If all else fails, kill your boss. This was probably the motto of the Augustinian friars who conspired to kill their superior in 1617. Fray Geronimo de Salas, the newly-elected Augustinian provincial in Intramuros, became the first target of these secret assassins. Only twenty days after his appointment, Salas was poisoned to death.
His successor, Vicente de Sepulveda, was not likable either; the new provincial’s rigid leadership didn’t sit well with his enemies who then came up with an assassination plot against him. But Sepulveda, unlike his predecessor, couldn’t be put down by simple poisoning. In fact, the lucky friar managed to survive eight poisoning attempts during which a ground glass was mixed with his chocolate, food, and even the wine he consumed at Mass.
nd then came a disturbing omen: visitors of San Agustin church had seen a white cat suckling three mice. Once they had grown fat enough, the poor animals were devoured by the feline. The superstitious believed that the three mice symbolize death, and since Salas and an archbishop of Manila recently died, it wouldn’t take long before another one bites the dust.
A few months later, their predictions turned out right.
Upon realizing that his initial plans were not working, Fray Juan de Ocadiz–the mastermind–sought the help of three accomplices to ensure the death of Sepulveda. After the provincial’s secretary provided them with a duplicate key to Sepulveda’s cell, the assassins proceeded with their agenda. They allowed the hapless victim to repent of his sins before strangling him and twisting his head to ensure he had no chance to survive.
Investigations by the Royal Audiencia ensued, and all Augustinians were asked to kiss the hand of Sepulveda’s corpse. When it was Ocadiz’s turn to pay his last respects, the guilty friar trembled at the sight of Sepulveda’s finger that seemed to point towards him. In the end, Ocadiz confessed his crime. He and the other two accomplices were hanged, while the fourth suspect escaped to Rome.
Interestingly, Ocadiz’s execution was predicted by his own mother twenty years earlier. In the book“The Governor-General’s Kitchen” by Felice Prudente Sta. Maria, it is said that as Doña Ana of Austria “watched the hanging of an Augustinian friar who wanted to marry her off to a pastry cook who would then become King of Portugal, she fancied that it was her son as an Augustinian in the noose instead.”
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