Sumarraga, Juan de

Born in the Basque Country . Little is known about his early activities. Sumarraga was friends and corresponded with Erasmus of Rotterdam . He was a member of the Franciscan order , in 1527 he served as head of the Abroho monastery, where he received King Charles V. Soon he was appointed head of the Inquisition Tribunal, conducted witch trials in Biscay. He treated his duties as a rationalist, considering “witches” women prone to hysteria and hallucinations . Having received news of the conquest of Mexico by Cortes , he decided to go to this country. On December 20, 1527, by royal decree, he was appointed bishop of Mexico. He was not ordained a bishop, but received the title of “keeper (custodio) of the Indians”, and in August 1528 went overseas.

Early years in Mexico

Sumarraga was in a difficult situation: the associates of Cortes in his absence fought for power, in Mexico reigned complete anarchy. The authority of the governor was sent by the conquistador Nuno de Guzmán , whose activities were marked by numerous abuses. Sumarragi’s powers were not legally consolidated, and the absence of an episcopal dignity made his position unstable. Mexican authorities intercepted his correspondence.

In 1529, news came that Cortes was returning, after which Guzman fled from Mexico City. In 1530, the self-proclaimed rulers of Mexico forced one of the priests to excommunicate Cortes and his people from the church, after which the bishop of Sumarraga announced an interdict in Mexico City. The Franciscans, led by Sumarraga, left for Texcoco. Only on Easter was the interdict lifted. July 15, 1530 Cortes, receiving the rank of captain general of New Spain , landed in Veracruz . Bishops Sebastian de Fuenleal and Vasco de Quiroga arrived with him.

Case of the Virgin of Guadalupe

According to the Catholic tradition, the establishment of a new government was marked by the appearance of the Mother of God and the acquisition of the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe (December 9-12 , 1531 ). In the life of St. Juan Diego Quauhtlatoatzina it is said that the Virgin appeared to him on December 9, 1531 on the Tepeyac hill in Mexico City, ordering the bishop to inform about this. Juan went to Sumarraga, but he did not believe him. Then the Theotokos ordered Juan to collect roses that miraculously grew on the top of the hill, and the veil into which they were wrapped miraculously captured Her face. Juan Diego was canonized in 2002.

Sumarraga does not mention these events in any of his letters and books. Moreover, in his compiled catechism , the following is said literally:

“Why are miracles not happening now?”
- Because our Savior believes that they are no longer necessary.

Travel to Spain and Return to Mexico

In 1531, Sumarraga received an order to return to Spain. The king rejected the bull of Pope Clement VII, who appointed Sumarraga as bishop of Mexico City, but in 1533 Sumarraga was ordained bishop of Valladolid . Sumarraga strove back to Mexico, and denounced the actions of the conquistadors at court. In 1534 , Sumarraga returned to Mexico, accompanied by a group of artisans and six learned monks to educate the children of the Indian aristocracy. In 1535 , the new viceroy don Antonio de Mendoza (1495-1552) was appointed to Mexico, and the power of Sumarragi was finally established.

Thanks to the events of 1531, the number of converts of the Indians grew uncontrollably. According to the Franciscan Toribio de Benavente (Motolinia,? -1568), by 1536 about 5 million Indians were baptized. Moreover, baptism was carried out with a gross violation of all the sacraments (baptism was carried out massively in plain water), but the missionaries did not interfere with this. Disputes were resolved by Pope Paul III , who published on June 1, 1537 the bull Altitudo divini consilii , which approved the actions of the Franciscans, but henceforth such practices were prohibited.

Polygamy Problem

Polygamy became the most serious problem of Sumarragi after the mass appeal. Sumarraga recognized the validity of a marriage made according to Native American customs, thus, he was equated with the church, but the Church did not approve of polygamy. There was a problem of divorces, which in most cases were undesirable. On this occasion, the bull of Pope Paul III Altitudo (see above) stated that only the first (eldest) wife is recognized as legal in the sense of church marriage.

Priesthood Problem

In connection with the foregoing, Sumarraga had to solve the problem of Indian priests, for there were not enough Spanish clerics for all the parishes, in addition, most of them did not know the Indian languages. On May 9, 1522 , the papal bull Exponi nobis fecisti transferred all power to the spiritual orders, whose clergy could consecrate the Indian priests, with the exception of the adoption of the rank of bishop. On January 15, 1535, this bull was confirmed by Pope Paul III.

Inquisition

In 1535, Sumarraga received the authority of the Apostolic Inquisitor from the Archbishop of Seville, with the right to investigate criminal offenses, usually in the hands of secular authorities. Sumarraga held a tribunal in Texcoco, whose residents were accused of "returning to idolatry." At the same time, he conducted several auto-da-fe , on which many thousands of Indian manuscripts were burned. The activities of Sumarragi as an inquisitor were deeply contradictory: destroying the Indian culture, he nevertheless sought to protect the Indians from oppression of the conquistadors. On his behalf, Las Casas in 1541-1542. went to Spain, where he presented the “Shortest Relation on the Destruction of India” (Spanish: Brevísima relación de la destrucción de las Indias ). This issue was of political importance: the Catholic Church in the person of Sumarragi thus fought with the secular authorities. However, in 1544, the encomienda was officially banned. Sumarraga had to defend ordinary Spanish colonists who went bankrupt thanks to new laws. In 1545, representatives of the colonies appeared before the king, and the encomyenda lasted until the 18th century.

Recent years

In the 1530s Sumarraga actively promotes education in Mexico. Since 1536, the Colegio de Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco functioned - the first educational institution in America to teach in Latin and Spanish. This institution was intended to educate the children of the Indian aristocracy in the European spirit, and after ten years the Indians taught at the college. By order of Sumarragi, the Latin language was taught to the Indians by the great historian Bernardino de Sahagun . In 1539, printing began in Mexico, with the first book printed in Nahuatl . Hospitals were opened in Mexico City (Amor de Dios) and Veracruz.

On February 11, 1546, by a papal decree, the bishopric of Mexico was separated from the archbishopric of Seville, and Sumarraga became the full bishop of Mexico, whose subordinates were the bishoprics of Oaxaca , Michoacán , Tlascala , Guatemala and Chiapas . The credentials arrived in Mexico on July 8, 1548, and a month later, Sumarraga died and was buried in the Cathedral of Mexico City .

• Doctrina breve muy provechosa de las cosas que pertenecen a la fe católica ya nuestra cristiandad en estilo llano para común inteligencia en 1543.
• Doctrina breve para la enseñanza de los indios en 1543.
• Doctrina cristiana cierta y verdadera en 1546.
• Regla cristiana en 1547.

Judging by the surviving letters published by Real Academia de la Lengua Vasca, the mother tongue of Sumarraga was Basque . See: El País 07/08/1981

• Himmerich y Valencia, Robert. The Encomenderos of New Spain, 1521-1555. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1996. R. 266.
• Kinzhalov R.V. Eagle, Quetzal and the Cross . M., 1991.S. 27, 30, etc.

• Church Dictionary (German)
• Catholic Encyclopedia
• Franciscan Encyclopedia (Spanish)