The priest who outwitted Captain Morgan

Certainly, the Church of San Jose remains standing in the Casco Viejo district of Panama City. And its ornate, supremely baroque altar made of mahogany covered with gold leaf remains breathtakingly gorgeous.

The Spanish settlement of Panama City was erected in 1519. Before long, the settlement’s original location was found to be indefensible and abandoned. Re-establishing Panama City in its present location on the isthmus, a church was built soon after. Panama City became the hub for shipments of gold mined in the South American colonies. From there, treasure was taken overland to the Caribbean coast, thence to Havana, and eventually shipped to Spain. 

Due to the devotion of the settlers and the wealth accumulating through their labor, talented artists created a unique golden altar for the church of San Jose to tabernacle Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and adore Him in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.  

By the year 1671, this fabulous altar was known throughout the Caribbean, its existence eventually reaching the ears of the notorious English privateer, Sir Henry Morgan. With thoughts of making off with the gold altar fueling his avarice, Morgan and his crew sailed for Panama City.

The captain had little regard for the Catholic faith. In 1668, at the siege of Porto Bello some 20 miles north of Colon, Morgan attacked the Spanish garrison. Pressing monks and nuns into constructing and placing scaling ladders against the town walls, the holy men and women fell, taking the brunt of the defenders’ rage. Only then did Morgan’s men climb the ladders and take the city. With the inhabitants at their mercy, the buccaneers launched an orgy of looting and debauchery.

News of the privateer’s approach reached San Jose’s pastor as the inhabitants scurried to hide their valuables. Most anxious to protect the Holy Eucharist and knowing he could not depend on the poorly trained troops quartered there, the pastor resorted to prayer and a desperate strategy to preserve the altar and the Blessed Sacrament. 

Invoking the heavenly assistance of San Jose — carpenter of Nazareth and foster father of Jesus — the priest gathered neighboring monks to quickly nail boards and wooden molding around the altar to mask it. Painting the whole thing a sorrowful black with silver trim, they dressed the sham altar with cloth and flowers as usual. Dreading Morgan’s imminent arrival, they continued in fervent prayer. 

The pirates landed and began sacking Panama City. When Captain Morgan and his men threw open the church doors, its pastor was there to greet them. Commanded to take them to the high altar, the priest calmly pointed to it, opening the gate of the chancel rail to allow the pirates into the sanctuary for closer inspection. The priest even tore off a piece of molding to prove that the altar was made of wood. Only then were the buccaneers convinced that the altar was not gold. 

Morgan, suspecting knavery, demanded to know the whereabouts of “the other altar." The priest shrugged and again pointed to the wooden monstrosity. The pirate convinced himself that another pirate had stolen the prize some time before.  

So convincing was the priest’s sense of loss Morgan was persuaded to donate money to a fund to replace the altar, while making another offering for the poor.

He made to leave. At the door, thoroughly flummoxed, Captain Morgan is said to have paused, turned to the priest and said, "I know not how it may be, good Father, but methinks you are more pirate than I."

The name of this faith-filled and resourceful priest is lost to history. Or is it just not part of a legend? I must remember to ask the Good Lord when I meet Him.