The Agony of the Cliurch in Texas, 182r-1836
353
tary salute solemnly proclaimed the Elevation. At four o'clock the citizens paraded again from the Military Plaza to the Main Plaza to hear an orator deliver an address. After night prayers, two public dances, one at each square, ended the festivities. The unfortunate were not forgotten in the midst of the general re- joicing. A committee, appointed for the purpose, called upon the Political Chief to solicit a pardon for several prisoners. The final report on the cost of rebuilding the church was made in December of 1830 by Ramon Musquiz, Jose Flores, and Ygnacio Chavez. The total expenditures for the year were $451. 105 Ecclesiastical-military relations. Questions arose concerning the rela- tive rights and duties of the parish priest and the chaplains of military units in San Antonio. In order to remove all confusion, Father de la Garza sent Commandant Ahumada an excerpt from a letter written on July 15, 1825, by the Administrator of the Diocese to Rural Dean Pena to the effect that it was the duty, not of the pastor, but of the chaplains to look after the spiritual needs of the soldiers and their families. Ahumada asked whether the pastor, in the absence of the chap- lain, could take care of the spiritual needs of the soldiers provided he received adequate compensation. Garza replied he had no objection to such an arrangement, but insisted that such services were to be regarded as purely temporary. 106 Another controversy involved jurisdiction in making funeral arrange- ments and holding funeral services. The soldiers' families frequently desired to have the services held in the parish church. But the chaplain of the Alamo garrison construed his instructions from Pena respecting records of births, marriages, and burials to mean that funeral services for soldiers should be held in the garrison chapel and his interpretation prevailed. 107 During Holy Week Father Juan Jose Zambrano requested the par- ticipation of the military in the ceremonies of Holy Thursday. Com- mandant Ahumada showed his willingness to cooperate by immediately naming the officers and men who were to take part in the services. 101 IOSMinutes of the junta for the celebration, September 10, 1830; Report of Committee on decorations and receipts of expenditures, September 12-19, 1830: Informe de Cuentas, December 31, 1830, Berar Arcnive.r. l06Refugio de la Garza to Mateo Ahumada, August 7, 1825; Ahumada ·10 Garza, August 10, 1825, Berar Arcnive.r. 101saucedo to Governor Gonzalez, March 5, 1826, Berar ArcMves. lOIJuan Jose Zambrano to Ahumada, March 17, 1826; Ahumada to Alcalde, March 18, 1826, Bexar Arcnives.
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