| Sumario: | Since the Benedictine Reform of Cluny, religious orders became a domain of international exchange. In the 13th century, mendicants inherited this tradition, which became consolidated during the next centuries, based primarily on their missionary spirituality and their obedience vows. The passage of religious from one province to another was constant during the last medieval centuries and the main organizers were the orders’ authorities themselves, established in Rome, and often also the Pope. Some monarchs, such as St. Louis IX of France, who was a Franciscan Tertiary, sent religious as ambassadors to China, although this was apparently an exceptional case. It was therefore until the 16th century, with the discovery of America, that a Crown (the Spanish Crown) took direct part in sending missionaries to the New World, submitting even the religious authorities in Rome to its plans. From that moment on, the Monarchy became the main actor in charge of ordering, controlling and economically sustaining the sending of religious. This influenced the traveling dynamics of religious orders in both directions. At first, it was more common to send missionaries to the Indies, and then visitadores, or inspectors, and officials (such as Comisarios), but in time, as mendicant and Jesuit provinces consolidated, there was a constant flow of indianos to the Metropolis (and sometimes to Rome, but always via Spain), sent as procuradores or attorneys to solve different problems –from disputes with bishops to processes of beatification, attendance to general chapters, or procedures to obtain teaching authority (magisterium). Examples such as Brother Alonso de la Veracruz, Brother Diego Valadés, Brother Jerónimo de Mendieta, Brother José Sicardo or Francisco de Florencia will serve to illustrate the different reasons for such journeys.
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