THE JEWISH ARCHBISHOP

In 1577, the viceroy Don Martin Enriquez and the archbishop Alonso de Montufar gave a permit for the foundation of the Saint Hipolito Hospital. The archbishop, some time later, allowed the Congregation of Brothers of the Order of Charity, dedicated to the help and consolation of the misfortunate, its members were ruled by Bernardino Alvarez, the top brother. This religious way of life, its constitutions and habits, were also approved by the Pope Gregory XIII.

The archbishop Montufar, who had already been bishop in Puebla and was a very cultured man and a great philanthropist, was also the protector of the beatified Gregorio Lopez, however when Montufar died, under his Christian wardrobe a Jewish symbol was found (he secretly practiced Judaism).