doctors of the same Order, he should examine them. And when he had proposed to them certain theses to consider and to respond to, on the next day they were examined. And when both the Bishop and the other Doctors reported to the Cardinal that they were satisfied because of their great erudition, on the feast day of St. Francis they were promoted to the degree of Doctor. Then an official letter, which testified to this fact, was sent to them in Germany, which is something they were not expecting. v1_530-551latin 1549F 549. Obiit interim Bononiae unus ex novitiis, quos secum Belluno adduxerat Pater Salmeron et Romam cum aliis mittebat. Studebant id temporis aliquot ex nostris scholasticis Bononiae, inter quos erat Joannes Alphonsus de Victoria, qui sub initium hujus anni Romae in spiritualibus Exercitiis Societatem ingredi constituerat, et ad sui victoriam tam erat inflammatus ut tempore carnis privii, quo personati homines Romam vanis spectaculis implebant, aliud ipse spectaculum exhibuit; nam per totam urbem sacco indutus, se flagellis cecidit et sanguinolentus ad ecclesiam tandem nostram pervenit; et id quidem antequam domum ingrederetur. Dabat autem operam tunc litteris humanioribus, et magister Petrus Schoricchius privatas lectiones aliquas ei et aliis praelegebat, quamvis et publicas audirent. Pater autem Ignatius tam erat sollicitus de scholasticorum profectu, ut vellet eorum latinas epistolas, incorrectas a magistro, Romam mitti, ut quantum quisque profecisset cerneretur; et ita vicissim singulis hebdomadis aliqua hujusmodi epistola ex quovis Collegio, saltem in Italia, mittebatur. 549. In the meantime, in Bologna one of the novices died, whom Fr. Salmeron had brought with him from Belluno and sent to Rome with others. At the time some of our scholastics were studying in Bologna, and among them was John Alphonse de Victoria, who at the beginning of this year, while making the Spiritual Exercises, decided to enter the Society, and he was so inflamed for the victory over himself that, during the time before Lent, when masked men fill Rome with vain spectacles, he offered a different spectacle. For, clothed in sackcloth, he scourged himself going about the whole city, and being stained with blood finally he arrived at our church; this all took place before he entered our house. Then he studied the liberal arts, and Master Peter Schorichio gave him and some others private lessons, although they also attended public lectures. Now Fr. Ignatius was so concerned about the progress of the scholastics that he wanted their Latin essays, uncorrected by the teacher, to be sent to Rome so that he might know how much progress each one was making. And so each week some of these essays were sent from each College, at least from those in Italy. [7. Polancus, ex commissione, Paschasio Broet, Doctori Victoria, magistro Petro Schorichio, et cuidam Morales, 19 et 26 Octobris; idem Paschasio Broet, de eisdem et Joanne Thudesco, et de Schorichii lectionibus, 30 Novembris, 21 et 28 Decembris 49.
Polanco, ex commissione, to Paschase Broet, Dr. Victoria, Master Peter Schorichio, and to a certain Morales, October 19 and 26; the same to Paschase Broet, on the same and on John Thudesco, and on the lectures of Schorichio, November 30, December 21 and 28, 1549.] v1_530-551latin 1549F 550. Stephanus Capumsachus Aretii ad valetudinem recuperandam initio hujus anni versabatur, nec tamen otiosus tempus traducebat, nam et colloquiis et concionibus monialium monasteria juvabat; et cum paupertas multos premeret, eleemosynas diligenter ad eorum subventionem quaerebat, industriam ac charitatem adhibens, ut facilius homines, etiam tenues, pauperibus subvenirent; ad confessionem et communionem aliquos adducebat; et demum varia pietatis opera exercebat et quasdam etiam publicas orationes fieri ad sublevandas publicas necessitates curavit. Inde Meldulam missus, quamvis corpore debilis, perutilem tamen operam et pueris et aliis hominibus navavit, et per majores ac melius instructos minores etiam erudiebat; ad confessionem etiam omnes pueros adduxit, et eos, qui apti erant, ad sacram Communionem, instruens eosdem ut bene se ad tantum Sacramentum disponerent; ad publicam etiam orationem eos, et consequenter multos etiam de populo induxit. 550. Stephen Capumsachi at the beginning of this year was staying in Arezzo to recover his health, but he did not pass the time in leisure. For, he was helping the convents of nuns with lectures and sermons; and since many were suffering from poverty, he diligently asked for alms to help them, using both zeal and charity, so that the people would more readily come to the aid of the poor. He brought some to confession and communion; and finally he performed various works of piety, and he also saw to it that public prayers were said in order to relieve the public necessities. Having been sent from there to Meldula, although weak in his body, he provided much assistance both to boys and other persons, and through the older and better instructed ones he also trained the younger ones. He also brought all the boys to confession, and those who were prepared to Holy Communion, while teaching them that they should be well disposed for such a sacrament. Also he led them and many of the people in public prayer. [8. Polancus, ex commissione, Stephano Caposachi de Arezzo, de litteris scribendis, 2 Martii; idem eidem ut informationem Romam mittat de quodam concionatore, 27 Aprilis; eidem solaminis verba, 19 Junii 49. — Vide annot. sub. n. 255, supra, pag. 293.
Polanco, ex commissione, to Stephen Capumsachi of Arezzo, on writing letters, March 2; the same to the same that he send information to Rome about a certain preacher, April 27; words of consolation to the same, June 19, 1549. See the note to number 255.] v1_530-551latin 1549F 551. Forumlivii etiam se contulit ex praescripto Patris Paschasii ut aliqua pietatis officia exerceret. 551. At the direction of Fr. Paschase he then went to Padua in order to perform some works of piety. [9. Polancus, ex commissione, Confraternitati Foroliviensi ejusque Praeposito, de Cardinalibus Crescencio et Farnesio, de domo catechumenorum romana, 9 Martii (Non tamen missae sunt hae litterae).
Polanco, ex commissione, to the Confraternity of Padua and its Director, on Cardinals Crescencio and Farnese, on the Roman house of catechumens, March 9 (however, this letter was not sent).]