Collection on the Church in Mexico

The Collection on the Church in Mexico, which forms part of the Genaro García Collection, was purchased by the University of Texas in 1921 from the heirs of Genaro García. The collection was described by the Benson Latin American Collection's Mexican Archives Project in November 1993.

The documents are primarily in Spanish; some are in Latin. The collection is also available on microfilm.

The following guide is available in Rare Books Reference: Castañeda, Carlos E. and Jack Autrey Dabbs, eds., Guide to the Latin American Manuscripts in the University of Texas Library. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1939. Some items are described in the library's card file and on lists prepared by the project staff.

Many documents in the collection were published by Genaro García in his Colección de documentos inéditos o muy raros para la historia de México, Mexico, Vda. de C. Bouret, 1905-1911.

The suggested citation is "Collection on the Church in Mexico, 1580-1890, Benson Latin American Collection, General Libraries, University of Texas at Austin."

The collection is comprised of the these former García wallet numbers:

#15	El Clero
#74-77	La Iglesia
#112-113	Decretos y Proclamaciones de la Iglesia

The Roman Catholic Church established the archbishopric of Mexico in 1546. It encompassed the dioceses of Tlaxcala-Puebla, Oaxaca, Michoacán, Chiapas, and Guadalajara in the present Republic of Mexico, and those of Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala in Central America. Until the creation of the archibishopric of Guatemala in 1743, all dioceses in continental Spanish America north of Costa Rica were subordinate to Mexico. The following additional dioceses were created in the archbishopric of Mexico: Yucatán (1561), Guadiana-Durango (1620), Linares-Monterrey (1777), and Sonora (1779). The Church exerted influence on Mexico through the establishment of convents, churches, and hospitals, and by the issuance of decrees, bulls, etc. prescribing behavior and activities.

Decrees, proclamations, bulls, indulgences, and circulars illustrate the Church's role in New Spain and Mexico. Typescripts of research notes contain information on histories of convents, religious orders, churches, and hospitals. Transcripts of correspondence between ecclesiastical and government authorities concern government attempts to acquire revenues from the Church (1847). Materials relating to La Junta Guadalupana consist of various formats. Transcript of José Joaquin Fernández de Lizardi's work, Si el gato saca las uñas se desprende el cascabel, and of responses to it by the Junta Censura Eclesiástica (1832). Ephemeral materials include invitations, solicitations, and anagrams. The collection includes a few manuscript marriage records. A small number of items concern books prohibited by the church.

The Collection on the Church in Mexico was arranged into seven series by the staff of the Mexican Archives Project. The processing of the collection was completed by the Mexican Archives Project staff in November 1993.

The following tables comprise only a partial listing of documents in the Collection on the Church in Mexico.

Puebla;

1677	Holy see; summary of obligations and indulgences assigned to the Slaves of St. Joseph, a confraternity of Puebla; signed by the Bishop of Puebla.
9 February 1700	Escalante y Mendoza, Dean, Cathedral of Mexico City; edict cancelling all previous indulgences in favor of the Pope's proclamation of 1700 as a Holy Year.
21 October 1726	Manuscript, 3 leaves, apparently a copy of similar printed items meant for public display, concerning prohibited books; from "Nos los Inquisidores Apostólicos," forbidding the reimpression in Spanish of banned books and warning of dangers from the sects of the Mohammedans, Quietists, Deists, Epicureans, and Atheists.
9 November 1726	Manuscript, 1 leaf, concerning removal from circulation of prohibited books; signed apparently by Holy Office.
18 February 1760	De Hoyos Mier, Subdelegate Commisar of the Holy Crusade; proclamation giving increased amounts of contributions for all citizens under the current Bull of the Holy Crusade.
8 March 1761	Rubio y Salinas, Archbishop of Mexico; edict allowing private masses to be said early, so that the faithful can attend mass. for the feast of St. Joseph, which this year would fall in Holy Week.
26 February 1762	De Hoyos Mier; proclamation outlining the reduced contributions for the Holy Crusade and emphasizing its benefits for the dead. Two copies of this document.
24 July 1762	Rubio y Salinas; edict announcing the removal to the Cathedral of Mexico City of the image of the Virgen de los Remedios, in petition for deliverance from the current epidemics of smallpox and fevers and from the ravages of the European war. Two copies of this document.
6 August 1767	Lorenzana, Archbishp of Mexico; edict concerning fast and abstinence and reinforcing Pope Clement's request that the catechism be taught in Sunday sermons.
20 December 1767	De Hoyos Mier; edict explaining the newly revised Bull of the Crusade, with contributions to be made in honor of God and in support of the King.
18 March 1769	Lorenzana; pastoral letter exhorting curates to see that moderation and decorum are observed in all religious celebrations and processions.
30 April 1772	Rocha y Mazón, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Mexico; edict limiting the number of candles on all altars because of the high price of wax.
20 January 1773	Núñez de Haro y Peralta, Archbishop of Mexico; provision moving the vigil of the feast of St. Matthew, since it falls this year on the Tuesday before Lent.
10 January 1775	Núñez de Haro y Peralta; edict clarifying regulations and prohibitions concerning marriages. Two copies of this document.
26 August 1776	Núñez de Haro y Peralta; edict reprinting and endorsing the royal order against any public discussion of the Jesuit expulsion.
18 December 1777	Núñez de Haro y Peralta; edict requiring curates to attend the seminary at Tepotzotlan and re-establishing parish Moral Conferences.
177-	Holy see; summary of indulgences for the Holy Name of Jesus, a confraternity at the Church of San Francisco in Mexico City. Unsigned.
12 February 1782	Núñez de Haro y Peralta; edict allowing dispensation(s) from fast and abstinence, at the request of the Viceroy, during the remainder of Lent, due to the scarcity of fish, oil, and flour.
14 January 1788	Ruiz de Conejares, Vicar General of the Archbishopric of Mexico; edict requesting alms for the upkeep of the Holy Places in Jerusalem, restricting the unauthorized sale of related religious articles, and excommunicating "persons withholding anything belonging to these Places."
3 July 1790	"Nos los Inquisidores Apostólicos"; letter listing prohibited publications and giving instructions for the expurgation of others.
17 March 1791	Núñez de Haro y Peralta; edict allowing dispensation(s) from fast and abstinence, at the request of the Viceroy, during the remainder of Lent, due to the scarcity of fish, oil, and flour.
16 February 1792	Núñez de Haro y Peralta; edict dispensing Catholics from Lenten rules concerning use of meat, eggs, and milk products, because of the poor nutritional level of available foods.
16 January 1793	Núñez de Haro y Peralta; edict concerning obligatory reception of communion.
25 March 1795	Núñez de Haro y Peralta; edict refuting the sermon of Fr. Servando Mier giving fanciful origins of the cult of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
25 November 1795	Mier y Villar, Commisar of the Holy Crusade; edict specifying penances, prayers, contributions, and indulgences for this latest "crusade."
25 November 1797	Mier y Villar; edict giving new guidelines for observing the current Bull of the Holy Crusade. Two copies of this document.
24 January 1799	Núñez de Haro y Peralta; edict forbidding all nocturnal excursions of men and women, under the pretext of praying the Stations of the Cross at the various Calvary chapels, which are hereafter to be opened only during daylight.
1 December 1799	Mier y Villar; edict reaffirming and extending participant guidelines for the Bull of the Holy Crusade. Two copies of this document.
29 November 1801	Gamboa, Commisar for the Holy Crusade; edict specifying indulgences and contributions for the "crusade" of 1802-1803.
16 April 1802	Gamboa; edict updating amounts of contributions and corresponding indulgences. Two copies of this document.
4 December 1802	"Nos los Inquisidores Apostólicos"; edict renewing that of 31 October 1766, forbidding the songs called "chuchumbé," and adding prohibitions against women's publicly immodest dress and against the dance "Jarabe Gatuno."
19 June 1804	Gamboa; edict establishing a collections system for the 263,169 pesos newly levied on the Church in Mexico. Three copies of this document.
12 November 1805	Jarabo, Subdelegate Commisar for the Holy Crusade; edict giving amounts of current assessments. Two copies of this document.
2 December 1805	Lizana y Beaumont, Archbishop of Mexico; edict banning Catholics who have not made their annual confession and communion from entering churches and from being buried in consecrated ground.
14 August 1809	Lizana y Beaumont; copy of a royal order of 22 May 1809, announcing the continued authority of Spain over its colonies and stressing the need for reform of their public institutons.
16 April 1810	González del Campillo, Bishop of Puebla; pastoral letter debunking the Cross of Huaquechula and forbidding further pilgrimages to it.
25 April 1810	Lizana y Beaumont, Archbishop and Viceroy; provisions against the circulation in Mexico of Napoleon's proclamations of himself as King of Spain, with exhortations to all the faithful to show their loyalty to Fernando VII as their religious duty.
3 June 1812	Dean and Chapter of the Cathedral of Mexico City; edict denouncing the newspaper Ilustrador Nacional, published in Sultepec. Two copies of this document.
10 June 1813	Bergosa y Jordán, Archbishop-elect of Mexico; pastoral letter warning the faithful that although the Inquisition has been suppressed, religious and civil punishments for those who offend remain in force.
4 September 1813	Bishop of Oaxaca; circular letter, concerning the relocation of secular clergy who speak Indian languages, to parishes away from the city of Oaxaca.
21 January 1815	Flores, Apostolic Inquisitor; edict announcing the re-establishment of the Tribunal of the Holy Office by Ferdinand VII.
26 May 1815	Dean and Chapter, Cathedral of Mexico City; edict condemning the Constitution, decrees, and calendar issued by the Congress of Apatzingan, and excommunicating those who keep written versions of any of them.
December 1815	Gamboa; edict specifying indulgences attached to contributions, for each social group, under the Bull of the Crusade.
14 January 1817	Anniversary list of deceased priests serving the Cathedral of Mexico City, with arrangements for a commemorative service.
7 June 1817	"Nos los Inquisidores Apostólicos"; letter listing prohibited publications, with directions for expurgating others.
13 November 1822	Flores Alatorre, Canon of the Cathedral of Mexico City; edict prohibiting lascivious pictures, symbols of freemasonry, and all of the books and pamphlets listed.
7 December 1828	Dean and Chapter, Cathedral of Mexico City; edict requiring parishioners to return or restore whatever they have taken which was not theirs, under penalty of excommunication.
24 August 1829	Dean and Chapter, Cathedral of Mexico City; exhortation to all members of the diocese to remain firm in their faith during times of political uncertainty. Two copies of this document.
2 October 1830	President and Chapter of the Cathedral of Mexico City; exhortation to the faithful to gain Jubilee indulgences.
28 June 1834	President and Chapter of the Cathedral of Mexico City; pastoral edict establishing a solemn triduum of thanks for delivery from politico-religious turmoil, by the sudden arrival of "that brilliant star," President López de Santa Anna.
30 November 1836	Public notice of a novena in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
29 November 1839	Posada y Garduño, Vicar, Archdiocese of Mexico; edict reaffirming the feast of St. Joseph as a holy day of obligation, and specifying Advent fasts and ways of scheduling feasts of patron saints.
10 September 1849	Barrientos, Canon of the Cathedral of Mexico City; circular letter to the curates of the State of Mexico, deploring the unauthorized publication of the charges levied against parishes and seeking the protection of the Governor, Mariano Rivas Palacio.
9 November 1850	Barrientos; proclamation banning Abraham López' Calendar for 1851, as offensive to public morals.
11 November 1851	de la Garza y Ballesteros, Archbishop of Mexico; edict endorsing Pope Pius IX's condemnation of Vigil's book, Defensa de la autoridad...contra las pretensiones de la Curia romana.
29 September 1865	Labastida y Dávalos, Archbishop of Mexico; edict announcing a month of "jubilee," with plenary indulgences.
16 May 1875	Bishop of Tulancingo; pastoral letter, declaring the jubilee every 25 years, as decreed by Pope Pius IX.
5 June 1889	Labastida y Dávalos; circular concerning the protest of the revolutionary journalist Terrazas, that the Church should not have denounced him as a public sinner for the periodical El Mañana, and upholding his condemnation.
5 October 1890	Labastida y Dávalos; pastoral letter soliciting contributions for the completion of the Colegiata of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

25 June 1767	De Croix, President of the Real Audiencia; order requiring removal from all the dominions of Spain of all Jesuit priests, brothers, and novices, during which all public discussion or demonstrations are forbidden.
1781	Proclamation listing no source authority but threatening with excommunication anyone found slaughtering cattle still able to reproduce, or aged and sterile cattle, without the necessary licenses.
23 August 1782	Royal Academy of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture; announcement of awards to students and teachers.
12 July 1805	Agreda; invitation to the installation of his nephew J. M. Aguilar Bustamente as a canon.
21 January 1806	Rodriguez de León, chaplain to Viceroy; birthday anagram in honor of Viceroy's wife.
1807	Rodriguez de León; birthday acrostic in honor of Viceroy's wife.
19 March 1807	Rodriguez de León; birthday acrostic in honor of the Viceroy, Don José de Iturrigaray.
21 August 1807	Agreda; invitation to the installation of his godson J. M. Garayalde y Sau as a lawyer.
21 January 1808	Rodriguez de León; rhymed encomium in honor of Doña Inés de Jaúregui y Arostegui, wife of the Viceroy.
9 June 1809	Agreda; invitation to the reception of his godson Manuel J. Flores y Heras as Doctor of Medicine at the University.
14 August 1809	Lizana y Beaumont, Archbishop & Viceroy; copy of royal order urging the secure re-establishment of Spanish rule in Mexico. Three copies of this document.
18 February 1810	Agreda; invitation to the reception of his godson J. M. Vásquez y Dávalos as doctor of sacred theology.
7 May 1810	Lizana y Beaumont, Archbishop & Viceroy; proclamation announcing the formation of the Council of Regency in Spain.
16 May 1810	Real Audiencia; proclamation ordering the immediate election of provincial deputies.
29 May 1810	Real Audiencia; proclamation concerning the 20 million pesos Spain's Fernando VII has asked Mexico to contribute.
5 June 1810	Real Audiencia; regulations governing the sale of alcoholic beverages in an effort to decrease public drunkenness.
16 August 1810	Agreda; invitation to the pre-graduation philosophical discussion at the University, in which his godson Manuel Martinez y Rojo will take part.
4 February 1811	Venegas, Viceroy; copy of decree by the Council of Regency naming interim regents.
16 September 1811	Agreda; invitation to the pre-graduation disputation of his godson Bernardo Gárate, at the Seminary.
3 January 1821	Arredondo Mioño, "Commander of the 4 Eastern Provinces"; royal order requiring the teaching of the constitution in all Mexican schools.
16 January 1821	Arredondo Mioño; royal order concerning the re-establishment of Spain's constitutional monarchy.
13 March 1821	Arredondo Mioñio (sic); decree restoring the court system under (Spain's) constitutional monarchy.
28 November 1821	López Teniente, "Commander of the 4 Eastern Provinces"; decree from the Regency concerning taxation.
5 June 1830	Governor of Querétaro State (unnamed); decree of state Congress establishing Our Lady of Pueblito as state patroness.
3 December 1836	Newspaper, Diario del Gobierno de la República Mexicana, No. 583; describes the General Congress' extraordinary session of 25 November 1836.
3 December 1836	Newspaper, Diario del Gobierno de la República Mexicana, No. 590; describes the General Congress' extraordinary session of 1 December 1836.

1.	Fundación del Convento de San Juan de Diós. Sacada de la crónica esta Religión en las Indias...	1602
2.	Fundación del Convento de Santa Isabel.	1600
3.	Fundación del convento de San Juan de la Penitencia. Sacada del Teatro Mexicano, escrito por el R.P. Fray Agustín de Betancour.	1591
4.	Fundación del convento de Santa Catarina de Sena. Sacada de la segunda parte de la Crónica de Santo Domingo, que guardan manuscrita en el Archivo del Convento de Santo Domingo de México.	1583
5.	Fundación del Real convento de Jesus María. Sacada del libro, Paraiso Occidental, por Don Carlos de Siguenza y Góngorra.	1580
6.	El Clero de la Nueva España. Book review or advert.	n.d.
7.	Santa Custodia de Conversión de San Pablo. Sacada de una carta enviada por Fr. Alonso Benavides a los religiosos de Santa Custodia... 2 copies.	1631
8.	San Hipólito y el Espiritu Santo. Sacada del próximo evangelio, que es historia de esta orden y su fundador. Written 1652.	1652
9.	Fundación del Convento de San José de Gracia. Sacada de los papeles originales del archivo de este convento.	1661
10.	Fundación del Convento de Señoras Religiosas Capuchinas. Sacada del libro, Trono Mexicano, por Fray Ignacio de la Peña.	1666
11.	Fundación de Betlemitas. Sacada de la Historia Betlemitica (1723).	1675
12.	Fundación del Convento Antiguo de San José de Carmelitas Descalzas. Sacada de la Crónica de los Carmelitas y Corregida...por D. Carlos de Siguenza y Góngorra en Parciso Ocidental, ch. 12 & 13, v.1.	1676
13.	Fundación del Colegio de San Ildefonso. Extraida de la Crónica del Padre Florencia y de la Historia manuscrita de la Provincia de la Compañia de Jesus de Nueva España.	[1573] 1700?
14.	Info from the Archivo Público de la Nación, sec. de historia re church, cathedral, hospital. La Iglesia de Michoacan / Valladolid; administered by San Juan de Dios. Certificate. Decree. Ciudad de Valladolid, obispado de Michoacan (896).
15.	Ditto 14. Santa Iglesia Cathedral de la Ciudad de Valladolid. Santa Iglesia de Valladolid Michoacan; Obispo de Valladolid de Michoacan, 1701-1799.

Return to Mexican Archives Project-Index