Oath of Office. 231 



Antiqua, in a certain manner bereft of the solace of a pastor, in 

 your person acceptable to us and to our brothers, as your merits 

 require, appointing you its bishop and pastor according, as is 

 contained more fully in our letter written for that reason, gra- 

 ciously attending to what may be to your greater convenience, 

 we grant your request, conceding to you full and free leave, ac- 

 cording to the tenor of these presents, to receive consecration at 

 the hands of whatsoever Catholic bishop you wish,4n favor and 

 communion, and we grant to the same bishop leave by our au- 

 thority, freely and lawfully, to perform the aforesaid function 

 after having received from you, in our name and that of the 

 Roman church, the usual oath of fidelity, according to the form 

 indicated by these presents. However, we wish and by the afore- 

 said authority command and decree that if the same bishop 

 presume to confer on you that charge without having received 

 from you the aforesaid oath, and if you dare to accept it, that 

 bishop be suspended from the exercise of his pontifical office 

 and both he and you be suspended, by that very fact, from the 

 administration of jouy churches in both spiritual and temj)oral 

 matters. We desire, moreover, that you see to it that the form 

 of this oath taken by you be sent to- us as soon as jDossible, 

 through your own nuncio, word for word, by your letters patent, 

 signed with your own seal. This is the form of the oath which 

 you will take : I, John, elect of S. Maria del Antiqua, from this 

 hour henceforth will be faithful and obedient to blessed Peter 

 and the holy Roman church and to our Lord Pope Leo X and 

 his successors canonically constituted, so help me God and these 

 His holy gospel. 



Given at Rome, at Saint Peter's, in the year of the incarnation of 

 our Lord one thousand five hundred and thirteen, the fourth clay 

 before the ides of September, in the first year M. XX de Campania. 



15. 



Letter from Pope Leo X granting absolution to John of Queve- 

 clos, bishop of Darien. 



To our beloved son, John of Quevedos, professed member of the 

 order of Friars Minor, known as Observants, health, etc : 

 The customary clemency of the apostolic see employs oppor- 

 tune remedies, according as is fitting, in order that the disposi- 



