HERMITS
287
HERMITS
on the islanders. Under the Adelantado Legaspi,
who in 1565 established the sovereignty of Spain in
the Pliilippines and selected Manila as the capital in
1571, Father Andres de Urdaneta and 4 other Augus-
tinians landed at Cebu in 1565, and at once began a
very successful apostolate. The first houses of the
Augustinians were established at Cebu, in 1565, and
at Manila, in 1571. In 1575, under the leadership of
Father Alfonso Gutierez, twenty-four Spanish Augus-
tinians landed in the islands and, with the provincials
Diego de Herrera and Martin dc Uado, worked very
successfully, at first as wandering preachers. The
Franciscans first appeared in the Pliilippines in 1577
and were warmly welcomed by the Augustinians.
Soon they were joined by Dominicans and Jesuits.
Sent by Philip III, the first Barefooted Augustinians
landed in 160G. All these orders shared in the labours
antl difficulties of the missions. Protected by Spain,
they prospered, and their missionary efforts became
more and more successful. In 1773 the Jesuits, how-
ever, were oljliged to give up their missions in conse-
quence of the suppression of the Society.
The religious orders have suffered much persecution in the Philippines in recent times, especially the Au- gustinians. In 1S97 the Calced Augustinians, num- bering 319 out of 644 religious then in the Philippine province, had charge of 225 parishes, with 2,377,743 souls; the Discalced (Recollects), numbering about 220, with 233 parishes and 1,175,156 souls; the Augus- tinians of the Philippine province numbered in all 522, counting those in the convents at Manila, Cavite. San Sebastian, and Cebii, those at the large model farm at Imus, and those in Spain at the colleges of Monteagudo, Marcilla, and San MilUin tie la Cogulla. Besides the numerous parishes served by the Calced Augustinians, they possessed several educational in- stitutions: a superior and intermediate school at Vigan (Villa Fernandina) with 209 students, an orphanage and trade school at Tambohn near Manila, with 145 orphans, etc. In consequence of the dis- turbances, the schools and missions were deserted; six fathers were killed and about 200 imprisoned and sometimes harshly treated. Those who escaped unmolested fled to the principal house at Manila, to Macao, to Han-kou, to South .America, or to Mexico. Up to the beginning of 1900, 46 Calced and 120 Discalced Augustinians had l)cen imprisoned. Upon their release, they returned to the few monas- teries still left them in the islands or set out for Spain, Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, and China. The province of the United States sent some members to supply the vacancies in the Philippines. The mon- astery of St. Paul, at Manila, now has 24 priests and 6 lay brothers; that at Cebii, 5 members of the order, that at Uoilo, on the island of Panay, 11 priests and 2 lay brothers, while in the 10 residences there are 20 fathers; so that at the present time there are only 68 Calced Augustinians in the islands. In all, the Pro- vincia Ss. Nominis Jesu Insularum Philippinarum, in- cluding theological students and the comparatively small number of lay brothers, has 600 members: 359 in Spain, 1S5 of whom are priests; 68 in the Philip- pines; 29 in China; 26 in Colombia; 49 in Peru; 42 in Brazil; 27 in Argentina.
The Augustinian missions in the Philippines have provided missionaries for the East since their first establishment. In 1603 some of them penetrated into Japan, where several were martyred, and in 1653 others entered China, where, in 1701, the order had six missionary stations. At present the order pos- sesses the mission of Northern Hu-nan, China, where there are 24 members, 2 of whom are natives; 6 in the district of Yo-chou; 6 in the district of Ch'ang-te; 9 in the district of Li-chu; three other religious are also labouring in other districts — all under the vicar Apostolic, Mgr. Pt^rez. The mission comprises about 3000 baptized Christians and 3500 catechumens
in a population of 11 millions of heathens. In 1891
there were only 219 Christians and 11 catechumens, as
well as 29 schools, with 420 children and 750 orphans.
There are, moreover, two priests at the mission house
at Han-kou and two at the procuration house at Shang-
hai (Yang-tsze-poo Road, 10). The missionary his-
tory of Persia also mentions the Augustinians. To-
wards the close of the sixteenth century, Alexio de
Menezes, Count of Cantanheda (d. 1617), a member of
the order, appointed Archbishop of Cloa in 1595, and
of Braga in 1612, Primate of the East Indies, and sev-
eral times Viceroy of Intlia, sent several Augustinians
as missionaries to Persia while he himself laboured for
the reunion of the Thomas Christians, especially at
the Synod of Diamper, in 1599, and for the conversion
of the Mohammedans and the heathens of Malabar.
(Govea, " Jornada do Arcebispo deGoa Dom .Alexiode
Interior of S. Agostino, Rome
Menezes", Coimbra, 1606; also, "Histoire Orient, de grans progres de I'^glise Romaine en la reduction des anciens chrestiens dit de St. Thomas " translated from the Spanish of Franc. Munoz by J. B. de Glen, Brus- sels, 1609; Joa. aS. Facundo Raulin, " Historia eccle- sia; malabaricae ", Rome, 1745.)
The Augustinians also established missions in Oceanica and Australia. Here the Spanish Discalced Augustinians took over the missions founded by Span- ish and German Jesuits in the Ladrones, which now number 7 stations, with about 10,000 souls, on Guam and about 2500 on each of the German islands of Saipan, Rota, and Tinian. The mission on the Ger- man islands was separated from the Diocese of Cebii on 1 October, 1906, and made a prefecture Apostolic on IS June, 1907, with Saipan as its seat of adminis- tration, and the mission is now in charge of the German Capuchins. In Australia the Calced Augustinians are established in the ecclesiastical Province of Melbourne and in the Vicariate Apostolic of Cooktown, Queens- land, where there are at present twelve priests of the Irish province under Monsignor James D. Murray. Three monasteries, each with two priests, in other parts of Australia also belong to this province. The order has furnished some prominent bishops to Aus-
