e venerable brother Fray Martin de San Francisco.

The year 1682

Sec. I

Relation of the anxiety which our province of Philipinas has always
had to extend its apostolic preaching to China; and the great effort
made in 1682 for that purpose.

[The story of the Recollect attempt to evangelize in China is one of
failure, notwithstanding the earnest efforts made by that order to
send laborers to that empire. Shortly after the closing of Japanese
ports to all missionaries in 1640, the Philippine Recollects began
to work up the foreign mission field, but it was not until 1650 that
they were able to present memorials to the Roman court, which proved
unavailing as the Italians and French were already on the ground in
many of the Asiatic countries. In 1667 the father provincial, Fray
Juan de la Madre de Dios, received decrees in blank ordering him to
send laborers to China, but the royal treasury was in no position to
aid them, and the wars both in the islands and in China also prevented
the proposed spiritual invasion. Many other mandatory decrees from
the king met the same fate, but in the chapter of 1680, the order
determined to make the mission if they had to supply all the funds
themselves. Three men were told off to study the language in order to
prepare for the work in China, and in 1682, one did actually get as
far as Macan, but the opposition of the civil authorities there proved
the deathknell to all hopes at that time. Again in 1701, and in 1704,
abortive attempts were made to enter the great empire, the last being
coeval with the arrival of the apostolic visitor Cardinal Tournon.]

[The second section of this chapter treats of Spanish matters.]

CHAPTER III

A fine mission leaves Espana for Philipinas; and the venerable father
Fray Christoval de San Joseph leaves this for the eternal life.

The year 1683

Sec. I

Of the missions of our religious who reached Philipinas during the
years of these three decades, and in especial of the mission which
made its voyage this year 1683 to the not small luster of the Catholic
religion.

... 908. The third volume has already related that a mission left
Espana in the year 1660 in charge of father Fray Eugenio de los
Santos. [55] He brought in that mission, however, only eighteen
choir religious and two lay brothers whose names I have been
unable to ascertain, as the instruments with which I would have
to do so have not come to me from Espana. They