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410 TIIEAFRICAN ORIGINS OF TIIE MJSSIOANTIQUA through the reforming decrees or the Council of Trent, Pius fully recognized the value of the J esuits and he entrusted them with special duties and missions. Six months after his election, the Imperia! agent reported from Rome that "only monks and Theatines (often confused in contemporary parlance with the Jesuits) go to the palace, and they think they can refonn the world in a day''. Pius especially supported their educational activities, and a J esuit was even mo– bilized for the delicate task of attempting to persuade the Swiss Guards to marty their concubines. "It has rarely happened in a Pope", concluded Pastor, "that the sovereign has been so subordinated to the priest'' 12. Borgia sent Jesuits to Florida and other Spanish possessions in the Alneri– cas, and on rnany occasions discussed the needs of the overseas missions with Pius. In the spring of 1568, Cardinal Crivelli, a former nuncio in Spain, pro– posed that some Jesuits should be sent as visitors to the overseas territories. At the suggestion ofBorgia, who was much closer personally to the royal court in Lisbon rather than to Philip II in Madrid, this particular proposal was discussed with Alvaro de Castro, the Portuguese ambassador in Rome. Then on 20 May Borgia, his secretary Palanco and Alvaro de Castro discussed with the pope the creation of a curia! congregation for the conversion of the heathen. Pius de– cided to create the congregation, and the initiative was rapidly expanded on the advice of Peter Canisius, the J esuit charged by the papacy with major responsi– bilities in Gennany, who proposed a similar congregation to deal with northern heretics. By early August, Borgia was passing information and suggestions to both bodies 13 • At last it seemed that a way had been found to build up an in– formed opinion in the curia so that the papacy could begin to take a major role in the development ofmissionary work both in Europe and overseas. The fact that Alvaro de Castro was willing actively to support a develop– ment, which would have inevitably increased curia! interest~ and influence in the areas of the Padroado, was a remarkable tribute to Borgia's excellent relations with Lisbon as well as reflecting the standing of the Jesuits at this time in Por– tugal. On this occasion, however, the defence of Iberian patrona! rights rested not with Portugal but with Spain in the person of Philip IL Whereas Charles V had seen his empire in terms of a dynastic rule embracing much of western Europe, his son saw it increasingly centred on Spain and its possessions; and 12 L. von Pastor, The history of thepopes, (Eng. tr.), XVII, 66. See also pp. 139-143 and 95 for the Swiss Guards. 13 L. Lopetegui, San Francisco de Bo,ja y e!pla11 1nùio11al de San P{o V, in Anhiv11m His– toric11111 Societatù Iem 11 (1942) 5-8.