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The Library of the Apostolic College of San Fernando, Mexico, in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 December 2015
Extract
The Apostolic Colleges of Spanish America, as is well known, were spiritual powerhouses which provided learned, zealous and dynamic missionaries, who not only evangelized the pagan Indians on the periphery of Christianity but also renewed the faith and morals of the professed Christians in populous cities and far-flung haciendas. These missionaries were recruited principally from the provinces in Spain, though a number of American-born friars became members. It was but natural that in the course of time these colleges came to possess great archives and valuable libraries. The correspondence of the missionaries out in the conversiones, of bishops and government officials, the official books of the college, such as the Acta of the discretory, the reception and profession of novices, the account books, the affiliation and disaffiliation of members, the records of benefactors, all, after a century or two, comprised bulky archival material. Just as naturally, in the course of time, large libraries developed. Home missionaries needed access to general and particular knowledge without the constant necessity of leaving their colleges to obtain it. The missionaries in the Indian fields had to rely almost exclusively upon the college or mother house to supply them with the books they needed in fields where printing was unknown and reading was confined almost to the circle of missionaries.
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- Research Article
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- Copyright
- Copyright © Academy of American Franciscan History 1951
References
1 The Sierra Gorda missions in the northeastern part of the state of Querétaro were ministered by the missionaries of San Fernando College between 1744 and 1770. Cf. “Statistical Report on the Sierra Gorda Missions,” January 11, 1762. Biblioteca Nacional, Mexico. Photograph in the Santa Barbara Mission Archives (SBMA), Doc. 11, in Junípero Serra Section. Cf. also, Palóu, Relación Historica (1787), pp. 24 and 38.
2 The missionaries of San Fernando College served the Lower California missions between 1768 and 1773 and the Upper California missions between 1769 and 1853. When Mission Santa Barbara in Upper California was separated from the College of San Fernando in 1853, it became an independent apostolic college, and missionary activity on the part of San Fernando College ceased in Upper California. See pertinent documents in Geiger, Maynard, Calendar of Documents in the Santa Barbara Mission Archives (Washington, D. C., 1947), p. 181.Google Scholar
3 The catalogue or índice is in the Biblioteca Nacional, Mexico. A typewritten copy is in the SBMA.
4 This archival index is in the Biblioteca del Museo Nacional, Mexico. A photograph of the same is in the SBMA.
5 The “Libro de Decretos, etc.,” is in the Archivo General de la Nación, Mexico. A typewrtten copy is in the SBMA.
6 Passim, “Libro de Decretos.”
7 All citations are from the “Libro de Decretos,” as are subsequent statements in the text referring to library regulations by the visitors general.
8 However, Father Sierra did not serve for long since in November of the same year he was appointed as ship chaplain for the Santiago bound for California out of San Bias. Father Sierra had been a missionary in Lower California between 1769 and 1773. As ship chaplain, he accompanied Heceta in a voyage of exploration along the coast of California, Oregon and Washington in 1775, and returned to California ports again in 1776 and 1777 as chaplain of the San Antonio. He died at San Bias after his return there in 1778. Cf. the Memorial of Rafael Verger, O.F.M., September 9, 1772; Marina, Vol. 35, both in Archivo General de la Nación. Biographical data on Benito de la Sierra will be found in Palóu’s Historical Memoirs of New California, edited by Herbert Eugene Bolton (Berkeley, 1926), vol. I, pp. 45, 73, 79, 292 and vol. IV, pp. 114–115, 173.
9 Father Estevan Tapis was Presidente of the California missions between 1803 and 1812. The Franciscan friars in the California missions inscribed on the title page of the books they brought along for their use, “Del uso simple del Fray … [N.]” or some similar statement. There are still two large mission libraries in California which contain the books of the Fernandino missionaries who had labored there between 1769 and 1853, namely at Mission Santa Barbara, and the parish house of San Carlos Parish, Monterey. Some of these books contain the inscription as ordered by the San Fernando discretory of 1808. Others contain statements in varied forms as “Este libro pertenece a la Misión de … [N.]” or “Fray Estevan Tapis, Religioso Menor” which was later inscribed, “S. Juan Bautista. Del Colegio de San Fernando de Mexico. Fray Fortuny.” or “Del uso de Fray Francisco Suñer, Misionero de San Fernando de México.”
On October 3, 1854, after Mission Santa Barbara had become an apostolic college, Archbishop Alemany of San Francisco, who was also administrator of the Diocese of Monterey, directed that all the books that once belonged to San Fernando College that were found in that diocese were to be handed over to Mission Santa Barbara. Cf. document 42, College of Our Lady of Sorrows Section, SBMA. The exact wording of the document is as follows: “Por las presentes ordenamos a todos los R.R. Señores Curas de la diocesis de Monterey que se sirvan poner a la disposción del M. Revo. Padre José j. Jimeno, Pref.o etc., todos los libros pertenecientes al Colegio de San Fernando, que se hallen en sus respectivos lugares, recogiendo al efecto los que se hallen prestados a personas particulares.
San Francisco, Oct. 3 de 1854.
Fr. Jimeno was Guardian of the Apostolic College at Santa Barbara.
10 A photograph of the title page is in the SBMA.
11 The inscription by Cevallos is as follows: “En este Ap.co Colegio de S. Fernando de Méjico, en ocho días del mes de julio de mil ochoc.tos doce se presentó por el R.P. Guardn., Fr. Agustín Garijo este libro, que consta de doscientas quarenta y una fojas, ante N. M. R. P. Comiso. Visitr. y Presidente de capítulo, suplicándole se sirva autorizarlo, y mandar se aplique pa. asentar en el todos los libros pertenecientes a la Librería, y los que en los sucesivo se pusiesen. Y visto por su P. M. R. lo dió por prestado, y mandó sirva en este Colegio pa. el referido fin, y q.e se selle con el sello del colegio, y a mi infrascrito secretario lo expresase así este auto, que su P. M. R. proveyó y firmó en este dho. colegio el referido día, mes y año, ut supra.
12 A few of the books formerly belonging to the library of San Fernando College and now in the Santa Barbara Mission library still have these letters on their backs indicating to which category or section of the college library they once belonged. Thus the capital letter M is found on the book: Práctica del Catecismo Romano which showed it was classified under Moral Theology. The Exercicio de Perfección by Rodríguez has the letter A, indicating that it belonged to the section reserved for Ascetical Literature.
A few of the padres’ books at Santa Barbara still have this double lettering, e. g., the Pláticas Doctrinales y Discursos Morales by Joseph de Nives Avendaño (1729). The back of the book has the Roman IV in black lettering, followed by III in red lettering (to be explained in note 13) and the Arabic number 18 in black lettering. This indicated it once stood as book 18 on shelf IV in its proper section of San Fernando library.
13 Books with a red numeral were not allowed to be taken out of the library without the explicit permission of the guardian or the librarian. These books with red lettering were of greater value than others and hence in greater demand. This is the case with the book cited in note 12 and also Dispertador Christiano by García y Zambrara (1694), which has the Arabic numeral 22 in red. There are a few others in the Santa Barbara Mission library.
14 The Constitutions of Pope Innocent XI for the government of apostolic colleges may be found in the Collectio Statutorum, Gratiarum et Indulgentiarum pro Missionibus Earumque Collegiis de Propaganda Fide Fratrum Minorum S. Francisci de Observantia in Indiis Occidentalibus (Rome, 1778).
15 Some of the books formerly belonging to the library of the College of San Fernando are now in the Biblioteca Nacional, Mexico.