60 
Vatican Archives 
Under these circumstances it became a leading point of papal diplomacy 
to establish in America an official directly responsible to the Holy See and 
possessing broad powers. The creation of a Patriarch Indiae Occidentalis 
in 1524/“ might seem to be a first step toward the establishment of effective 
ecclesiastical jurisdiction, but this was a title purely honorary, being described 
in the consistorial acts: “quia sede Patriarchali et cap’lo caret, et cuius fructus 
nulli sunt ”. 53 In fact, so separate were the functions and the title that in 1568 
it was proposed to erect a patriarchate with an actual seat in America. 04 This, 
however, would hardly have met the situation, as the incumbent must have 
been nominated by the king, and there was, in addition, the danger that so 
great an ecclesiastic, and one so little dependent upon the Pope, might wax 
into a rival power. The proposition was dismissed: “ per il pericolo, che non 
si levasse un giorno contra la chiesa Romana A 65 The papal plan was to send 
to reside in America a nuncio, appointed at Rome and revocable, or a visitor 
whose office might grow into that of nuncio. The idea of a nuncio with func¬ 
tions confined to a portion of the empire and residing at the court of the 
viceroy instead of that of the king, was a natural one, as there were nuncios 
from time to time at Brussels, Naples, and Lisbon, as well as at Madrid, but 
the Spanish government was opposed, as always, to any interference with its 
colonies. In 1568 it seemed that a compromise might be reached in the ap¬ 
pointment of a nuncio for a term of years to correct abuses, 56 but this plan 
failed, and the Spanish government was successful in its resistance. 
It is with the discussion of this question that the correspondence of this 
collection is concerned between 1560 and 1630, rather than with actual condi¬ 
tions in America. Yet the efforts of the papal administration to obtain in¬ 
formation were constant. In 1586 the collector of Portugal, having been 
brought to task by both the nuncio at Madrid and the secretary of state, wrote 
explaining the difficulty of securing news. 57 The congregation of the Propa¬ 
ganda Fide was at first no more successful. On Apr. 30, 1659, the nuncio 
wrote the cardinal prefect of that congregation that the ministers of Spain 
resented any attempt to interfere with their exclusive control of missions, 68 
and in 1677, Cerri wrote of Mexico: “ The Sacred Congregation obtains from 
the Holy See the sending of Bishops to these Dioceses: but when they are 
sent, they quite forget the Apostolical See, and the Congregation, and never 
82 P. B. Gams, Series Episcoporum. 
63 Arch. Consist., Acta Cancel., 4, f. 282. Aug. 27, 1547. 
54 Corsini, cod. 506, col. 33-E-12, ff. 139-140. Mgr. Casagna to the secretary of state, 
Oct. 1, describing the special committee, “ avanti Cardinale Spinosa per le cose del- 
l’lrdie. Vi sono intervenuti non solo quelli del Conseglio d’India, ma altri professori 
di Teologia, e di Canoni ”. 
65 Ibid. 
68 Ibid. 
87 Nun. di Portogallo 1A, f. 77. Oct., to the secretary of state. 
58 Arch. Propaganda, “ Scrit. rif. nelle Congregationi ”, 258, f. 10. “ Informationi 
dal P’re Provinciale de’ Cappuccini sopra il contenuto del! human® 3 Lettera di V. 
Em za de 25 di Gennaro del! esserci inviati alcuni P’ri Cappuccini della Provincia d’Ara- 
gona per Missionari all’ Indie; ha saputo la notitia portata a V. Em za proviene da me- 
demi superiori di quella Provincia per il sentimento, che hanno di vedersi privati de 
migliori soggetti ai’ essa; e qui nocandosi pero nel sapporto che sia cio’ stato fatto con 
mia licenza, poiche queste missioni procedono dalla sola dispositione di Sua Maesta 
Catt ca per mezzo del Consiglio dell’ Indie, in virtu della Bolla che allegano di Papa 
Alessandro sesto, spedita a 4 di Maggio di 1493 ed altra della santa mem a . di Pio 
Quinto de 24 Marzo del 1567, senza che vi sia intervenuto alcuna mia participatione, 
della quale i Ministri Regis non pretendono vi sia di bisogna.” 
