 So much so that by 1654 there were about 1,000 Christian families living in the island.Foremost among these pioneering families is the extended Lazaro Clan who, together with its cadet branches, the Saavedra, Generalao, Suson, Pardo, Barrios and Guevarra families, owned most of the cultivated lands that was to form part of the growing Christian settlement.Thus, the veil of Catholicism began to slowly spread across the island with the spirited drive of the militant Jesuits.