Nothing, We Are Told, Could Exceed The
Implicit And Affectionate Devotion Of The Indian Converts To The
Jesuit Fathers, And The Catholic Faith Was Disseminated Widely
Through The Wilderness.
The growing power and influence of the
Jesuits in the New World at length excited the jealousy of the
Spanish government, and they were banished from the colonies.
The
governor, who arrived at California to expel them, and to take
charge of the country, expected to find a rich and powerful
fraternity, with immense treasures hoarded in their missions, and
an army of Indians ready to defend them. On the contrary, he
beheld a few venerable silverhaired priests coming humbly forward
to meet him, followed by a throng of weeping, but submissive
natives. The heart of the governor, it is said, was so touched by
this unexpected sight, that he shed tears; but he had to execute
his orders. The Jesuits were accompanied to the place of their
embarkation by their simple and affectionate parishioners, who
took leave of them with tears and sobs. Many of the latter
abandoned their heriditary abodes, and wandered off to join their
southern brethren, so that but a remnant remained in the
peninsula. The Franciscans immediately succeeded the Jesuits, and
subsequently the Dominicans; but the latter managed their affairs
ill. But two of the missionary establishments are at present
occupied by priests; the rest are all in ruins, excepting one,
which remains a monument of the former power and prosperity of
the order. This is a noble edifice, once the seat of the chief of
the resident Jesuits.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 339 of 442
Words from 90844 to 91106
of 118673
