THE BRIEF PERIOD OF EVANGELIZATION OF THE

AUGUSTINIAN MISSIONARIES IN SAMAR (1768 – 1804)

By Manuelito S. Uy

The Augustinians initially were assigned to Leyte. It happened that the three
southern towns in Samar: Basey (with Lalawiton, later renamed Santa Rita attached
to it), Balangiga (although was reduced later as a visita of Guiuan) and Guiuan were
once part of the Dagami Residence (later was transferred to Palo) under the Jesuits.
Thus, these two towns were taken over by the Augustinians who served until 1804.
This article briefly describes the situation of three southern Samar pueblos which
were under the spiritual administration of the Augustinian friars from years 1768 to
1804.

ARRIVAL OF THE AUGUSTINIANS IN LEYTE

The Augustinian Missionaries arrived in the island of Leyte in the year 1768
and took the mission-stations or pueblos founded and administered by the Jesuits. It
was not the first time when the order came to Leyte because according to the great
author of Osario Venerable, Fray Agustin Maria de Castro it was the Order of St.
Augustine who were the first religious missionaries assigned in the island of Leyte in
1580, few years before the arrival of the Jesuits in this Archipelago.

At the time of the Expulsion, based on the report of Fray Joseph Victoria, the
Provincial of the Discalced Augustinians to Governor General Raon, there were
already 17 towns founded by the Jesuits (excluding the chapels that were built in the
visitas and attached barrios). There were at least sixteen Augustinians friars who
directly given the charged to the vacant churches left by the Jesuits.

THE PUEBLO OF GUIUAN AND THE VISITA OF BALANGIGA

Guiuan was already a pueblo when the Jesuits passed the spiritual
administration to the Augustinians of Leyte. It has one thousand and one hundred
tribute payers with a church, a parish house with stone walls capable enough to
defend and protect the town from the marauding pirates. The Augustinians described
the town “it situated in barren and poor land” but through the active commerce and
thriving trade which most of the products came from the sea, made the entire town
flourished. There are also many boats can be found in this town.

Annexed to this town is a visita named Balangiga (was once an independent

pueblo/mission-station during the time of the Jesuits). Its people were depressed and
ill avenidos (avenged). The Provincial Vicar of the Augustinians, Fray Juan Quiroga
and his companion, Fray Vicente Rodriguez were assigned to minister the entire town
and its visitas. The following are the Augustinians who ministered Guiuan:

1769-81 – Fray Juan de Quiroga

1782 – Fray Juan Antonio Giraldez
1783 – Fray Juan de Quiroga
1784-86 – Fray Juan Antonio Giraldez
1787 – Fray Cipriano Barbasan
1790-1800 – Fray Jose Allan
1801 – 1804 – Fray Pedro Gomez

At the time of the Augustinians, the town of Guiuan figured prominently

among all pueblos as the highest number of populace, biggest number of tribute
payers and the wealthiest town in Samar. This was because the town depended
almost on trade, with products coming in from its surrounding areas like Suluan
Island, and from other pueblos on Samar and perhaps from parts of Leyte to be
shipped on to Manila.

THE PUEBLO OF BASEY

The pueblo of Basey was founded by the Jesuits who came from Residencia de
Dagami in Leyte. It became a full-pledge town sometime in the late 17th century.
Diocesan records date its establishment in the year 1662 but the historian Fr. Felix
Redondo placed its founding year before 1663. The last Jesuit minister of Basey was
the French Jesuit, Fr. Joseph Maria Silvestri.

According to Fray Agustin Ma. de Castro, at the time of the arrival of the
Augustinians in 1768, Basey have five hundred tribute payers. The town is situated
in the high mountain (i.e. hill) and well defended. Regarding to the character of the
natives, the people were drunk and bad Christians who consume a lot of wine (i.e.
tuba). Fray Ignacio Callazo was assigned here to be the first Augustinian minister.
The following are the Augustinian ministers who served the town of Basey:

1773-76 - Fray Tomas Monclus

1778 – Fray Juan Antonio Giraldes with Balangiga
1778 – Fray Fernando Correra
1779 – Fray Tomas Monclus with Balangiga
1779 – Fray Juan Antonio Giraldes with Balangiga
1780-1787 – Fray Lorenzo Molina
1788-1795 – Fray Ignacio Collazo
 1797 – 1804 – Fray Francisco Villacorta with the visitas of Balangiga and Santa
Rita

During their stay in Basey, they made a lot of progress and development of the
town in terms of economy and spirituality. They slowly repaired the decaying church
which initially built by their predecessors, the Jesuits and defended the populace from
the marauding Moro pirates.

During their time, the once visita of Lalawiton was made a new pueblo by
merging the visitas of Poro and Lalawiton. Poro was made the poblacion and the new
town was renamed Santa Rita in honor of the patroness of the Augustinian Order. But
in the later years, it was again reduced into a visita of Basey until it was re-created into
a pueblo on January 2, 1864 during the time of the Franciscans.

CONCLUSION

Like their predecessors, the Jesuits, the Order of the Augustinians who served
these two pueblos and important visitas in Samar left no physical imprint or any
traces of them because of their short-lived mission and administration.

Due to lack of Augustinian missionaries which cannot sustain to serve the

partly vast region of southern Samar and greater part of Leyte, in 1795, they decided
to transfer it to the Franciscans. The western and southern part of Leyte were later
given to the newly-ordained Secular Clergy of the Diocese of Cebu.

The Augustinians left Samar in 1804 when new Franciscan missionaries arrived
in the capital town of Catbalogan, ready to be assigned to serve the two last towns,
Basey and Guiuan.

_____________

Sources

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Giraudier. 1864.
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