Cardenas, in fact, showed
himself upon occasions hysterical and wayward to a point which was
absolutely childish. This peculiarity in a person holding so important a
position as his naturally produced utter confusion in Paraguay.
According to Mr. R.B. Cunninghame Graham, these were some of the methods
by which the Bishop in the end utterly scandalized the more sober of his
congregation:
"The Bishop, not being secure of his position, had recourse to
every art to catch the public eye: fasting and scourging, prayers
before the altar, two Masses every day, barefooted
processions--himself the central figure carrying a cross--each had
their turn. Along the deep red roads between the orange gardens
which lead from Asuncion towards the Recoleta on Campo Grande, he
used to take his way accompanied by Indians crowned with flowers,
giving his benediction as he passed, to turn away (according to
himself) the plague, and to insure a fertile harvest. Not being
content with the opportunities which life afforded, he instituted
an evening service in church in order to prepare for death."
These, however, were only some of the milder uses to which the Bishop
put his histrionic talents in order to prove his claim to sainthood.
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