Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 11.djvu/26

 NEW MEXICO

NEW MEXICO

that these missions of Arizona, as well as many of those of Sonora in Mexico, wore, until 1873, under the control of the College of Santa Cruz (just across the Arizona line in Northern Mexico), separated from 17S3 to 17!)1, and united in 1791. The two important Arizona Missions, San Xavier del Rac and San Miguel de Guevavi, became prosperous, the former under the famous Franciscan, Father Francisco Garc^s from 17l)S to 1774. Father Garci^s laboured continually among the Indians until he lost his life, in 1781, in his missionary work near the Colorado River in Califor- nia. The missions of Arizona declined after 1800, and in 1828 tlie Mexican Government ordered their aban- donment. From this time until 1859, when Bishop Lamy of Santa F(5sent the Rt. Rev. J. P. Macheboiuf to minister to the spiritual needs of Arizona, there were no signs of Chri.stianity in Arizona other than abandoned missions and ruined churches.

Prese.nt Conditions (1910). — Pending the full ad- mission of New Mexico to statehood, its government is still that of a territory of the United States, regu- lated by the provisons of the Federal Statutes. Ac- cordingly, t he governor and other executive officers are appointed by the executive authority of the United States and paid by the F'ederal Treasury; the Legisla- ture (House of Representatives and Council) is elected by the people of the territory; the Territorial Judi- ciary (a chief justice and five associate justices) is ap- pointed by the President of the United States for a term of four years, but justices of the peace are elected for two years.

Education. — The educational system of New Mexico dates from 1890 and is still in process of de- velopment. The public-school system is governed by a territorial Board of Education consisting of seven members. This board apportions the school funds, prepares teachers' examinations, selects books, etc. There are also the usual county and district officers. At present there are approximately 1000 public schools in New Mexico, with about 50,000 pupils, of whom 20,000 are Spanish and 100 negroes. There are 70 denominational schools, with 5,000 pupils, and 18 private schools, with 288 pupils. Futhermore, there were, in 1908, 25 Indian schools with 1933 pupils.

The Catholic schools of the territory number 23, with about 100 teachers and about 1500 pupils (esti- mated in 1910; 1,212 in 1908). The most important Catholic school in New Mexico is St. Michael's Col- lege at Santa F6, founded in 1859 by Bishop J. B. Lamy. The sisters' charitable institutions (hospi- tals, etc.) are state-aided. In 1909 the appropri- ations for these purposes amounted to .?12,000. The other denominational schools are distributed as fol- lows: Presbyterian, 25; Congregational, 9; Methodist, 11; Baptist, 2. The territorial (or state) univensity was established in 1889 at Albuquerque. It is sup- ported by territorial appropriations and land revenues. For the year 1909-10 the income was .$40,000. Its teaching force consisted, in 1909-10, of 16 professors, associate professors, and instructors, and the number of students in attendance was 130. There are three normal schools, one at Las Vegas, one at El Rito, and one at Silver City; a military school at Roswell; a school of mines at Socorro; and a college of agriculture and mechanic arts at Mesilla Park — the best equipped and most efficient school in New Mexico, receiving both federal and territorial aid aggregating .$100,000 a year (1909-10), having a teaching force of 40 profes- sors, a.ssistant professors, and instructors, and an at- tendance of 285 .students (1909-10). The combined valuation of the territory's educational institutions is about 81,000,000, while the annual expenditures aggregate S275,000.

Religion. — In 1850, when New Mexico was organ- ized as a territory of the United States, it (including, till 183, Arizona and part of Colorado) was made a vicariate Apostolic, under the Rt. Rev. John B. Lamy.

In 18,53 New Mexico (with exceptions noted below) was made the Diocese of Santa F^, and the vicar Apostolic became its first bishop. In 1865 this dio- cese became the Archdiocese of Santa F6, and Bishop Lamy became its first archbishop. The archdiocese includes all of New Mexico, except Dona Ana, Eddy, and Grant Counties, which belong to the Diocese of Tucson. The present Archbishop of Santa F6 is the Rt. Rev. John B. Pitaval. The C.itholic population of the territory in 1882 was 126,000; in 1906 it was 121,558 (U. S. Census Bulletin, no. 103, p. 36). But the figures for 1882 (given by H. II. Bancroft) must include the Catholic population of Arizona and prob- ably also of Colorado. In 1906 the Catholics were more than 88 per cent of the church membership of the territory, which was 137,009, distributed as fol- lows : —

Roman Catholics 121,558

Methodists 6,560

Presbyterians 2,935

Baptists 2,403

Disciples, or Christians 1,092

Protestant Episcopalians 869

Unclassified 1,592

Total IST^OOg

At present (1910) the total Catholic population of New Mexico mav be estimated at not less than about 130,000, about 120,000 being of Spanish descent. No definite statistics are available on this last point. The large Catholic population of New Mexico is due to its having been colonized by the Spaniards, whose first thought on founding a colony was to build churches and estabhsh missions. The recent Cathofic immi- gration has been from the Middle West, and this is largely Irish.

Catholics distinguished in Public Life. — The fact that until about the year 1890 the population of the territory was mostly Spanish, and therefore Catholic, is the reason why most of the men who have figured prominently in the history of New Mexico have been Catholic Spaniards. Among the more prominent may be mentioned: Donaciano Vigil, military gov- ernor, 1847-48; Miguel A. Otero, territorial secretary, 1861; delegates to the Federal Congress, Jos6 M. Ga- llegos, 1853-54; Miguel A. Otero, 1855-60; Francisco Perea, 1863-64; .Jose F. Chaves, 1865-70; Jos6 M. Gallegos, 1871-72; Trinidad Romero, 1877-78; Mari- ano S. Otero, 1879-80; Tranquilino Luna, 1881-82; Francisco A. Manzanares, 1883-4. The treasurers and auditors from 1863 to 1886 were all, with but one exception. Catholic Spaniards.

Legislation affecting Religion. — (1) Absolute free- dom of wor.ship is guaranteed by the Organic Act con- stituting the territory, and by statute preference to any religious denomination by law is forbidden. (2) Horse-racing and cock-fighting on Sunday are forbid- den; labour, except works of necessity, charity, or mercy, prohibited, and the offence is punishable by a fine of from $5 to $15. (3) No religious test .shall be required as a qualification to any office or public trust in this territory. Oaths are administered in the usual fashion, but an affirmation may be used instead when the individual has conscientious scruples against tak- ing an oath. (4) No statutory enactment punishing blasphemy or profanity has ever been passed in this territory. (5) It is customary to open the sessions of the Legislature with an invocation of the Supreme Being, but there is no statutory authority either for or against this ceremony. Until the present time (1910) this function has always been diseiiarged by a Catholic priest. (6) Christmas is the only religious festival observed as a legal holiday in New Mexico. New Year's Day is also a legal holiflay, but Good Friday, Ash Wednesday, All Souls' Day, etc., are not recog- nized. (7) There has been no decision in the courts of New Mexico regarding the seal of confession, but it is