In 1691 the bishop of Cuba, don Diego de Evelina y Compostela, hoping to rid himself of a thankless and unprofitable responsibility, lent his support to a plan to make Florida an independent diocese. In the budget he submitted, a bishop would cost 3000 ducats per year, of which two-thirds could come from Florida's tithes and one-third from the Indian fund. The Consejo de Indias consented only to an auxiliary bishop who would reside in St. Augustine but be subordinate to the See of Santiago de Cuba. Philip V presented this idea to Pope Clement XI, who endorsed it in 1703. The honor went to Father Dionisio Resino, the oldest priest in Cuba. By that time, Colonel Moore's two invasions had reduced Florida's ecumene to a fraction of its former size and its tithes had shrunk correspondingly. Several more years elapsed before the bishop and the Crown could reach agreement as to which of them should make up the difference. Father Resino was finally consecrated and sent to his post in 1709. (Bushnell SS)