In France Santa Cruz seemed disoriented and with no direction; he spent more than a year mostly in small villages in the French Basque country.
Some of his former men suggested resumption of warfare, though Lizarraga confirmed that in such case he would be persecuted.
The Madrid government filed a request for extradition, turned down by the French.
Gendarmarie kept a close watch on him and at one point Santa Cruz was detained in Bayonne; he was pressed to leave the country.
In late 1874 or early 1875 he found himself in the Jesuit college in Lille; thanks to support of the Cambrai archbishop René-François Régnier, Santa Cruz's plea for clemency was accepted in the Vatican and he was reinstated to regular religious duty, abandoned during the wartime years.
He intended to commence missionary service; as part of his preparation the Jesuits directed him to their establishment in Britain, where Santa Cruz was to learn English.
In early 1876 he met his king Carlos VII in London but accounts differ; according to some Santa Cruz defended his wartime record, according to others he regretted his conduct and begged for mercy.
Shortly afterwards he sailed to Jamaica.
The Catholic administration of the island since the 1840s had been dominated by the English Jesuit province and since the 1860s their activity was on the rise; Santa Cruz was dispatched in a group of 3 priests.

Upon crossing the Atlantic Santa Cruz abandoned the first surname and started using only his maternal one; hence, in America he became known as Manuel Loidi.
In December 1876 he was first recorded as performing religious service in Jamaica; he was later to serve in the parishes of St. Andrews, Portland and St. Mary, all located in the Eastern part of the island.
His exact position in the religious structure is not clear; in documentation available he is listed as "clergyman"; until the early 1880s he is recorded usually as administering baptisms, marriages and especially funerals, mostly though not exclusively in the location of King's Weston.
At one point or another he served in 5 different mission stations and himself founded another nine.
Today he is particularly noted for his work in the small Preston Hill village, one of the first Catholic congregations outside Kingston and inhabited mostly by descendants of the Castle Mine slaves.
Santa Cruz is credited with construction of a wooden St. Francis Xavier church, which served the faithful for decades.
It seems that Santa Cruz and the Jamaica Jesuits lived in extreme poverty, as the destitute and barren local Catholic community was hardly in a position to support them.
It is not clear why Santa Cruz abandoned Jamaica in 1891 or 1892; it is likely that his leaving the island was related to change in missionary administration, as in the early 1890s the Jamaica mission was allotted to the Maryland-New York Jesuit province and soon the US Jesuits took over.
In France Santa Cruz seemed disoriented and with no direction; he spent more than a year mostly in small villages in the French Basque country. Some of his former men suggested resumption of warfare, though Lizarraga confirmed that in such case he would be persecuted. The Madrid government filed a request for extradition, turned down by the French. Gendarmarie kept a close watch on him and at one point Santa Cruz was detained in Bayonne; he was pressed to leave the country. In late 1874 or early 1875 he found himself in the Jesuit college in Lille; thanks to support of the Cambrai archbishop René-François Régnier, Santa Cruz's plea for clemency was accepted in the Vatican and he was reinstated to regular religious duty, abandoned during the wartime years. He intended to commence missionary service; as part of his preparation the Jesuits directed him to their establishment in Britain, where Santa Cruz was to learn English. In early 1876 he met his king Carlos VII in London but accounts differ; according to some Santa Cruz defended his wartime record, according to others he regretted his conduct and begged for mercy. Shortly afterwards he sailed to Jamaica. The Catholic administration of the island since the 1840s had been dominated by the English Jesuit province and since the 1860s their activity was on the rise; Santa Cruz was dispatched in a group of 3 priests.
Upon crossing the Atlantic Santa Cruz abandoned the first surname and started using only his maternal one; hence, in America he became known as Manuel Loidi. In December 1876 he was first recorded as performing religious service in Jamaica; he was later to serve in the parishes of St. Andrews, Portland and St. Mary, all located in the Eastern part of the island. His exact position in the religious structure is not clear; in documentation available he is listed as "clergyman"; until the early 1880s he is recorded usually as administering baptisms, marriages and especially funerals, mostly though not exclusively in the location of King's Weston. At one point or another he served in 5 different mission stations and himself founded another nine. Today he is particularly noted for his work in the small Preston Hill village, one of the first Catholic congregations outside Kingston and inhabited mostly by descendants of the Castle Mine slaves. Santa Cruz is credited with construction of a wooden St. Francis Xavier church, which served the faithful for decades. It seems that Santa Cruz and the Jamaica Jesuits lived in extreme poverty, as the destitute and barren local Catholic community was hardly in a position to support them. It is not clear why Santa Cruz abandoned Jamaica in 1891 or 1892; it is likely that his leaving the island was related to change in missionary administration, as in the early 1890s the Jamaica mission was allotted to the Maryland-New York Jesuit province and soon the US Jesuits took over.
Manuel Santa Cruz Loidi