Meanwhile, news reached Mexico that Cortés had been well received at the Spanish court and was about to return to New Spain. Fearful of the consequences, Nuño de Guzmán left Mexico City on December 22, 1529, and began his famous expedition to Michoacán, Jalisco, and Sinaloa. The remaining auditors retained power and continued their outrages. In the early part of 1530 they dragged a priest and a former servant of Cortés from a church, quartered him and tortured his servant. Zumárraga placed the city under interdict, and the Franciscans retired to Texcoco. At Easter the interdict was lifted, but the auditors were excommunicated for a year. On July 15, 1530, Cortés, now titled Captain General of New Spain, reached Vera Cruz. The Crown appointed new auditors, among them Sebastián Ramírez de Fuenleal, Bishop of Santo Domingo, and the lawyer Vasco de Quiroga, who later became the first Bishop of Michoacán.