St. Francis Xavier, letter to King John III of Portugal, Jan. 20, 1548.: “...for that since God has bound your Highness by the strictest possible obligation of providing for the eternal salvation of the nations who are subject to you, that duty ought not to be delegated by your Highness to any but those who are the vicars of your own authority in these parts, and those who represent in the dignity of the magistracy the person of your Highness ; and that if you shall find that by the negligence of any one of these persons it has come about that no great number have embraced the Christian faith under his government in the place confided to him, you will visit on his head the chastisement which may otherwise hang over your own on account of the neglect of so great an obligation, having beforehand given full and clear notice, that you have passed on the burthen of the whole of that most important duty, of taking care that the souls of the unbelievers who are subject to you be imbued with the Christian faith, to the shoulders of those who are your principal officers and ministers in these parts.”