The Auxiliary Bishop: A Check on the Governor? As an institution the auxiliary bishopric had little lasting influence in Florida, despite Buenaventura’s personal triumph in Saint Augustine. Three factors kept the auxiliary bishop from contributing more to the religious life of the colony. First, only one of the three prelates remained in Saint Augustine long enough to exercise real authority, inspire any real respect, or gain a large following. Dionisio Resino remained in the colony for only three weeks and Ponce y Carrasco for ten months. Buenaventura resided in Saint Augustine for a decade and brought about significant changes, but not all of these lasted. Moreover, he served during an unfortunate period. He had to deal both with the difficult Moral Sanchez and with the factionalism that split the Franciscan order. Then in 1739 war broke out and continued as long as the dedicated Buenaventura remained in Florida, limiting his religious activities in the colony. A second factor reducing the auxiliary’s effectiveness was the interminable delays encountered in filling the office. Unlike the governorship there was no continuity in the auxiliary bishopric. Years, even decades, passed between the time an auxiliary left Saint Augustine and the time a successor assumed the post. Resino left Florida in 1709; his preplacement did not arrive in Saint Augustine until 1735, 27 years later. Buenaventura departed for Yucatan in 1745; Ponce y Carrasco did not assume the auxiliary bishopric until nine years later, in 1754. Both Resino and Ponce y Carrasco also desired to administer the religious affairs of Florida from Havana rather than from Saint Augustine where they might have been more effective. The decline in the number and the influence of the Franciscans was a third factor that contributed to the ineffectiveness of the auxiliary bishop. Working with a nucleus of dedicated friars, he might have been able to revive religious work among the Indians and to revitalize the spiritual life of the colonists, but the Franciscans had found it impossible to labor effectively in Florida in the face of English and Indian attacks. Many friars chose either to leave for Cuba or to retire to the convent in Saint Augustine. Those who remained in Florida became involved in bitter factional disputes for control of the order and failed to unite under the auxiliary bishop—Buenaventura in particular—to promote the religious life of the colony. Without the support of the Franciscans, the bishop could not wield great influence or challenge the governor’s pre-eminence in Florida. The Governor and the Secular Clergy The secular clergy in Florida always remained within the shadow of the regular clergy and the governor. Except for Buenaventura there was no effective resident auxiliary bishop, and there were very few seculars in the colony—only a curate, sacristan, organist, and chaplain of Fort San Marcos. This small group could hardly constitute a threat to the governor, who usually maintained amical relations with the curate and his aides at the parochial church. During the 18th century only two governors—Antonio de Benavides and Francisco del Moral Sanchez—engaged in feuds with the secular clergy. (Tepaske GSF)