The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 77, July 1973 - April, 1974 Page: 490
568 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
Propagation of the Faith, which our Sovereign in his catholic zeal has found-
ed in this North America, is the conversion of the infidels by establishing new
settlements and making new conquests, there is no doubt that it is very
foreign to our sacred ministry and contrary to the mind of the Holy Pontiff
and opposed to the will of our Catholic Monarch that the missionaries of
the Propagation of the Faith, whose maintenance and transportation to this
province are a source of expense to the royal treasury, be drawn away from
this vast pagan field to other projects and objectives, which are not exactly
the conversion of Indians and the spiritual nourishing of these new converts.
Once they have been firmly grounded in faith and have passed the stage
when they are judged to be neophytes, they are to be consigned in conformity
with our sacred Bulls to their respective Ordinary, so that they be incorpo-
rated into the fold of his diocese, and shepherds be assigned for them, who
will be pastors and teachers and will preserve and strengthen them every day
in the faith they received from the missionaries or first instructors. They will
be able then, freed from the care of souls, which is now the task of the new
pastors, to devote themselves to making new conversions, which is the only
reason why they left the monastery.
In view of this high purpose and to satisfy the obligations of my conscience,
I bring to the consideration of your Reverences several facts. This Mission
of San Antonio de Valero, which I administer, offers no proximate and
founded hopes that in the future new gentiles will congregate, so that mis-
sionary activity could be exercised; nor can it be said truthfully that the faith
will be spread among the few individuals in the mission, for they are so in-
structed in the Christian dogmas and gospel teaching, in the obedience due
dur Mother Church and the commandments of the Supreme Shepherd, in
the respect due to priests and missionaries, and in just submission to our
Sovereign and his royal courts and officials, that they are not now, nor can
they be called neophytes, or even Indians, since most of them, being children
of marriages between Indians and white women, are mulattoes or half-
breeds, as can be seen in the census list, sent to the viceroy by the Lord
Conde de la Sierra Gorda, interim governor of this province, and by me
to the Guardian Father of the Apostolic College. It can therefore be inferred
that this mission cannot be called a mission of Indians but a gathering of
white people. The few pure Indians who remain are, in trading and com-
munication, as intelligent as the others. Consequently, the College ought to
disassociate itself and give the mission over to the bishop so that he takes
care of their souls.
The first point I make is obvious from the fact that in the sixty and more
leagues surrounding these missions of Bejar there is no nation of pagan490
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 77, July 1973 - April, 1974, periodical, 1973/1974; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117148/m1/552/: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.