Although the Discalced Carmelite Order came to the New World with the specific purpose of joining in the “spiritual conquest” of the expanding frontiers of the Spanish Empire, it accomplished relatively little missionary work among the Indians, and rather tended to settle in the already established Spanish communities of New Spain. The story of the Carmelites and their frustrated missionary intentions is told by Father Dionisio Victoria Moreno in this work, which covers the first twenty-five years of life of the order. Father Moreno has tried to avoid two frequent weaknesses found in the histories of religious orders, the lack of thorough archival research and the pious tint of the narrative. He has accomplished his first aim but has been only partially successful in the second. His sources and bibliography include a very adequate list of documents found in several archives of Spain, Italy, and Mexico, in addition to the printed sources contemporary to the foundation of the order. His critical evaluations of these sources enhance the objectivity of the work. Despite his efforts to restrain it, however, Father Victoria Moreno’s religious bias is revealed in many passages of the book. Part I of this work deals with the introduction of the Carmelite order in New Spain in 1585, after having overcome the initial reluctance of the Crown to let new orders pass to the Indies. This first part is unnecessarily lengthened with information about the departure and arrival of the monks, descriptions of their characters, and similar details. Part II, the most interesting part of the book, is concerned with the missionary problems of the Carmelites. They were latecomers to the missionary field, which had already been covered in New Spain by other orders. However, the possibility of expansion of missionary activities into New Mexico, the Californias, and the Philippines gave the Carmelites a good excuse for transplanting themselves to the Indies.
Within the order there were two trends of opinion regarding missionary work. One supported it as a part of the reform established by Santa Teresa, who, they claimed, had regarded proselytizing work as an essential part of her order. On the other hand, some influential Carmelites claimed that missionary activities detracted from the spirit of contemplation and strict discipline which was characteristic of the order. Although the former advocates had the temporary support of Viceroy Conde de Monterrey and even of Pope Paul V, the latter were ultimately successful in curtailing all missionary work after 1607.
In regard to New Mexico, despite royal support for the plan to send Carmelite missionaries, the late arrival of a fresh group of monks prevented the order from taking part in Juan de Oñate’s expedition in 1596. In 1601 the Crown granted permission to found a convent in the Philippines, but because of disapproval by the superiors of the order in Spain, the plan was not followed through. Finally, in 1602-1603 the Carmelites managed to send three members of their order in the Vizcaíno expedition to the coast of the Californias, having succeeded in overcoming the opposition of the Franciscans. Since this was mostly a voyage of geographical survey and not a missionary trip, however, the Carmelites contributed nothing to the spiritual conquest of this region. After 1607 the order had definitely abandoned all missionary ambitions, despite the brave efforts of one or two members of the Mexican community to keep the idea alive. The only contact that the order had with the Indians of New Spain was through the Doctrine of San Sebastián (Atzacoalco) in Mexico City, which it maintained from 1586 until 1607. At that time the order voluntarily transferred the doctrine to the Augustianians. The contemplatives within the order had won the ideological conquest, and the author of this work feels that this was perhaps best for all. On the whole, he has offered us some interesting insights into the problems facing the early development of one of the lesser known religious orders of New Spain.
