When the devout and fearless protector of the Indians presented his memorable appeal to the Crown of Spain in behalf of the conquered races of the New World, he gave expression to the lofty purpose which animated the true missionaries of the Cross in their labors among the Indians of Spanish-America. With the courage born of pious zeal, he dared to say to the most powerful monarch in Europe words which must have jarred on the delicate sensibilities of a sovereign accustomed only to flattery; but which, nevertheless, could not be ignored. It is said that Charles V. was “stricken in conscience” as the venerable apostle of righteousness, who had devoted more than a quarter of a century to missionary labor in America, thus proceeded in his arraignment: “The highest Pontiff conceded the conquest of the Indies to the Catholic sovereigns under the solemn promise that with their accustomed zeal they would promote the conversion of those idolatrous people for the greatest glory of the faith and for the salvation of immortal souls. Such an important commission, confided to the Crown itself, cannot be delegated to private individuals. For this reason Queen Isabella was indignant when Columbus gave his followers a number of the natives to serve them, and she obliged those who had brought Indians to Spain to send them back to their own land. The Sovereign Pontiff granted permission to conquer the Indies for the benefit of the inhabitants, and in no case to increase the power and wealth of the monarchs of Castile. Moreover, by the enslaving of the Indians, all that has been gained is the ruin of a population that covered more than two thousand five hundred leagues of land. The object of the administration is not to preserve the territory, the walls, and the houses, but the people. With such an end in view, Queen Isabella declared in her will that all harm to the natives should be avoided, and all damages should be repaired; but the death of that august princess was the signal for the destruction of the Indies!” The spirit of consecration to a sacred task breathes in every syllable of the lengthy document, which concludes with the significant sentence: “The law of God prohibits the doing of evil that good may come of it.” It is said that the worthy priest exaggerated the amount of evil, which he depicted in frightful hues; yet the very excess of his vehemence is to be admired in a cause so just and noble.

Not all the missionaries who accompanied the conquerors joined Father Las Casas in denouncing the encomiendas; on the contrary, some of the worst abuses of the system were charged against the Christian teachers themselves. But, as a rule, the priests stood between the unfortunate Indians and their rapacious masters, and protected the victims of impatient greed. After the abolition of encomiendas, when the natives were settled in communities, the religious orders, to whose care their spiritual welfare was chiefly intrusted,—the Franciscans, Dominicans, Augustinians, and Jesuits,—had frequent controversies with the secular authorities, the former claiming the right to protect the Indians against oppression, while the latter declared that this right was abused in favor of the orders themselves, and that they were growing rich and powerful through the labor and contributions of their protégés. In a land where gold and silver flowed out of the mountains in a constant stream, apparently inexhaustible, it is not surprising that the Church, which was the controlling power in the state, should profit by such blessings; though the wealth of the religious communities was gained through the products of agriculture rather than those of the mines. It was chiefly under the direction of the Christian fathers that the fields were cultivated and orchards planted while the conquerors were occupying themselves solely with the extraction of ores.

The power of the clergy has always been stronger in Spain than in any other Catholic land, and the national religion has been its most cherished institution ever since the Visigoths followed up their conquest of the country, after the fall of the Roman Empire, by embracing Christianity early in the sixth century. Their ecclesiastical synods were not only Councils of the Church but parliaments of the realm, and so great was the power of the clergy at that early date, we are told, that even the kings prostrated themselves before the bishops. Then followed the struggle against the Moors, which was first a fight for independence and later a campaign for conquest, but always a religious war. It is not strange that the final victory, won after a crusade that lasted eight hundred years, should have been signalized by a union of Church and State in the closest bonds, and that the pride of the people should be concentrated in the religion they had so tenaciously upheld and defended, and in the military prowess they had so gloriously vindicated.

The prestige of both the Church and the army was at the zenith when Pizarro conquered Peru; and as soon as Spain took formal possession of the country, the Church established its authority throughout the land,—an authority that dominated all the affairs of the colony, secular as well as spiritual. The viceroy was, in reality, head of the government only by right of his office as vice-patron of the Church. The Sovereign of Spain, as patron of the Church,—an honor granted by Pope Julius IV.,—reserved the right to provide all ecclesiastical benefices; the building of churches, monasteries, and other places of worship was prohibited without royal licence; and papal briefs, resolutions of the generals of religious orders, or any other decision issued under ecclesiastical authority required the sanction of the Council of the Indies to give it value. The viceroy Toledo was the first to be appointed vice-patron of the Church, receiving the royal seal in 1574. The bishops of Peru were the chief authorities in their dioceses, the priests had full charge of the schools, and the missionaries represented the government in the reducciones. A historian of the viceroyalty estimates that the clergy, friars, and nuns formed more than the seventh part of the entire population of Lima.

When Pizarro founded the capital of Peru, his first act was to fix the site of the metropolitan church, of which he, himself, laid the corner-stone. As materials were scarce at that time and there were few facilities for such a work, the building was very unpretentious, though five years were spent in its construction. The ceremony of dedication was performed in 1540 by Father Valverde, then bishop of Cuzco and all Peru. According to the chronicles of the period, “the Emperor Charles V. humbly besought His Holiness, Pope Paul III., to grant the title of ‘city’ to the town denominated ‘of the Kings,’ which had been erected in the provinces of Peru, and to establish in it a cathedral church.” The pope granted this request and made Lima a metropolitan see, Fray Geronimo Loayza being appointed the first archbishop of the colony. Within a short time it was found necessary to rebuild the Cathedral, and the work was begun under the most favorable auspices; but so many were the interruptions, changes of plans, and other causes of delay that not until 1625 was the edifice completed, the consecration being solemnized by Archbishop Ocampo, with such pomp and grandeur that the ceremony lasted from sunrise to sunset. As soon as the Spanish sovereign was informed of the completion and consecration of the Cathedral, he ordered that the bones of the Conqueror, Francisco Pizarro, should be disinterred and removed to the sacred edifice, where all that is mortal of the great discoverer of Peru is still preserved.

To the construction and adornment of the Cathedral of Lima, Archbishops Loayza, Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo, and Bartolomé Lobo Guerrero devoted their talents and their fortune with pious zeal; Archbishop Loayza made the church a gift of rich ornaments in silver, and a custodia, or tabernacle, of gold and silver, valued at several thousand dollars. The cost of construction of this magnificent edifice was estimated at half a million dollars gold, and the interior was a repository of such enormous riches that their reputed value passes credibility. The balustrades surrounding the altar,—which was itself a marvel of exquisite wood-carving,—as well as the pipes of the organ, were of silver, and the candlesticks, also of silver, were of remarkable size and weight. The wood-carving of the chancel was not excelled even by that of the famous Cathedral of Seville. The terrible earthquake of 1746 converted the great structure into a mountain of ruins, though the present edifice, which is built on the same site, is an imposing monument of architecture still, after the lapse of more than a century and a half, and notwithstanding the destructive effects of time and the elements. It overlooks the principal plaza of the city, occupying the eastern side of the square. The Cathedral has five naves, each with nine arches, or vaults, and along the sides are ten chapels, in one of which repose the remains of Pizarro. The main altar occupies the centre of the principal nave, and although not now so rich in gold and silver ornaments as formerly, it still represents a fortune, being of silver, as are also the magnificent candlesticks that adorn it. The wonderfully carved pulpit and chancel, of mahogany and cedar, have survived the numerous catastrophes through which the venerable edifice has passed, and show only the wear caused through their use by generations of worshippers.

When Archbishop Loayza, the first incumbent of the see of Lima, died, in 1575, his successor was not appointed until three years later, when Archbishop Toribio Mogrovejo was named for the exalted office. His extraordinary simplicity and piety were recognized even in a capital so gay and pleasure-loving as the City of the Kings, and his name became a synonym of goodness. Many incidents are related of his charitable acts, done without ostentation, and solely from brotherly love and Christian kindness. It is said that one night he was carrying on his back a man whom he had found wounded in the street, when the watchman called out in peremptory tones: “Who goes there?” “Toribio,” was the tranquil answer, the guardian of the law immediately recognizing the good samaritan. The story of his saintly life and his many works of benevolence reveals the spirit of self-sacrifice and devotion which characterizes the best type of Spanish priest. Buckle, in his history of the civilization of Europe, says, in reference to the long list of holy men who have made Spain famous throughout the centuries as the land of beatos: “No other European country has produced so many ardent and disinterested missionaries, zealous, self-denying martyrs, who have cheerfully sacrificed their lives in order to propagate truths which they thought necessary to be known.” Not only in the ranks of the humble missionaries, who penetrated the forests of the Amazon and made their way through the cañons and across the mountain passes of the Andes to find their flocks among the “idolaters,” but in the highest princes of the realm, descendants of kings and lords of proud domains, were to be found examples of Christian piety and unselfishness worthy of the reverence of posterity.

Archbishop Toribio began his work by learning the Quichua language, so that he might be the better able to acquaint himself with the condition and needs of the Indians, whom he protected and guarded with especial care. As soon as he could converse in Quichua, he started out on a long journey through the interior of Peru, on foot, accompanied only by two of his chaplains, and taking a packmule to carry his baggage. His route led him along the sandy plains of the coast, across snow-clad mountains and into the forests of the Upper Amazon. As he passed through the various towns, he visited the churches, monasteries, and convents, holding services and encouraging the labors of his people, while he reproved all abuses of power, and used his high authority to remedy the evils that necessarily crept into a system so vast in scope and scattered over an almost untraversable territory. In the remote districts, the devoted pastor visited the little chozas, or huts, of the natives, instructed the inmates in the catechism and administered the sacraments. Not only did the archbishop make himself familiar with everything connected with his extensive diocese, but he held two diocesan synods and three ecclesiastical councils, for the purpose of considering church matters of importance; he also founded a seminary in Lima for the instruction of the clergy, which was afterward named the Seminary of Santo Toribio. While engaged in his apostolic labors in the north, the illustrious prelate was attacked by fever and died on the 23rd of March, 1606, at the age of seventy. In recognition of his saintly life and character, the Church canonized him a century later.

A contemporary of Saint Toribio is celebrated in the annals of the Church as the only American Saint of the Calendar, known to Catholics as Saint Rose of Lima, the patron of the Peruvian capital and of all Catholic America. She was born in 1586 in the city of Lima and was baptized by Archbishop Toribio with the name of Rosa. From her girlhood, she practised the most austere piety, devoting her young life exclusively to the duties of religion. She was very beautiful, and as she grew older many admirers sought her in marriage, her refusal being greatly resented by her parents, who treated the poor girl with cruelty in order to punish her. At last, however, they were won by her angelic goodness and permitted her to enter a convent of the Dominican order, where she remained until her death in 1617. The 30th day of August, her feast day, is still observed in Lima with great ceremony. The canonization of Saint Rose was decreed by Pope Clement X. in 1671, and its celebration took place in Lima during the government of the Count de Lemos, with such brilliant and imposing ceremonies as the City of the Kings was accustomed to provide in those days. The pontifical bull was read in the Cathedral, in front of a marble statue of the saint, which stood on a silver pedestal and was adorned with priceless jewels. The following day the image was carried in a procession to its present resting place in the Dominican church, where an altar is dedicated to Saint Rose. This church is one of the oldest and most interesting edifices in Lima, and has been as richly adorned with silver at various times as the Cathedral itself. A silver altar of Our Lady of the Rosary which stands at the foot of the presbytery, on the right, is superb; in the centre of the altar is the niche of the Madonna, of exquisite workmanship, her rosary being of large pearls. On the feast day of the Virgin this altar is beautiful beyond description.

The Dominican order came into especial prominence in ecclesiastical matters in Peru during the seventeenth century through its persistent determination not to accept the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, which was proclaimed throughout the Spanish possessions by order of King Philip II. The controversy rose to a great height in Spanish-America, and processions of thousands of people marched through the streets of Lima singing in chorus La virgen fué concebida sin pecado original.—“The Virgin was conceived without original sin.” So enduring was the impression created on the public mind by the controversy, that to this day the popular salutation in some of the country districts of Paraguay and Argentina is “Ave Maria!” to which the invariable response is “Sin pecado concebida!” It was not, however, until 1854, as is well known, that the Immaculate Conception was declared a dogma of the Church, by Pope Pius IX.

The missionaries of Saint Dominic were among the first to come to America, the venerable Las Casas being of this order as well as Fray Valverde, Bishop of Cuzco. Las Casas had been named for the diocese of Cuzco, but he was too intent on his work of reform to desire a benefice, and Fray Solano of the Franciscan order was appointed to the office. The Franciscans were prominent during the entire period of the viceroyalty for their extensive pioneer work in the wilds of America, their devout pilgrims traversing the southern continent from Panamá to Cape Horn. The saintly Fray Francisco Solano, who was a contemporary of Saint Toribio and Saint Rose of Lima, made a journey, barefooted, walking the whole distance, from Paraguay, through the Chaco—which is still inhabited by savage tribes, the terror of travellers—and across what is now Bolivia to the headwaters of the Amazon; his life was spent in Christianizing the savage tribes of the remote interior, a task much more difficult than that of instructing the cultured Indians of the Inca’s country. He died in 1610 and was canonized by the Church.

The church, chapels, and convents of the Franciscans are the largest and handsomest in Lima. It is said that more than two million dollars were spent in the construction of their principal edifice, which was built in the sixteenth century and reconstructed after the earthquake of 1746, the interior being richly ornamented; the high altar was encased with silver and the niche of the Madonna beautifully wrought of the same material. The cloisters of the convent are supported on stone pillars, the roof being of panel-work, and, with the beams, exquisitely carved. In colonial days it used to be said that the four best offices in Lima were the viceroyalty, the archbishopric, the ecclesiastical province of the Dominicans and the office of the Mother Abbess of Concepcion. This nunnery commanded an income of one hundred thousand dollars annually, the dowry of each nun, on taking the veil, being three thousand dollars. The order of San Agustin built many handsome churches and convents during the viceroyalty, and the church of Nuestra Señora de la Merced (Our Lady of Mercy) is still among the most attractive of the city’s sacred edifices. There are at present sixty-six religious establishments existing in Lima, twelve of which are nunneries, each with its respective church.

The Jesuits, who first came to Peru in 1567, were conspicuously noted for their scholarship and their great ability as teachers among the Indians. In every city they established a church and a college; and at Juli, on the border of Lake Titicaca, they founded a training school for missionaries, in 1577. Here the students were taught the native tongues, and were provided with catechisms, grammars, dictionaries, and other text books necessary for their work, the order having introduced the printing press into Peru at that early date. The first book issued from the press of Juli was a catechism, which is now a valued possession of the National Library of Lima. Among their number were some of the most celebrated historians of the Conquest, as well as noted naturalists, geographers, and philologists. Their institutions became renowned, especially those established in Misiones, in the seventeenth century, the ruins of which are visited by hundreds of tourists annually. They accumulated such enormous wealth and their influence was so powerful throughout colonial Spain, that a royal decree of 1769 ordered their banishment. The command of the king was carried out with remarkable secrecy and expedition under the direction of the Viceroy Amat. The chief difficulty threatened the attempt to arrest the Jesuits of the capital and convey them on board the vessel which had been sent to the Peruvian port to receive them. However, the task was completed between midnight and sunrise, the viceroy himself heading the troops,—which were divided into four sections, each with a numerous force of infantry and cavalry—and marching to the four strongholds of the Jesuits in the city, viz., the convent of San Pablo, the Novitiate, the house of the Desamparados and that of the Cercado. As soon as the door of each institution opened, the purpose of the viceroy’s visit was made known and the establishment was placed under guard of the royal troops until the inmates could be taken on board. The same method was followed in Chuquisaca, Potosí, and in Chile, though many of the unfortunate exiles met their death while crossing the snowbound passes of the Andes or in transportation by sea. Sixty were drowned on the voyage from Valparaiso to Callao, and the loss of life from shipwreck and other causes greatly reduced the number who arrived at their destination.

At the time of their expulsion from Peru, the Jesuits were in possession of the college of San Pablo, the Novitiate, the house of probation of the Cercado, the house of the Desamparados, and the royal colleges of San Martin and the Caciques, in Lima; the colleges of the Transfiguration, San Bernardo, and San Francisco de Borja in Cuzco; the celebrated University of San Francisco Javier and the royal college of San Juan Bautista in Chuquisaca; and colleges in Potosí, Arequipa, Cochabamba, Bellavista, Huancavelica, Huamanga, Ica, Moquegua, Oruro, La Paz, Pisco, and Trujillo, as well as the missions of Mojos and Chiquitos, the residence of Santa Cruz de la Sierra and five parishes of Juli. The landed estates of the Jesuits numbered more than two hundred at the time of their banishment, and were valued at six hundred and fifty thousand dollars. It was believed that the order succeeded in hiding vast treasure, and the government made a persistent search, but it has never been found, nor is there anything to prove that all their wealth was not employed in the support of their colleges, missions and other immense and constantly increasing religious establishments. The estates of the banished order were sold at auction, and the proceeds, together with the gold and silver confiscated by the Crown, were used to pay the costs of their deportation, amounting to half a million dollars, the surplus, eight hundred thousand dollars, being sent to the King of Spain. The sacred relics and ornaments of the temples were distributed among the public institutions, and the collections of books were given to the University of Lima to form the basis of a public library. All the revenues of the order reverted to the Crown.

Under the viceroyalty there were five bishoprics subject to the metropolitan See of Lima, the first having been established in Cuzco and the second in Lima, at the time of the Conquest, to which were added those of Trujillo (1611), Arequipa (1612) and Huamanga (1615). In each diocese the ecclesiastical government was divided into parochial districts, under the authority of the priests. The religious labors of the Christian fathers were by no means light during the early days, as the former subjects of the Children of the Sun, though apparently easily converted, confounded the worship of God with that of Pachacámac, giving a most unorthodox interpretation to the dogma of the Trinity and the Immaculate Conception.

The office of the Inquisition was established in Lima during the sixteenth century and its victims included all ranks and classes of society, though the Indians were exempt from its terrors. In the present day, such an institution as the Inquisition seems a blot on religion; but centuries ago, it was regarded as an instrument of great power in keeping the Church free from the contamination of evil beliefs. Its most earnest and relentless supporters were not hypocrites, bent on revenge, but enthusiasts, who believed they were justified in taking even the cruellest measures to protect the faith. The seventeenth century was an intolerant age, and at the same time that the Inquisition was holding the auto de fé with fatal frequency, the Salem Puritans were burning witches, and the Kirk of Scotland was banishing one of its members for having travelled through a Catholic country.

The viceroy Abascal received the order from the Cortes of Spain to abolish the Inquisition in the year 1811; and the hall in which so many judgments had been pronounced contrary to the best laws of human liberty, was abandoned by the Holy Office, to be occupied in years to come by the representative authorities of a government pledged to recognize the right of every man to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” The same year that witnessed the abolition of the Santo Oficio, saw the first military gathering of the patriots of Tacna, led by a Limeño, preparing to join the forces of their fellow colonists on the tableland of Alto Peru, where they were to encounter the royalist army.