Payo Enríquez de Rivera

Fray Pay Enríquez de Rivera

Don Payo Enríquez de Rivera (1622, Seville, Spain—April 8, 1684, Avila, Spain) was bishop of Guatemala (1657-67), archbishop of Mexico (1668-81) and viceroy of New Spain (December 13, 1673 to November 30, 1680).

Ecclesiastical career

Enríquez de Rivera was born the natural son of a military officer of Andalusia. He entered the order of St. Augustine in Madrid. He graduated from the University of Osuna and then taught theology there and in Burgos, Valladolid and Alcalá. He came to know King Philip IV of Spain, who held him in high esteem. Enríquez was superior of various Augustinian monasteries in Castile. In Guatemala he ordained the first Bethlehemites and began the construction of the Hospital de San Pedro.

In 1667 he was transferred to the Diocese of Michoacán, New Spain, but while he was on the road to take up his new position, news reached him that he was to become archbishop of Mexico. He governed there from 1668 to 1681.

As viceroy of New Spain

Upon the death of Viceroy Pedro Nuño Colón de Portugal on December 13, 1673, Archbishop Eníquez became viceroy, according to instructions Queen Regent Maria Anna of Austria had secretly sent to the Inquisition there. On that day, Inquisitor Juan de Ortega delivered the sealed instructions to the Audiencia, and the government was transferred to the archbishop.

Among his acts as viceroy were many public works projects, not only in Mexico City but also in outlying areas. He improved the viceroy's palace and continued work on the drainage system of the Valley of Mexico. He built many bridges over the waterways of Mexico City. He began the reconstruction of the church of San Augustín (which later contained the National Library) after the church had been nearly destroyed by a fire. He introduced potable water into the Villa de Guadalupe, and repaired the highway to Guadalupe.

On instructions from the Crown he sent a Jesuit mission to California. He welcomed the Bethlehemite Order of Guatemala into New Spain, and he reiterated the royal prohibition against Indian slavery. The Mexico City mint struck its first gold coins on June 6, 1675. In 1667 the viceroy founded the village of Paso del Norte (now Ciudad Juárez, on the Río Bravo and the road to Albuquerque. Also that year oyster beds were discovered in the port of Zihuatanejo.

He reformed (again) the Armada de Barlovento to defend the Gulf coast against pirates. (English pirates sacked Campeche September 22, 1678.) Through his efforts the English were expelled from the Río Coatzacoalcos and the Laguna de Términos.

Later career

Overwhelmed by his dual responsibilities, Enríquez de Rivera submitted his resignation from both. When this was accepted, he returned to Spain on June 30, 1681. The library that he had accumulated in Mexico he donated to the Oratorio of San Felipe Neri. In Spain he was given the see of Cuenca and made president of the Council of the Indies. He retired to the monastery of El Risco in Avila, and there he died in 1684.

References

• Template:Es icon "Enríquez de Rivera, Payo," Enciclopedia de México, v. 5. Mexico City, 1988.
• Template:Es icon García Puron, Manuel, México y sus gobernantes, v. 1. Mexico City: Joaquín Porrua, 1984.
• Template:Es icon Orozco Linares, Fernando, Gobernantes de México. Mexico City: Panorama Editorial, 1985.