•••
01'r Catliolic Heritage in T e:xas
30
uses his influence to see that the guilty are punished and that all are drawn together by love."' 1 • As a protection and to impress the Indians with a sense of respect, it was customary to establish a presidio a short distance from a mission, or group of missions, as in the case of East Texas and the missions on the San Antonio River. The garrisons stationed in the presidios not only afforded protection to the missions against hostile Indians, but they served to hold the frontier in case of foreign aggression. As already pointed out, the garrisons were required to furnish from two to three soldiers to each mission to help the missionaries instruct and discipline the neophytes. The mission was not designed to be a permanent institution. Its char- acter was essentially temporary and transitory. In theory, the mission was to Christianize and civilize the Indians on the frontier as rapidly as possible; and just as soon as its task was accomplished, the lands and property of the mission were to be distributed to the neophytes and the church turned over to the secular clergy. The missionary was then sup- posed to move farther on or go to a new frontier, where he could start his work all over again. According to the law, the average time for the accomplishment of the dual purpose of the missions in Christianizing and converting the natives was ten years. But this was based on the experience of the early missionaries, who had worked among the much more highly civilized Indians of central Mexico, who were already congregated in towns, practiced some agriculture, and had a much higher culture than any of the tribes found in Texas. But ·the officials, both civil and religious, showed remarkable discretion in permitting ample latitude in the application of the letter of the law on this subject, and the missions along the northern frontier of New Spain were allowed to remain under the care of the missionaries for much longer periods. The colleges of Propaganda Fide, from which came all the missionaries who worked in Texas, were under the immediate supervision of the Com- missary General of the Franciscan Order, who exercised authority over all the Spanish dominions. But the internal government of each college was entrusted to a Guardian, who administere_d it with the aid of the Discretorio, a body composed of several of the older and more experienced members of the college. The missions founded by or entrusted to the colleges were grouped into presidencies, which were self-governing units
i I I I I
,11nforme del Gobernador sobre la mision de San Jose, May 28, 17 58. San Franeiseo 1l Grand, .4relirves, Vol. 12, p. 60.
I _,
Powered by FlippingBook