Tl,e Field and Its Workers
labored in the distant outposts, the others preached ardent m1ss10ns in all the cities of Mexico. So deep was the impression which their zeal, sincerity, modesty, and poverty caused upon all their hearers, that the city of Mexico had repeatedly requested the Guardian of the College of Queretaro to establish an hospice or a seminary college of apostolic missionaries in the metropolis. But the Guardian had replied that the number of workers was not sufficient even for the needs of the missions among the unconverted and the preaching of the gospel among the faithful. Their numerous friends and admirers in Mexico, however, appealed to the Commissary General of the Franciscans, who in 1730 asked the College of La Santa Cruz de Queretaro to send a delegation of eight missionaries to preach a city-wide mission. Obedient to the request of the superior of the Order, eight humble friars set out to fulfill his wishes. With their accustomed zeal, they preached in the various churches of Mexico and before the different religious communities, touching the hearts of their hearers wherever they went and causing sincere repentance among the sinful. At the conclusion of the mission, the unsuspecting friars went to the Commissary General to take their leave. It was then, on January 14, 1731, that the superior revealed to them that it was his intention that they should remain in Mexico and establish an hospice where they could stay until the necessary permission to found a seminary college could be obtained. He commissioned Fathers Fray Diego de Alcantara and Fray Andres de Passos to find a suitable place for the purpose. The two friars, consequently, presented a memorial to the viceroy, asking for authorization to establish a temporary hospice, and explaining that a recently completed chapel in Necaltitlan, one of the wards of the city, had been offered to them for the purpose. The viceroy, the Marquis of Casafuerte, referred the matter to the fiscal, who pointed out in his opinion that no convent or college could be established without the official approval of the king, but that the viceroy could authorize the temporary establishment of the hospice as solicited, subject to royal approval in view of the great benefits which such an institution would bring to the faithful of the city. Satisfied with the opinion, the Marquis of Casafuerte gave his consent and the city council approved it on January 27, 1731. But no sooner was the permission obtained, than upon a more careful investi- gation, it was found that the chapel granted for the establishment of the hospice was inadequate for the purpose. A new place was sought and
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