Xesús, in the island of Cebú, Fray Pedro de Agurto, of the order of St. Augustine; and for the bishopric of the city of Cáceres, Fray Luis Maldonado, of the order of St. Francis. By these presents I nominate them and offer them as candidates to his Holiness, in order that by this nomination which I make as patron of all the churches of the Indias—he may bestow upon them these churches and the aforesaid archbishopric and bishoprics; for from the favorable accounts that I have of the goodness, learning, virtue, and exemplary lives of the aforesaid religious, I trust that our Lord will be well served by these provisions and the churches well governed and administered. Moreover, in according me this, his Holiness will confer upon me a special favor and kindness, which you will therefore make known to him. You will also tell him that in the absence of tithes, I have endowed the archbishopric with an annuity of three thousand ducats, drawn from my royal exchequer, and each of the bishops with five hundred thousand maravedis[1] annually. You will see to it that the bulls[2] on the whole matter be sent out with the utmost promptitude in order to reach the first fleet that sails. From Madrid, on the seventeenth day of June, one thousand five hundred and ninety-five.
I the King
- ↑ The maravedi was a money of account; thirty-four made a real (see VOL. III, p. 177). A royal decree dated June 14, 1595, granted to Santibañez an annuity of 500,000 maravedis from Salazar's death until such time as his successor should enter upon his duties as archbishop.
- ↑ By bulls given at Rome, August 14, 1595, the bishoprics of Nueva Segovia, Cebú, and Nueva Cáceres were established. The right of changing the boundaries of the dioceses was reserved to the papal nuncio in Spain; and the patronage was granted (as in the new archbishopric of Manila) to the king of Spain.
